NASA Adds 114-Foot Deep Space Antenna as 40-Plus Missions Strain Network
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Sep 6
NASA Adds 114-Foot Deep Space Antenna as 40-Plus Missions Strain Network
3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Sep 6
Summary
DSS-23, a new 34-meter antenna at Goldstone, entered service on Aug. 3 and began by tracking NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, expanding Deep Space Network capacity.
More than 40 spacecraft now rely on the DSN, and NASA says Artemis moon missions have consumed priority bandwidth, leaving less availability for other robotic missions.
The California dish is the fifth of six antennas planned under the Aperture Enhancement Project, with the final 34-meter unit due at Canberra in 2029.
That buildout has slipped and grown costlier: NASA's inspector general put the project at $362.4 million in 2015, but expected costs had climbed 68% to $706 million by fiscal 2023.
The pressure reflects a broader shift for the 1963-era network, which supports NASA and other agencies' deep-space missions and will face further demand as lunar exploration expands in the 2030s.