New Next-Gen Dish Adds Muscle to NASA’s Deep Space Network

On August 3, 2026, NASA's Deep Space Network in California added a new 34-meter-wide (114-foot-wide) radio frequency antenna called Deep Space Station 23 (DSS-23) to its communications and navigation system. Located at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, DSS-23 is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

The network, which supports over 40 spacecraft exploring the solar system and interstellar space, is marked by the addition of six new 34-meter multifrequency beam-waveguide antennas as part of the Deep Space Network's Aperture Enhancement Project. Begun in 2009, the project aims to upgrade and expand the network by adding these versatile dishes, capable of enhancing many missions operating at different radio frequencies.

James Kenyon, associate administrator of the Research and Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, emphasized that the expansion would strengthen NASA's communications foundation for bold future missions, from exploring the Moon to peering deeper into the solar system. Upon completion of a testing campaign from May through July, DSS-23 began operations on August 3 and has since been communicating with numerous missions such as NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Psyche, Juno, Voyager 1, and other robotic spacecraft in deep space.

DSS-23, a multifrequency beam waveguide antenna, is expected to boost the Deep Space Network's capacity and enhance NASA's deep space communications capabilities for decades to come, bringing the network closer to a modernized state that embraces advanced technology and ensures NASA's leadership in deep space communications.