A brand new 34-meter-wide radio frequency antenna is now part of NASA's Deep Space Network, adding communications capacity for more than 40 spacecraft currently exploring the solar system and beyond.
The new dish, called Deep Space Station 23, or DSS-23, sits at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. NASA leadership, personnel, and dignitaries gathered at the site for a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark its completion.
Construction began in February 2020. A 133-ton metal reflector framework was placed and bolted atop the antenna's pedestal in December 2024. Engineers then installed panels to the framework that reflect radio frequency signals to and from spacecraft, followed by a careful calibration process so the dish could work alongside the rest of the network.
DSS-23 completed a testing campaign from May through July before beginning operations on August 3, when it tracked NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Since then, it has communicated with NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Psyche, Juno, Voyager 1, and other robotic spacecraft in deep space.
DSS-23 is the fifth antenna at Goldstone and the fifth dish added under the Deep Space Network's Aperture Enhancement Project. That project began in 2009 with a goal of adding six new 34-meter multifrequency beam-waveguide antennas to upgrade and expand the network. The network operates from three global facilities: Goldstone, Madrid, and Canberra, Australia.
"By expanding the Deep Space Network, we are strengthening the communications foundation NASA needs for the bold missions ahead — from exploring more of the Moon than ever before to peering deeper into the solar system," said James Kenyon, associate administrator of the Research and Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This new antenna will help us deliver on our national goals for space exploration and push beyond the limits of what once seemed impossible."
Dave Gallagher, director of JPL, pointed to the longer history behind the upgrade. "After over 60 years of continuous operations supporting consequential missions, these upgrades prime the network for a new era of exploration," he said. "The teams that designed, planned, and built DSS-23 should be proud."
The versatile dishes in the network can support missions operating over different radio frequencies. DSS-23 is the fifth antenna at Goldstone, joining three existing 34-meter antennas and one 70-meter, or 230-foot, antenna already operating there. One more antenna remains to be added to complete the six planned under the enhancement project.
