NASA leadership and personnel gathered for a ceremonial ribbon cutting on August 25, 2026, to mark the completion of Deep Space Station 23.
NASA reported that the newly finished structure sits at the Deep Space Network's Goldstone complex near Barstow, California.
NASA built the hardware as a 34-meter multifrequency beam-waveguide antenna to boost network capacity and enhance deep space communications for decades.
Aperture Enhancement Project
NASA added the dish as part of the Deep Space Network's Aperture Enhancement Project.
NASA started that project in 2009 to upgrade and expand the network by adding six new 34-meter multifrequency beam-waveguide antennas.
NASA designed these versatile dishes to enhance many missions operating over different radio frequencies.
Management and Operations
NASA uses the network to track, send commands to, and receive scientific data from faraway spacecraft.
NASA manages the system through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which operates as a division of Caltech in Southern California.
NASA oversees the network for its Space Communications and Navigation Program, located at NASA Headquarters within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate.
