Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex facts for kids

The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC), often called the Goldstone Observatory, is a special satellite ground station in Fort Irwin, California. It's run by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Its main job is to talk to and track spacecraft that are exploring space far from Earth.

This station is one of three important communication stations in NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). The DSN helps NASA keep in touch with spacecraft and get amazing pictures and science data from them. The other two stations are in Spain and Australia. They are spread out around the world so that at least one station can always "see" a spacecraft as Earth spins.

The complex is named after Goldstone, California, which is a nearby old gold-mining ghost town. It also includes the Pioneer Deep Space Station (DSS 11), which is a special U.S. National Historic Landmark.

What Are the Antennas Like?

The Goldstone site has five huge dish antennas that look like giant satellite dishes. They are needed because the DSN talks to up to 30 spacecraft at once!

Why Are the Antennas So Big?

These antennas work like the satellite dish you might have at home. But the spacecraft they talk to are much, much farther away. This means the signals they send are very weak. The huge size of the antennas helps them gather enough radio energy to hear these faint signals.

The biggest antenna is 70 meters (230 feet) wide. It's used to talk to missions going to the outer planets. For example, it communicates with the Voyager spacecraft. Voyager 1 is the farthest human-made object from Earth, over 21.5 billion kilometers away!

How Do the Antennas Communicate?

The antennas use special radio waves called microwaves. They can receive signals from spacecraft (called downlink signals). They also send commands to the spacecraft (called uplink signals) using powerful radio transmitters. These transmitters use special tubes called klystrons to make the signals strong.

How Do They Reduce Noise?

A big challenge is making sure that other radio signals don't interfere with the weak signals from space. Goldstone was built in the remote Mojave Desert because it's far from things that make radio noise, like cars. Also, the receivers in the antennas use special cooling systems with liquid helium to make sure the electronics don't add their own noise to the signals.

How Are Antennas Used for Science?

When the Goldstone antennas are not talking to spacecraft, they act like giant radio telescopes. They help scientists study the universe. They can map distant quasars and other radio sources in space. They also use radar to map planets, the Moon, comets, and asteroids. Sometimes, they even help spot comets and asteroids that could possibly come close to Earth.

Goldstone's History

The Goldstone complex was started in 1958 by the JPL. It was built to help with the Pioneer program, which sent probes to explore deep space. Two things were important for its location: it needed to be in a bowl-shaped area, and it had to be far from other radio signals. The Mojave Desert location at Fort Irwin was perfect.

The United States Army began building the first radio telescope, DSS 11 (the Pioneer Deep Space Station). Later, NASA took over after it was created. This antenna was 26 meters (85 feet) wide and could receive signals in a certain radio range. It stopped being used in 1981 because newer, better telescopes were built. In 1985, it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark because it played such an important role in early space exploration.

"Goldstone Has the Bird" - A Famous Saying

Many people believe that the first American satellite, Explorer 1, was confirmed to be in orbit with the famous phrase "Goldstone has the bird." However, Goldstone was not fully working when Explorer 1 launched. This saying is not quite right.

Some people thought the actual phrase was "Gold has it!" and that "Gold" was a temporary tracking station. But that station was actually in Florida. The signal from Explorer 1 was likely first picked up at a different station near San Diego. This station was later moved to Goldstone, which might be why the story got mixed up!

Visiting Goldstone

The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex is not currently offering public tours. However, there is a Visitor Center in Barstow, California. It's located at Harvey House, 681 North First Avenue, Barstow, CA 92311. You can visit on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 AM to 3 PM. There's no entry fee, and you don't need to make a reservation.

Goldstone in Movies and TV

The big 70-meter dish, also known as Mars or DSS14, can be seen in the opening scenes of the 1968 movie Ice Station Zebra.

The Goldstone Facility was also shown in Part 1 of The Incredible Hulk (TV Series) episode called "Prometheus."

The 1975 film A Boy and His Dog (1975 film) used the facility for the entrance to the movie's "Down Under" world. The film crew had some trouble getting permission to film there!