NASA: Risk of blockage of DSN network

The US Aeronautics Agency (NASA) has announced that one of the Deep Space Network's (DSN) main antennas will have to be repaired longer than expected and could cause a lot of blockage to the system.

An antenna in the DSN
(Photo: ooshrocketry.org)

After decommissioning in late June to carry out maintenance, NASA experts discovered 70-meter-diameter parabolic antenna located in Madrid (Spain) broken in the moving parts. The replacement of the two devices will last at least until January 2007, slower than expected to complete maintenance in October 2006.

NASA fears this incident will cause obstruction to space communications and to Earth. Cassini satellites, Exploring Mars (MRO) in preparation for operation in November, plans to use this antenna to transmit data to Earth will be difficult.

Antenna Madrid failure also hindered NASA's plan to launch two Stereo satellites before the end of this month. The two satellites are expected to be sent back to Earth via DSN with floating images of solar phenomena and a multi-point image of the space between planets.

Under the management of JPL (a central NASA center for interplanetary expeditions), the DSN is a system of parabolic antennas evenly distributed across the Earth's surface to communicate with remote sensing satellites. that NASA launched into the solar system.

The DSN consists of three relay stations spaced 120 degrees apart to match the Earth's rotation and is always within the same axis as the remote sensing satellite. These three stations are located in Goldstone, in the Mojave Desert (California, USA), Canberra (Australia) and Madrid (Spain).

This system not only serves communication between US remote sensing satellites, but also other space agencies around the world, including the European Space Agency (ESA).

Thanks to a variety of antennas, the DSN can also serve radio and radar observations in the solar system and the Universe. Depending on the time, DSN also supports geostationary satellites.

PHUONG THAO