Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex

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The Deep Space Network's original complex, on the United States Army's Fort Irwin reservation in the Mojave Desert of California. Its 70-metre antenna, DSS-14, was built in the 1960s at 64 metres and later enlarged; it and the complex's 34-metre dishes handle the northern-hemisphere share of Voyager tracking. The desert basin site was chosen for the same reason radio observatories generally are: surrounding hills shield it from terrestrial radio noise, and the climate is dry enough to keep atmospheric absorption low at the microwave frequencies the network uses.