NASA expands Deep Space Network dish

NASA has added a new giant antenna to the Deep Space Network at Goldstone, the California desert complex that handles communications with spacecraft far beyond Earth. NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in late August that the newly completed Deep Space Station 23, or DSS-23, is a 34-meter, or 114-foot, radio-frequency dish near Barstow, California. The agency said the antenna is intended to expand capacity on a network that already supports more than 40 spacecraft across the solar system. The buildout drew fresh attention after an X post highlighted satellite imagery of the site, but the project itself is now documented in NASA and JPL releases. ### Where is the new dish, exactly? Goldstone is one of the Deep Space Network’s three main ground stations, alongside sites near Madrid and Canberra. NASA says the three-complex layout allows continuous contact with distant spacecraft as Earth rotates, so that a probe dropping below the horizon at one site can be picked up by another. (jpl.nasa.gov) The new antenna is identified by NASA as Deep Space Station 23 at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California. JPL manages the California site for NASA, and agency photos show the reflector structure being installed there in December 2024 before the completed antenna was shown in August 2026. (nasa.gov) ### What did NASA actually build? NASA described DSS-23 as a multifrequency beam waveguide antenna with a 34-meter reflector. JPL said the dish will “boost the DSN’s capacity” and support deep-space communications and navigation for decades to come. A December 2024 JPL image release showed the 34-meter reflector being lowered into place by crane. (jpl.nasa.gov) That earlier release used the same station number and said the antenna would add capacity to the network as NASA prepares for higher communications demand. ### Why does NASA need another antenna now? NASA says the Deep Space Network is used to send commands to spacecraft and receive telemetry, tracking data and science from missions operating millions or billions of kilometers away. The agency says the network supports more than 40 spacecraft exploring the solar system and interstellar space. (jpl.nasa.gov) The technical requirement is straightforward: spacecraft transmit at very low power, and Earth-based antennas must be large and sensitive enough to detect those signals. A NASA Deep Space Network explainer says those signals can be about as powerful as a refrigerator light bulb, which is why precise, large parabolic dishes remain central to the system. (jpl.nasa.gov) ### Was the social-media estimate right about the dish’s size and purpose? The social-media discussion pointing to a deep-space communications antenna in the California desert was directionally right on the core facts. NASA’s own releases identify the installation as a Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, and they give its diameter as 34 meters, or 114 feet. (deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov) NASA has not, in the material reviewed here, framed the project around a 2027 commissioning date. Instead, the agency has said the antenna is recently completed and has publicly marked the milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site. ### What frequencies and missions can the network handle? (jpl.nasa.gov) NASA’s published Deep Space Network documents show the network handles tracking, telemetry and command links for deep-space missions. Separate DSN technical documentation lists support across established space-communications bands, including S-band and X-band on the 70-meter subnet, while NASA describes DSS-23 more broadly as a “multifrequency” antenna. (jpl.nasa.gov) NASA’s next step is operational use of DSS-23 within the Goldstone complex after post-construction testing and integration. The agency’s latest public materials place the completed antenna at Goldstone in August 2026 and describe it as part of the network that will continue supporting current and future missions from California, Spain and Australia. (nasa.gov) (deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov)