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Jacking up the Antenna

Nov. 3, 2010
A worker at NASA's Deep Space Network's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex radios to his colleagues that 12 jacks are ready to lift the upper section of the giant 'Mars antenna.'

A worker at the Deep Space Network's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex radios to his colleagues that 12 jacks are ready to lift the upper section of the giant "Mars antenna." On May 3, 2010, when this image was taken, workers raised about 3 million kilograms (7 million pounds) of sensitive scientific equipment about 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) off the base. The yellow machine in the image controlled the 12 jacks.

The lift was part of a major refurbishment of the 70-meter-wide (230-feet-wide) Mars antenna that took place from March to October 2010. Deep Space Network managers needed to lift the upper part of the antenna to replace the hydrostatic bearing assembly. The hydrostatic bearing assembly enables the antenna to rotate sideways.

The 70-meter-wide (230-foot-wide) Mars antenna got its nickname from its first task: tracking the Mariner 4 spacecraft after its historic flyby of Mars in 1966. The antenna's official name is Deep Space Station 14.

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Deep Space Network for NASA Headquarters, Washington. More information about the Deep Space Network is online at http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn/index.html.

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