After watching the first episode of
#HaloTheSeries
it took me back 20 years and the blatant missuse of a
@NASA
network switch to get a Halo Slayer match going in the ops room. "How's that Voyager support going?" our supervisor asked,"it's fine" eyes not moving from the screen.
Just for the record everyone. Chandrayaan 3 is a ISRO spacecraft. They have always been very open with information about their missions. Please don't misinterpret a simple observation made by the many people tracking CH3 as an issue with the spacecraft. It's going great.
5 Years today. For those wanting to relive Cassini's final moments. This was taken by our engineering team showing the loss of the spacecraft. The signal disappears as expected Ka->-X->-S because of the different beam widths of Cassini's antenna at the different bands.
Canberra's DSS43 has just successfully radiated 4 commands to
@NASAVoyager
1 using its 100kW high power transmitter. Now the waiting game begins with a round trip light time of 44H 07M 11S before we see their effect back on Earth.
Chandrayaan 2 hasn't been tracked on the DSN since 2019. Madrid's DSS54 has just conducted a re-validation test in readiness for the attempted CH3 lunar landing in a few days. The DSN will help support both the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter and Chandrayaan 3 lander throughout.
This was a sweeping shot of the 70M antenna surface. Just when you think it isn't that big
@Astro0Glen
kindly walks into view to put it all into perspective ... No, its jaw dropping big!
@CanberraDSN
The
@NASAWebb
team are moving fast and have just put their foot on the accelerator for telemetry. Just kicked up from 8kbs to 40kbs, still plenty of margin to play with.
A zoom in of the schedule monitor, the one we hadn't commandeered for Halo, shows a DSS 45 Voyager 2 after a TDRSS 3 spacecraft emergency support. A real blast from the past.
DSS43 moving to its minimum 6 degrees elevation to wait for Mars to rise for a Mars Odyssey (M01O)/Maven/Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) support. It actually took 7 minutes to get to point
For those
@NASAVoyager
aficionados. Periodically Voyager 1 will transmit 1.4kb/s PWS Digital Tape Recorder playback data, up from its normal 160b/s. To be received the DSN has to array every available antenna. Madrid's DSS63/53/54/55/56 have been booked for next week
I've just acquired the downlink on DSS43
@NASAVoyager
2 for a command uplink activity. With tracking Voyager and LICIA at the same time I realise I'm supporting the oldest and youngest spacecraft in the DSN stable. After both locked I ran out and grabbed this photo of DSS43.
Its that time again where we crank up our transmit power to 75Kw to send commands to Voyager 2. This is a Fro & Go. Add a frequency offset to the uplink predicts calculated by all those BLF supports and switch the transmitter on, no sweep required. Current RTLT 35h:11m:29s
The
@NASAVoyager
2 ASCAL maneuver is now complete and the 40bits/sec engineering telemetry used for the activity has reverted back to the nominal 160bits/sec science/engineering telemetry rate. Voyager 2 is 19 Billion km (12Billion miles) from Earth and still performing its tasks
The
@NASAWebb
individual mirror deployment was initiated yesterday and as advertised they are moving at 1mm/day. It's a bit like watching grass grow...only grass grows much faster!!
The last 10 minutes of the M20
@NASAPersevere
direct contact support on Canberra's DSS43. A large command sequence was transmitter 5 hours ago and the rover confirmed a successful receipt. Relay telemetry from Percy and the Helicopter should start coming down in around 40 minutes
For most of the
@NASAWebb
deployment the DSN has just had to maintained a constant link with the spacecraft. With the up coming Attitude Control System (ACS) calibrations we've had a number of configuration changes including moving back to the low gain antenna and lower bit rate.
When you see the first image released by President Biden from
@NASAWebb
have a thought for the antenna across the
@NASA
Deep Space Network receiving the telemetry to make it possible. Currently Canberra's DSS34 is half way through its 9 hour support of JWST.
@NASASCaN
@CSIRO
Yesterday was an exciting time in the Canberra DSN Ops room. I shouldn't be surprised anymore when theoretically unlikely events happen when it comes to deep space communications and the amazing spacecraft we track, but it still does.
@NASAVoyager2
workstation just after AOS.
Sometimes issues pop up that are completely unexpected. This is a photo of DSS34, the photo to the right its subreflector. For some reason the local cockatoo population has suddenly found the black cable sheaths are really tasty. All of our cables are being chomped!!
I was always fascinated by plutonium 238 and its use for spacecraft power and heating. Most of the flagship interplanetary missions use it including Mars rovers. This just popped in to my YouTube feed.
Prepping the Perseverance Power Source via
@YouTube
If you look on DSN Now we are currently supporting a data flow test for the yet to be launched
@isro
lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan 3. The DSN has provided support for their previous lunar missions and Mars orbiter mission Mangalyaan. Launch is scheduled for mid 2023.
An interesting DSN story. Currently Goldstone has a bug issue and a bug taking a rest on a waveguide window when radiating 500kw for solar system radar can get messy. So, we've diverted the rain blower hose from the X-Band cone to the radar cone to stop them getting comfy.๐ฌ๏ธ๐ชฒ
LICIACube, the Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging of Asteroids which was riding along with DART successfully conducted the first of 3 orbital maneuvers over Canberra's DSS43. Think of it as making its way to the best seat in the house for the upcoming DART vs Dimorphos fight๐ฐ๏ธ๐ชจ๐ฟ
The star of the hour Canberra's DSS35 will have full 2-way communication with DART until impact. Video taken of it moving to point on the spacecraft for the very last time.
@NASASCaN
@CSIRO
@NASAJPL
Cassini I loved you and your End Of Mission was very special to me but I'm sorry, the DART impact was on a whole different level. I had access to the targeting video and thruster status from project and it was like being in a Disney World Ride. Go DART!
An eerie mist sitting over the Tidbinbilla valley this morning. I had an early start and quickly took the drone straight up and had a peek above the mist. Taken 20 minutes ago.
@CanberraDSN
As a controller there was a time if someone has said I'd be supporting 3 antenna on a single workstation I would have told them they were dreaming. Yet here we are. DSS34-ACE DSS54-MRO and DSS26-Chandra. One antenna from each continent.
After sending some quick commands to
@NASAVoyager
1 its a quick turnaround to Voyager 2 (Note the different pointing directions, VGR1-North, VGR2-South). We'll be observing the effect of the MAGROL maneuver to calibrate the magnetometer which rotates the spacecraft on its axis.
Its reported that
@LICIACube
was successfully deployed and in a nominal state. It was an amazing effort today by the folks at the stations and JPL who moved mountains to get this outcome. It makes me very proud to be part of the team. I'm going home now for a big glass of wine.
@LICIACube
รจ stata rilasciata dalla sonda
@NASA
#DARTMission
alle 01:14 di lunedรฌ 12, ha iniziato ad attivare i sistemi di bordo e ad operare in modo autonomo e nominale, trasmettendo i primi segnali sul suo stato di funzionamento ricevuti dal team Argotec
Direction to have all Mars supports configure for both polarisations (just in case) for Oppy. Our open loop receiver system will record any "Hey Guys..its me" signal received. If you don't see MER1 on DSN Now don't worry, we're looking in the background
#WakeupOppy
@MarsRovers
Exactly 1 week until
@NASAPersevere
starts its EDL (Entry Decent Landing) activity. The DSN will be covering this level 1 event through its Madrid complex with DSS63 (70m) as Prime and DSS55 (34BWG) backup, Goldstone's DSS14 and 25 will also be a backup...
Canberra's Deep Space Station 43 conducting its last uplink to Voyager 1 before going down for preventative maintenance on Monday. The antenna will be down until June for its elevation bearing replacement. The Voyager 2 uplink is the next support.
@NASAVoyager
For the last 2 days I've been controlling the
@MarsRovers
Oppy connections. Rest assured project is trying their hardest to get
#OppyPhoneHome
. We get 4 windows after commanding to listen for a beep, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter downlink does make it difficult on occasion.
Mars twins. Canberra's DSS35 currently tracking the
@esa
Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft and DSS36 tracking Maven and Mars Odyssey in a multi spacecraft per aperture configuration (MSPA)
@MAVEN2Mars
4am on a balmy Canberra night and
@nasawebb
has past its zenith and starting to set in the west. DSS36 (Backup) tracking with clear skies and a good view of Orion or the "saucepan" for us southerners.
For the next week my 16 year old son Owen gets to be a controller as part of his school's work experience program. Today he's tracked
@NASAVoyager
2, DART and LICIA. If any of the missions see this post please be assured he was under very close supervision๐๐ค
Just receiving the network handover briefing from Goldstone. Its not often we open discrepancy reports with earthquake as the cause. MRO lost receiver lock while DSS14 was shaking. Not a particularly big one, but people are commenting that it went on for longer than usual, 20-30s
Meanwhile 23 Billion Kilometers across our galaxy, Earth's influence extends to making
@voyager
1 do a pirouette as part of its Magnetometer cal (MAGROL). Perfectly executed the result can be seen in the downlink signal fluctuations on our receivers. Goldstone's DSS14 supporting.
Work continues on Canberra's 70M DSS43 antenna pointing calibrations. Subreflector optimization at Ka band (the most accurate) involves tracking "Blazar" 1921-293 a relatively strong Ka source from rise to set. This was it going to point a little while ago
Received final instructions to delete all support products and configuration files for
@CassiniSaturn
. Every time I typed in the remove command I'm sure I could hear a distant tolling bell. My completion email read "With a heavy heart CDSCC has removed all reference to Cassini"๐ข
If anyone wondered where my
@nascom1
twitter name came from, it's short for
@nasa
communications. I had the position of Nascom Canberra just as Halo was launched. Nascom became my Halo user name and much later my twitter name. Nascom was taken so I tacked on a 1.
With my workstation loaded up with three Mars orbiters on dss43 and a Chandra on dss65 the role of a DSN Controller is always busy. I'm not sure at what point I picked up the nervous twitch.๐คฃ
@NASAKepler
Canberra DSS43 had the honour of transmitting the "good night sequence" and see the
@NASAKepler
transmitter wink out for the last time. The photo was taken of our controlling workstation. Thanks for the memories Kepler.๐ฅ
At the moment
@NASAPersevere
is shouting down to earth with a huge -87db downlink. The DSN is awaiting instructions to shout back and get that 2 way dialog going. When 2 way comms is established only then can we breath a sigh of relief.
Feel like a quick 1 minute tour of Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex to distract you from the drudgery of isolation, well buckle up and hold on tight.
@NASAJPL
@CanberraDSN
For those wondering, Madrid's DSS56 has just received a good downlink from LND1, a NASA payload on IM1. LND1 needs to be commanded to transmit through the lander. Good telemetry was received at its nominal 25Kbps before being switched off. This is its first contact since landing
With the splash down of Artemis 1 the DSN can breath a sigh of relief, at least for a couple of years. This has been the most intensive and stressful few weeks of my 34 year DSN career. I should point out that this wasn't really due to Artemis, it was the 8 cubesats riding along.
With the project supplied video feed and the mass of monitor data from the DSS35 and DSS43 downlinks reflecting every DART attitude change as it homed in on Dimorphos, it was indeed a thrilling ride. I'm rambling on and I need to go to bed...goodnight all๐ฅฑ
Currently
@NASAVoyager
1 is downlinking its digital tape recorder playback (1400bps). Every Goldstone asset is being utilised. Watching the telemetry it occasionally drops frame lock as the tape track is changed. Screen capture is from DSS25 who is the reference for the Array.
A couple of hours after sunset and Canberra's DSS43 is supporting a
@NASAVoyager
2 Best Lock Frequency (BLF) uplink activity. The frequency ramped signal will take 18 hours traveling at the speed of light to reach the spacecraft.
@NASAJPL
@NASA
Yesterday with the Canberra antennas waiting for
@NASAJuno
to rise for the Perijove 57 support I had 15 minutes before beginning of track and DSS43 was sitting waiting patiently. A perfect opportunity for a size perspective shot.
The drone has opened up so many possibilities when it comes to getting a previously impossible vantage point. This was taken yesterday just as the antennas arrived on point on Voyager 2 before beginning of track. Caveat: Drone use on and around the complex is heavily restricted.
Outside of the
@isro
network coverage both the
@esa
and
@NASA
Networks provide "filler"coverage for Chandrayaan 3. Currently both networks are holding its hands, the DSN's DSS54 in Madrid communicating with the lander (CH3), Estrack's Kourou station the propulsion module (CH3P).
With so much riding on every bit of
@NASANewHorizons
#UltimaFlyby
data, as a Controller I found myself holding my breathe until the first blocks started shipping. DSS43 has just had acquisition with system performance nominal
Across the DSN Canberra's 70 meter antenna DSS43 is the only station equipped with the new 100kW S-Band transmitter required for sending commands to both Voyager spacecraft. Currently 40kW seems to be the sweet spot for both spacecraft so lots or margin going forward.
Both Canberra antenna have successfully acquired KPLO. DSS34 has initiated an uplink into the spacecraft and is now coherent. The project can select the telemetry from either antenna depending on availability. Very quick acquisition, well done Canberra operations.
A beautiful start to the day and I thought I'd take DSS43 down on Mars just a little early. Rise time was 5 minutes away when the photo was taken. The ugly mug in the other photo was more to show a perspective shot, at 6 degrees, its min elevation, it sits just above the ground.
Just sent a single command on its way to
@NASAVoyager
2 from
#DSS43
. The high power transmitter was utilised at 78Kw to ensure reception on board. For those who appreciate big transmitters take a look at our hi pwr transmitter numbers... eye watering๐กโก๏ธ๐ฐ๏ธ
After two days of no smoke, here we go again. The fire front is still 12km away but it looks closer. A windshift towards the station is expected in a couple of hours. Still no threat but it makes for a good photo.
It's nice to slow the pace down every now and again. I'm currently supporting both
@NASAVoyager
spacecraft, VGR1 at Goldstone, VGR2 at Canberra. A combined flight time of almost 85 years. Its like driving Miss Daisy... x 2.
Everyone thinks the reason the ARTEMIS launch kept getting scrubbed was because of issues on the pad. The real reason was because ARTEMIS was waiting for the T shirts to arrive at the DSN stations. They have arrived and the DSN is now green to support the Sept 27 Launch.๐๐
In this job you can't really be scared of heights but you'll always have a solid ladder or grating to stand on. Now as soon as I step off these stable platforms its a different matter. Currently inspection work being done below the dish surface of Canberra's DSS43, this is scary!
Normally when you see footage of our big 70m moving it's spead up to make it look more exciting. This clip has been left at its normal speed so you can appreciate what 0.25 deg/sec looks like. I only included 1 minute of the 10 min slew to
@NASAVoyager
2. Try stay awake๐ด
I took this quick photo shortly after the LICI downlink was activated. I gave a woohoo and a clap and found myself apologising to my team for the uncharacteristic outburst, it was a big relief.
The DSN is currently going through a workstation evolution. This workstation is using 2 x 5120x1440 screens. Now we've moved to Oracle Linux with a huge amount of CPU/GPU grunt, so many desktops are possible. We are evaluating this config, we might have to add a third!
The last spacecraft support before dropping out of operation for its huge 11 month upgrade. The background noise is the 100kw S-Band txer cooling fans (just above azimuth). Only in standby for this support it will be removed during refit and be replaced with a next gen txer
My current console layout tracking
@NASAWebb
on Madrid's DSS56 and
@NASAJuno
on Goldstones's DSS25. Webb is cruising along nicely and I've just sent DSS25 to point for beginning of track, Happy Days!
Re-posted with better resolution :-)
A little tech stuff. The EM1 downlink will initially be so strong the supporting DSN antenna have been fitted with 30db switchable attenuators. EM1 will only be communicating on S-Band for this mission. All the DSN supported cubesats are X-Band. Canberra's DSS34 has initial acq.
With DART's impact of Dimorphos in a couple of weeks its time to release the ride along GoPro "LICI" or Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging of Asteroids. Canberra's DSS35 will be supporting and has just started its precal for its initial acquisition in a couple of hours.
Currently commands are on their way from Canberra's DSS43 across the solar system towards Voyager 2 sitting in interstellar space. At a eye watering 75Kw output nothing about this transmitter can be called economic in its power consumption. Beam volts of 32Kv and at 6A= 200Kw
Thank you Malindi for your excellent support! Their uplink has been brought down and DSS36 has successfully uplinked and is go for command with good ranging. Welcome to NASA's Deep Space Network
@NASAWebb
!!
Earlier today Madrid's giant 70 Metre antenna transmitted commands at the Chandrayaan Lander. This is normally out of band for this Deep Space Antenna's transmitter, it was tuned manually for this support. The rx signal at the spacecraft is in the order of 4 ร the power of a 34m
Both elevation bearings on Canberra's DSS43 have now been replaced. The Mech team have now handed it over to the pointing engineer for evaluation. The antenna has been moving across the sky from one quasar source to another, each time doing a boresight and recording the offsets.
Currently the DSN is supporting both Voyager spacecraft. VGR-2 on Canberra's DSS43, and VGR-1 on Madrid's DSS63. I thought I'd post a picture with both side by side for anyone who wants to compare tracking a 23.8 Billion Km spacecraft with a 19.9 Billion.
@NASAVoyager
A successful
@NASAVoyager
2 commanding support has just finished on Canberra's 70 meter DSS43. 7 commands were radiated and now on their way to cover the almost 20 Billion Km before arriving onboard the spacecraft. Verification of receipt will be another 36 hours away, RTLT.
Canberra Operations is looking for the next generation of DSN Link Controllers to support NASA's Deep Space Network into the future. Job adverts have just gone live.
DSS43 has just started a
@NASAVoyager
2 Best Lock Frequency and commanding support. This is a high power uplink support at 75kw. Think of it as a "Wake up Jeff!!" shout for the Wiggles. The different between the normal 20Kw and 75kw is around +6db at the spacecraft.
Currently all Canberra's 34 metre antenna are pointing at Mars, each tracking a single spacecraft. From left to right DSS36-Mars Orbiter (M01O), DSS34-Mars reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and DSS35- Maven (MVN). Each project must have needed a command uplink at the same time.
To reduce our carbon footprint CDSCC has taken the initiative and is in the process of building a Solar Farm. All power generated from it will be used by the complex. Space communications using the power of the Sun, just like most of the spacecraft we support.๐๐ฐ๐ก