Zahlen, bitte! 120 degree around the globe for constant communication in space
NASA's global Deep Space Network ensures that communication with the spacecraft and probes is successful, no matter where they are in space.
(Image: heise online)
When NASA distributes the next image from the James Webb Telescope or new information about the Voyager missions, an antenna complex is involved almost unnoticed: The Deep Space Network (DSN), a worldwide network of radio antennas, handles the communication.
The sites are distributed around the globe at approximately 120 degrees so that communication to a mission can be permanently maintained: The reception areas overlap slightly from site to site, so that a spacecraft signal can be picked up seamlessly by another radio complex if it drops out of the transmission range of one complex. The DSN is managed and controlled by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena.
The forerunner of the DSN went into operation in January 1958 with receivers in California, Singapore and Nigeria – At that time, JPL was still under the auspices of the US Army, which needed a powerful monitoring system for Explorer 1, the first successful US satellite. NASA was founded as a civilian space organization in October of the same year, and took over JPL on the third of December 1958. The concept of today's DSN then took shape.
Space communications network
Especially when Kennedy announced a manned mission to the moon in 1961, the decision-makers realized that they would need a powerful communications network to enable two-way communication and data transmission. This gave rise to the Manned Space Flight Network, a network of 26-metre antennas specialized for communication in Earth orbit all the way to the moon.
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The DSN provided support and emergency capacities. A large 64-meter parabolic antenna and several 26-meter antennas were part of each site. These were also needed for Apollo 13: The large antennas ensured contact after normal communication was disrupted by power shortages, and the Apollo team could only transmit to a limited extent.
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For the Voyager missions, the capacities were expanded to take account of the wider transmission ranges, such as Uranus or Neptune. Each site now has at least one 70-meter radio antenna and several 34-meter antennas, which can be connected together to increase reception power.
The tasks include: Receiving telemetry data, position, and speed of the spacecraft, sending commands and software updates, and ensuring general communication. They also assist in space observation and exploration.
Locations in the USA, Europe and Australia
Several radio antennas are distributed in three locations: The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC) in the Mojave Desert in the US state of California has been in operation since 1958. The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC) near Madrid in Spain went online in 1961. The trio was completed by the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC) in Australia in 1965. The sites are each located in a depression so that they are largely protected from environmental influences.
(Image: BenjamĂn Núñez González, CC BY-SA 4.0)
With its ESTRACK, ESA has been operating a similar network – with mutual support, since 2007. They help each other by providing infrastructure in critical mission phases such as launches or complex maneuvers, or in emergencies.
Otherwise, the DSN is able to communicate with other networks from Russia or China via standards for deep-space communication created by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems.
MP3 anniversary transmission into space
Several anniversaries came together in 2008: 50 years of Explorer 1, 50 years of NASA and 45 years of the Deep Space Network. In addition, the legendary Beatles song “Across the Universe” turned 40: the song was recorded on February 4, 1968.
In honor of this, the song was sent into space as an MP3 via the Deep Space Network on February 4, 2008. The target was the Polaris – of the North Star, which is 431 light years away from Earth. For Beatles fans, February 4 has been “Across-The-Universe-Day” ever since.
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The program director of DSN, Berry Geldzahler, was correspondingly enthusiastic: “I've been a Beatles fan – for 45 years, as long as the Deep Space Network has been around.” What a pleasure, especially when you consider that 'Across the Universe' is my personal favorite Beatles song.”
Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney was also delighted. He wrote to the space agency: “Amazing! Well done, NASA! Say hello to the aliens for me. All the best, Paul.”
Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon, who wrote the song, felt the broadcast was something very special: “I think this is the beginning of a new age in which we will communicate with billions of planets throughout the universe.”
The idea for the broadcast came from Martin Lewis, a Los Angeles-based producer and Beatles expert. He received permission for the broadcast from the rights holders. The Beatles label Apple announced that they were delighted, as they are always looking for new markets.
Technically, however, it will probably not be a masterpiece: the song was transmitted from Madrid as an MP3 at 128 kbps. Apart from the fact that the aliens probably don't have a clue about the codec, Polarstern, as a triple star system, is probably not suitable for extraterrestrial life either.
So while the song is more likely to disappear somewhere in space, the network becomes all the more important with every deep space mission. On the Deep Space Network website, you can follow live which missions the individual antennas of the DSN are currently in contact with. And the work will not be small: the DSN will again play an important role in Artemis, the next mission to the moon.
(mawi)
