In October 1963, the Advanced Antenna System, also known as the 210-foot (64-meter) Mars antenna, was under construction at the Goldstone Deep Space Instrumentation Facility. The site was being cleared and a foundation dug, an access road was nearing completion, and a reservoir was built to provide water during construction. Assembly of the antenna required a 200-ton guy derrick, used to lift large pieces into place. In preparation for this stage of construction, scale models of the antenna and the guy derrick were built, showing how the derrick would be anchored to the desert floor by long cables.

This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL’s Library and Archives Group.

TAGS:HISTORY, DSN, GOLDSTONE, ANTENNA

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Julie Cooper, Certified Archivist

  Julie Cooper is a certified archivist who identifies and processes collections for the JPL Archives, and helps researchers find information about the history of JPL.