DSN Antenna Upgrade and Enhancement Collection, 1971-1980.

ArchivalResource

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.). Radio Frequency and Microwave Subsystems Section. DSN Antenna Upgrade and Enhancement Collection, 1971-1980.

DSN Antenna Upgrade and Enhancement Collection, 1971-1980.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/733100085

The collection documents antenna upgrades and enhancements of selected antennas in the Deep Space Network. Material on antenna recalibration and upgrades is arranged by station number. The DSS-12 series (Boxes 1-2) includes antenna calibration files, which are composed of charts, organized by date, showing right ascension and declination of various stars that are the sources of the radio waves, the frequency of the radio signals, along with the Universal Time, focus, and other measurements. Also included are DSS station test Critiques, which lists the problems encountered, and any corrective action taken. The DSS-12 S/X antenna calibration of October 1978 reflects the upgrading of DSS-12, which was re-activated in November 1978. Also included in the series are the correspondence and meeting minutes of the 34-meter X-Band Gain Loss Study Team, formed in March 1980 to attempt to ascertain the causes of the difference between predicted and actual gain at X-Band at DSS 12, 42 and 61. The DSS-14 series (Boxes 2-4) also includes antenna calibration files similar to that of DSS-12. The files document DSS-14 X and K-Band 64m calibration before and after upgrade, with notes, graphs and computer printouts. During February and March 1973, the DSS 14 64-meter antenna was fitted with major structural braces and minor structural modifications to improve low angle system gain performance at centimeter wavelengths. The measurements of the new system are compared to previous performance regarding system efficiency, subreflector focus and equivalent R.F. surface tolerance. In 1978-1980, the antenna for both DSS-12 and DSS-14 were again calibrated, this time for the impending Voyager spacecraft mission to the Outer Planets. There is a short series involving DSS-61 (Box 4), located at Robledo, Spain. Represented are files dealing with the MODCOMP II computer system, as well as results from tracking stars using DSS-61. The DSS-63 series (Box 4) is another small one, with files dealing with subreflector controller and focusing after recalibration of DSS-63, also located at Robledo. The Miscellaneous series (Boxes 4-5) include two small notebooks dealing with miscellaneous topics not fitting elsewhere, along with a folder of antenna measurement notes written by Charles Stelzreid. A series of materials in Box 5 documents the paper titled "The Effect of Receiver Saturation upon Radio Source Noise Temperature Measurements," written by Arthur J. Freiley, Boris L. Seidel, and John E. Ohlson. Preliminary drafts and notes are represented, as is a correspondence with the journal Radio Science, which rejected the paper. The paper was then going to be submitted to IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement. It was later published as "Absolute Flux Density Calibrations: Receiver Saturation Effects," in The Deep Space Network Progress Report 42-46: May and June 1978. Represented in the series are drafts, notes, correspondence, and progress reports. The final series, Published Articles (Boxes 5-6) has published articles dealing with antenna calibration and other articles dealing with antennas.

1.8 cubic ft. (77 folders).

Jet Propulsion Laboratory Library and Archives