Evolution of the Deep Space Network 34-m diameter antennas

The principal responsibilities of the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) are to support unmanned interplanetary spacecraft missions and to support radio and radar astronomy observations in the exploration of the solar system and the universe. At each of the three complexes there are multiple large parabolic dish antennas equipped with ultra sensitive receiving systems. This report details the evolution of the design of the 34-meter diameter antennas. The design is traced from its initial 26-meter operation at L-band (960 MHz) though the present 34-meter beamwaveguide designs that support S-band (2 GHz), X-band (8 GHz)and Ka-band (32 GHz).