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4 Navigations from Ground to Space
of ultra-long distance, and to carry out the transmission of telemetry information
and scientific data, and the tracking and control task for the probes. Since 1957, the
United Statesand the Soviet Union (later Russia) have been the leading forces of planetary exploration. More than 200 unmanned planetary probes have been launched to
explore planets and their interplanetary space in the solar system, so as to demonstrate
the technical strength for space exploration. As a result, their own deep-space TT&C
networks have been established successively. In the past 20 years, the deep-space
exploration has once again become a research hotspot in the field of space science
and technology. Besides the American and Russian deep-space TT&C networks,
ESA, China, France, India and Italy are also vigorously promoting the constructions
of their deep-space networks to meet the tracking, navigation and communication
task requirements for deep-space probes. As a represented example, the NASA Deep
Space Network (DSN) is introduced in the following.
The DSN is a worldwide network of large antennas and communication facilities,
composed of three deep-space communication complexes, which are located, respectively, at California in the Unites States, Madrid in Spain and Canberra in Australia, to
support interplanetary spacecraft missions. The antennas at the three DSN complexes
communicate directly with the Deep Space Operations Center located at the JPL
facilities in Pasadena, California. Moreover, the DSN also performs radio and radar
astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe, and
supports selected Earth-orbiting missions. The three DSN stations are situated in
semi-mountainous, bowl-shaped terrain to help shield against radio-frequency interference, and placed approximately 120° apart in the geographic longitude around the
Earth, to permit constant observation for spacecrafts as the Earth rotates, and make
the network the largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunication system in
the world. Viewing from the North Pole of the Earth based on the three-site configuration, the spacecraft with a distance of more than 30,000 km away from the Earth’s
surface is always tracked by one of the stations at least. Unlike tracking LEO spacecrafts, the deep-space missions are usually visible for long periods of time from a
large portion of the Earth’s surface, and thus only require a few of TT&C stations,
but the huge aperture antennas, ultra-sensitive receivers and powerful transmitters
need to be equipped at the stations, in order to transmit and receive the commands,
telemetry information and scientific data over the vast distance involved. Each of
the three DSN stations has many deep-space terminals equipped with ultra-sensitive
receiving system and large parabolic-dish antennas, including one 70-m antenna, one
34-m high-efficiency antenna, one 26-m antenna, as well as two or more 34-m beam
waveguide antenna, where there are three beam waveguide antennas at the Goldstone
Station in California, two at the Robledo de Chavela Station in Madrid and two at
the Tidbinbilla Station in Canberra.
The DSN is a NASA facility, managed and operated for the NASA by the JPL,
which is a part of the Cal Tech. The Interplanetary Network Directorate (IND)
manages the program within the JPL and is charged with its development and operation. The IND is considered to be the JPL’s focal point for all matters relating
to telecommunications, interplanetary navigation, information system, information
technology, computing, software engineering and other relevant technologies. The
4 Navigations from Ground to Space
of ultra-long distance, and to carry out the transmission of telemetry information
and scientific data, and the tracking and control task for the probes. Since 1957, the
United Statesand the Soviet Union (later Russia) have been the leading forces of planetary exploration. More than 200 unmanned planetary probes have been launched to
explore planets and their interplanetary space in the solar system, so as to demonstrate
the technical strength for space exploration. As a result, their own deep-space TT&C
networks have been established successively. In the past 20 years, the deep-space
exploration has once again become a research hotspot in the field of space science
and technology. Besides the American and Russian deep-space TT&C networks,
ESA, China, France, India and Italy are also vigorously promoting the constructions
of their deep-space networks to meet the tracking, navigation and communication
task requirements for deep-space probes. As a represented example, the NASA Deep
Space Network (DSN) is introduced in the following.
The DSN is a worldwide network of large antennas and communication facilities,
composed of three deep-space communication complexes, which are located, respectively, at California in the Unites States, Madrid in Spain and Canberra in Australia, to
support interplanetary spacecraft missions. The antennas at the three DSN complexes
communicate directly with the Deep Space Operations Center located at the JPL
facilities in Pasadena, California. Moreover, the DSN also performs radio and radar
astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe, and
supports selected Earth-orbiting missions. The three DSN stations are situated in
semi-mountainous, bowl-shaped terrain to help shield against radio-frequency interference, and placed approximately 120° apart in the geographic longitude around the
Earth, to permit constant observation for spacecrafts as the Earth rotates, and make
the network the largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunication system in
the world. Viewing from the North Pole of the Earth based on the three-site configuration, the spacecraft with a distance of more than 30,000 km away from the Earth’s
surface is always tracked by one of the stations at least. Unlike tracking LEO spacecrafts, the deep-space missions are usually visible for long periods of time from a
large portion of the Earth’s surface, and thus only require a few of TT&C stations,
but the huge aperture antennas, ultra-sensitive receivers and powerful transmitters
need to be equipped at the stations, in order to transmit and receive the commands,
telemetry information and scientific data over the vast distance involved. Each of
the three DSN stations has many deep-space terminals equipped with ultra-sensitive
receiving system and large parabolic-dish antennas, including one 70-m antenna, one
34-m high-efficiency antenna, one 26-m antenna, as well as two or more 34-m beam
waveguide antenna, where there are three beam waveguide antennas at the Goldstone
Station in California, two at the Robledo de Chavela Station in Madrid and two at
the Tidbinbilla Station in Canberra.
The DSN is a NASA facility, managed and operated for the NASA by the JPL,
which is a part of the Cal Tech. The Interplanetary Network Directorate (IND)
manages the program within the JPL and is charged with its development and operation. The IND is considered to be the JPL’s focal point for all matters relating
to telecommunications, interplanetary navigation, information system, information
technology, computing, software engineering and other relevant technologies. The