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CSIRO CORPORATE MEDIA RELEASE 95/57

PARKES TELESCOPE UPGRADE TO HELP NASA RESCUE JUPITER MISSION

Today Senator Cook, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, announced that CSIRO is to upgrade its Parkes 64-m radio telescope under a $2.25 million contact with the Australian Space Office on behalf of NASA.

CSIRO will upgrade the telescope to receive signals from NASA's Galileo spacecraft now on its way to Jupiter.

"CSIRO's expertise and ability to deliver results in this field are recognised internationally", said Senator Cook.

"It is extremely pleasing to announce this contract as the upgrade will benefit Australian astronomy as well as helping our American colleagues", Senator Cook said.

The Galileo spacecraft was launched in 1989 to study Jupiter and its moons. It will take pictures of the planet from mid 1996 to November 1997.

Unfortunately, the spacecraft's main radio antenna did not unfold after launch. All efforts to deploy it have failed. The spacecraft will now transmit its data through a second, less powerful antenna. To capture these weaker signals, however, NASA needs more receiving antennas on Earth.

When capturing Galileo's signals, the Parkes telescope will work in tandem with similar large antennas at the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex.

The upgrade involves replacing the focus cabin at the apex of the telescope which is 58 m above the ground.

The new cabin will allow a rapid shift between receivers, one of which wil be for the Galileo project. CSIRO is also to design and build the Galileo receiver as part of the contract.

Connell Wagner Pty Ltd will carry out the structural and mechanical design of the upgrade, and a contract has been awarded to Evans Deakin Industries for the fabrication and erection work. CSIRO will have overall project management responsibility.

The upgrade will provide a significant benefit for NASA's use in both Galileo and other future spacecraft missions. The Parkes telescope has supported many other NASA projects, including several Apollo missions and the Voyager spacecraft used in encounters with Uranus and Neptune.

The Parkes telescope is run by CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility.

The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex is managed by the Australian Space Office for NASA.

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