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February 1985 – Network Consolidation Project Completed

February 1985 Honeysuckle Creek
The Network Consolidation Project was completed. The consolidation was initiated due to the budgetary environment and the anticipated Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) operation; stations except the Merritt Island Launch Annex and Bermuda would be consolidated. Control of the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) antennas…

The Network Consolidation Project was completed in 1985. The consolidation was initiated due to the budgetary environment and the anticipated Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) operation; stations except the Merritt Island Launch Annex and Bermuda would be consolidated. Control of the Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (STDN) antennas was transferred from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in order to support missions in high Earth orbit (HEO), above the orbit that Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) would be able to support. Antennas from the STDN 26 meter subnet were disassembled and then reassembled near their respective Deep Space Network (DSN) Communications Complexes. The antenna in Honeysuckle Creek, Australia was transferred to the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC) and renamed Deep Space Station 46 (DSS-46). DSS-16 in at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC) was not moved, but instead connected via fiber optic cables to the 64 meter antenna signal processing site. The antenna in Fresnedillas, Spain was disassembled and reassembled at the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC); it was renamed DSS-66. The Honeysuckle Creek and Fresnedillas sites were subsequently closed.

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