NASA expands Deep Space Network with giant new dish in California desert

image via Space.com

September 6, 2026, 10:00 AM

• •The Deep Space Network added a 114-foot (34-meter) antenna at Goldstone in California.
• •The network communicates with missions including Voyager 1, Voyager 2, New Horizons and Chandra.
• •NASA has said crewed Artemis communications take priority, reducing capacity for some robotic deep-space missions.
• •DSS-23 is the fifth of six new antennas in the Aperture Enhancement Project, which began in 2009.
• •A NASA inspector general report said projected project costs rose from $362.4 million to $706 million, with the schedule slipping by nearly five years.

NASA has brought a new 34-meter radio antenna online at its Goldstone complex in California to expand the Deep Space Network. The network supports more than 40 spacecraft, but rising demand from missions including Artemis has strained its ability to serve all users at once. The new dish, designated DSS-23, is the fifth of six antennas planned under the Aperture Enhancement Project. NASA says the final antenna is now expected in 2029 after the broader upgrade project ran late and grew significantly more expensive.

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