Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex

Coordinates: 35 ° 24 ′ 5 ″  S , 148 ° 58 ′ 54 ″  E

Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex​

Australia

Canberra Parkes Observatory Honeysuckle Orroral

Antenna station locations in New South Wales, Australia

70 meter parabolic antenna of the CDSCC (DSS-43)

Detailed view of the 70 meter parabolic antenna

The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) is an antenna station equipped with parabolic antennas in Australia . It is located southwest of the capital Canberra , in the valley of the Murrumbidgee River on the edge of the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve . The CDSCC station is part of the global Deep Space Network . The official opening took place on March 19, 1965 by the then Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies . Raytheon Australia has been in charge of operations since March 2003 , on behalf of CSIRO and NASA .

history

In the mid-1960s, NASA built three ground stations in the Australian Capital Territory :

• The Tidbinbilla Tracking Station (now the CDSCC) opened in 1965 and is NASA's only ground station on Australian soil still in operation today. The lunar module was monitored from here during the Apollo program .
• The Orroral Valley Tracking Station in what is now Namadgi National Park was also opened in 1965. Their job was to support satellites in orbit and the Apollo-Soyuz project . In 1985 the station was closed. The foundations of the previous station have been preserved and there is a parking lot and a visitor toilet for tourists.
• The Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station (opened in 1967) was built for the Apollo missions, mainly to communicate with the command module of the Apollo spacecraft . The location is just a little northwest of Orroral Valley Station. After the Apollo program ended, the station supported the Skylab program, then the Viking and Voyager spacecraft. In 1981 the station was closed. Since then, there have been memorial plaques at the former location and the place is now open to tourists. The parabolic antenna with a diameter of 26 meters was dismantled and rebuilt at the CDSCC and operated until 2009. The antenna has been a historical monument ever since.

Receiving stations

One 70 m antenna and three 34 m antennas will be in operation at the beginning of 2018. If the workload is particularly heavy, the CDSCC can also use the 64 m antenna at the Parkes Observatory in New South Wales to receive data from the spacecraft. The station's collimator tower is located around three kilometers to the northwest on Black Hill. All 27 m antennas from the early days, including those that were expanded to 34 m, are now out of service.

Some time ago, the 34 m high-efficiency (HEF) antennas were still state of the art. They had two major further developments: on the one hand, they could receive two frequencies at the same time, and on the other hand the panels of the receiving dish were specially shaped, which improved the signal yield. The last HEF-DSS-45 antenna was deactivated in 2016.

For the 34 m antennas, the Beam-Wave-Guide antennas will be used for the future, which can do everything that characterizes the HEF antennas; however, the waves are directed through a hole in the main mirror and a system of reflectors onto the detectors in the substructure. They can be operated with stronger and heavier transmitters. The weight of the receiver is eliminated, so the mechanics are less stressed. The receivers can be more easily shielded from interference and cooled, different receivers and transmitters can be kept ready and operated at the same time, and the replacement and repair of devices due to defects or technical progress is much easier.

Since March 2020, the 70-meter antenna has been technically revised 48 years after its construction, this also affects the transmitters, which are now 40 years old and no longer reliable. During this time it is not possible to transmit to Voyager 2 because the S-band transmitter is out of order and none of the other antennas in the southern hemisphere has a strong transmitter in the required frequency range. The three 34-meter antennas can be combined for data reception. Voyager 2's software has been modified so that the probe does not expect data from Earth. The construction work should be completed by January 2021.

Disabled antennas of the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex

photo	Working drawings voltage	throughput knife	capitalized fourth	de- activated fourth	up	down	Remarks
	DSS-33	11 m	1996	2002			The 11-meter antenna was dismantled in 2009 and transported to Norway for atmospheric research. A 34 m antenna is to be opened under the same name in September 2022.
	DSS-42	(26 m) 35 m	1964	2000			Built as a 26 m antenna with a planned service life of 15 years. At the beginning of the 80s expanded to approx. 35 m. Decommissioned in 2000 and dismantled a little later due to increasing material fatigue.
	DSS-45	34m	1986	2016			HEF antenna. Out of service since November 2016 when DSS-36 went into service.
	DSS-44 DSS-46	26 m	1965 1984	1983 2009			Built in 1965 for the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station as DSS-44. In 1984 the antenna was moved to the CDSCC with the new name DSS-46. In May 2010 the antenna was declared a historical space monument and will be preserved for future generations.

Active antennas of the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex

photo	Working drawings voltage	throughput knife	capitalized fourth	de- activated fourth	up	down	Remarks
	DSS-33	34 m	approx. 2022				The 11-meter antenna under the designation DSS-33 was dismantled in 2009 and transported to Norway for atmospheric research. A 34 m antenna is to be opened under the same name in September 2022.
	DSS-34	34 m	1997		S, X	S, X, Ka	Beam wave guide antenna
	DSS-35	34 m	2014 2015		X	X, Ka	Beam wave guide antenna. Commissioned in 2014, officially opened in 2015. Should get an 80 kW transmitter in September 2020.
	DSS-36	34 m	2016		X	X, Ka	Beam wave guide antenna.
	DSS-43	(64 m) 70m	1969 1973		S, X	S, X	Constructed as a 64-m antenna, in anticipation of the flyby of Voyager 2 to Neptune 1987 extended to 70 m. Largest movable parabolic antenna in the southern hemisphere. 400 kW S-band transmitter, which was limited to 100 kW. 20 kW transmitter for S and X band. The system is to be extensively equipped with improved and expanded technology by the end of 2020. It is the only antenna that has a strong transmitter and can send signals to Voyager 2 at the appropriate frequency. The three 34-meter antennas can be interconnected for reception.
	DSS-49	64 m	1961		-	7 mm to 4 m	The antenna of the Parkes Observatory can be connected to the DNS if the capacity is insufficient. This antenna was designed for radio astronomy and is accordingly equipped with broadband receivers. It can only receive, not send.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} DEEP SPACE STATION 45. Retrieved on May 9, 2017 (English). 
2. ↑ NASA's Deep Space Antenna Upgrades to Affect Voyager Communications. Retrieved April 1, 2020 . 
3. ^ ^{A b} Deep Space Network: Deep Space Network Services Catalog . Ed .: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. February 24, 2015 ( nasa.gov [PDF]).
4. ↑ ^{a b} Antennas . Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
5. ↑ DEEP SPACE STATION 33. Retrieved on May 9, 2017 (English). 
6. ↑ DEEP SPACE STATION 42. Retrieved on May 9, 2017 (English). 
7. ^ AustraliaHistoricalSite . American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Archived from the original on July 11, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 18, 2010. 
8. ↑ DEEP SPACE STATION 46. Accessed on May 9, 2017 (English). 
9. ↑ DEEP SPACE STATION 33. Retrieved on May 9, 2017 (English). 
10. ↑ DEEP SPACE STATION 34. Retrieved on May 9, 2017 (English). 
11. ↑ DEEP SPACE STATION 35. Retrieved on May 9, 2017 (English). 
12. ↑ NASA (Ed.): Mission Introduction to the DSN . March 3, 2015 ( nasa.gov [PDF]).
13. ^ Deep Space Station 36: Huge NASA dish lifted into place outside Canberra after delays , Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20th August 2015. 
14. ↑ DEEP SPACE STATION 36. Retrieved on May 9, 2017 (English). 
15. ↑ DEEP SPACE STATION 43. Retrieved on May 9, 2017 (English). 
16. ↑ CSIRO: About Parkes radio telescope. Retrieved May 21, 2017 (Australian English). 

Web links

Commons : Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• CDSCC website
• Website through the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station