Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{short description|Radio telescope}}
{{primary sources|date=September 2017}}
{{Infobox Observatory
| name = Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex
| image = Image:Edificio museo, Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex.jpg
| logo = LogoINTA.gif
| logo_size = 100px
| caption = Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex (MDSCC)
| organization = INTA{{\}}NASA{{\}}JPL
| location = Robledo de Chavela (near Madrid), Spain
| coords = {{coord|40|25|45|N|4|14|57|W|type:landmark_region:ES_dim:570|display=inline,title}}
| altitude = 720 m
| weather =
| established = 1961
| website = {{URL|https://www.mdscc.nasa.gov|mdscc.nasa.gov}}
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The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC; in Spanish and officially Complejo de Comunicaciones de Espacio Profundo de Madrid) is a satellite ground station located in Robledo de Chavela, Spain, and operated by the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA).{{cite web|title=NASA Deep Space Communications Complex (Robledo de Chavela)|url=https://www.inta.es/INTA/en/donde-estamos/Estaciones-espaciales/#robledo|access-date=December 4, 2022|publisher=Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial}} Part of the Deep Space Network (DSN) of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), along with its two sister stations at Goldstone, California and Canberra, Australia it is used for tracking and communicating with NASA's spacecraft, particularly interplanetary missions. The DSN and the Near Space Network (NSN) are services of the NASA Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN).{{cite web|title=SCaN Ground Segment|date=Jan 25, 2021|url=https://www.eoportal.org/other-space-activities/scan#scan-space-communications-and-navigation--the-ground-infrastructure-of-nasa|publisher=eoportal.org|access-date=December 4, 2022}}
Deep Space Network
The MDSCC is part of NASA's Deep Space Network run by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn/ Official site for DSN at JPL] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608040231/http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn/ |date=8 June 2012 }} The facility contributes to the Deep Space Network's mission to provide the vital two-way communications link that tracks and controls interplanetary spacecraft and receives the images and scientific information they collect. The complex is one of three NASA Deep Space Network complexes in the world, located at separations of approximately 120° longitude so that a spacecraft will always be in sight of at least one station; the others are the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex located in California, near the city of Barstow, and the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in Australia which is close to the city of Canberra.{{Cite journal |last=Latifiyan |first=Pouya |date=April 2021 |title=Space Telecommunications, how? |journal=Take off |publisher=Civil Aviation Technology College |publication-place=Tehran |volume=1 |pages=15 |via=Persian}}
The complex also serves some missions of the European Space Agency.
Functions
The antennas and data delivery systems make it possible to:
- Acquire telemetry data from spacecraft.
- Transmit commands to spacecraft.
- Track spacecraft position and velocity.
- Perform Radio Astronomy (both single-dish and very-long-baseline interferometry) observations.
- Measure variations in radio waves for radio science experiments.
- Monitor and control the performance of the Deep Space Network.
Antennas
Image:MADRID 060508 MXALX 078.jpg
The complex has eight large parabolic antennas, called DSS-61, DSS-54, DSS-55, DSS-56, DSS-63, DSS-65 and DSS-66.[http://www.inta.es/doc/grandesinstalaciones/estacionesdeseguimiento/robledo_nasa_gb_.pdf Official INTA site for the MDSCC] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325173824/http://www.inta.es/doc/grandesinstalaciones/estacionesdeseguimiento/robledo_nasa_gb_.pdf |date=25 March 2014 }}
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Photo | Name | Diameter | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSS-61 | 34-meter | In late 1999 DSS-61 was deactivated, and in February 2001 NASA transferred the antenna to create the PARTNeR Project. | |
| DSS-53 | 34-meter | beam waveguide antenna entered operations in February 2022{{cite news|url=https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-interplanetary-switchboard-adds-enormous-new-dish-to-communicate-with-deep-space-missions/ |title=NASA's "Interplanetary Switchboard" Adds Enormous New Dish To Communicate With Deep Space Missions|publisher=SciTechDaily.com|date=March 20, 2022|access-date=December 4, 2022}} | |
| File:DSN Madrid2.jpg | DSS-54 | 34-meter | beam waveguide antenna |
| DSS-55 | 34-meter | beam waveguide antenna | |
| DSS-56 | 34-meter | beam waveguide antenna. Entered service in January 2021 | |
| 150px | DSS-63 | 70-meter | Built in 1974 as a 64-meter antenna, and upgraded to 70 metres in the late 1980s. It can transmit in S and X-band with a power up to 400 kilowatts and receive in L, S, and X bands. DSS-63 weighs a total of 8000 tons, whereby the dish has a weight of 3500 tons. Its reflecting surface is {{convert|4180|m²}}. |
| DSS-65 | 34-meter | Built in 1987. It is a HEF (high-efficiency) antenna. It can transmit in X-band with a maximum power of 20 kW and receive in S- and X-band. The weight of DSS-65 is 400 tons, whereby the dish weighs 350 tons. | |
| DSS-66 | 26-meter | The antenna was used in support of near-Earth missions and the early orbit phase of deep-space missions. This antenna was moved in 1983 from the nearby Fresnedillas NASA tracking station, prior to that station being shut down in 1985. It was decommissioned in 2009. |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex}}
- [http://www.mdscc.org/ Official Site at JPL]
- [http://dss65relocation.blogspot.com/ Blog of the scientists manning the station]
- [http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2004/graficos/feb/s1/robledo/robledo.html How the station works, alone and within the DSN (interactive graphic, in Spanish)]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140325190134/http://www.isdefe.es/en/sectors-Spacecommunications Official Site at ISDEFE, operator of MDSCC at Robledo]
{{Space program of Spain}}
{{NASA centers}}