Since March 2020, the giant 70 metre antenna dish, Deep Space Station 43 (DSS43) has been undergoing a lot of upgrades. Hundreds of engineers and technicians have been working top to bottom, inside and out to remove, replace and upgrade equipment, some of it over 40 years old.
With the final scaffolding removed from around the base, DSS43 can now commence a series of tests to its azimuth and elevation drive systems as the project advances toward the antenna returning to service in early 2021.
The upgrades include new transmitters and receivers on the 48 year old antenna which will be used to support dozens of robotic spacecraft exploring the solar system and beyond, as well as future human missions to the surface of the Moon and eventually Mars.
The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex is a part of NASA's Deep Space Network, and is managed in Australia by CSIRO - Australia's national science agency.
