Goldstone Apollo Tracking Station

 

Our grateful thanks go to former Goldstone Unified S-band Lead Engineer Bill Wood for his help,
and his marvellous photos and information!
(Bill wrote the first two Goldstone sections here, and supplied many of the photos of Goldstone.)

Bill Wood and DSS-11

Bill Wood at Goldstone, September 2002.

He writes that the photo was taken –

“at the now closed Pioneer DSS-11 station at Goldstone. The Pioneer station was the very first deep space tracking station when it was erected in 1958. It was the location of the Apollo Goldstone Wing station from 1966 through Apollo 17 in 1972. I spent about half of my Apollo tenure here.

It was closed in 1981 and was designated a historic site that was to remain unchanged after that. Since it is located inside the US Army Fort Irwin Military Reservation, it is relatively safe from vandalism. However, the ravages of time and the desert conditions are taking their toll on the buildings.”