DSN currently consists of three deep-space communications facilities located such that a distant spacecraft is always in view of at least one station. They are:
• the See more

The network is a NASA facility and is managed and operated for NASA by JPL, which is part of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Interplanetary Network Directorate … See more

The general capabilities of the DSN have not substantially changed since the beginning of the Voyager Interstellar Mission in the early 1990s. However, many advancements in digital signal processing, arraying and error correction have been adopted by the DSN. See more

There are a number of limitations to the current DSN, and a number of challenges going forward. Most of these are outlined in an Audit of NASA’s Deep Space Network performed … See more

Tracking vehicles in deep space is quite different from tracking missions in low Earth orbit (LEO). Deep space missions are visible for long periods of time from a large portion of the … See more

The forerunner of the DSN was established in January 1958, when JPL, then under contract to the U.S. Army, deployed portable radio tracking stations in Nigeria, … See more

Each complex consists of at least four deep space terminals equipped with ultra-sensitive receiving systems and large parabolic-dish antennas. There are:
• Three or more 34-meter (112 ft) Beam waveguide antennas (BWG)
• One … See more