computer science

Soviet Deep Space Network

Soviet Deep Space Network is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Soviet Deep Space Network rather than just read about it. In short: The Soviet Deep Space Network (or Russian Deep Space Network) is a network of large antennas and communication facilities that support interplanetary spacecraft missions, and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the Solar System and the universe during Soviet times. It was built to support the space missions of the Soviet Union.

Key takeaways

Soviet Deep Space Network belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Soviet Deep Space Network to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Soviet Deep Space Network from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Soviet Deep Space Network (or Russian Deep Space Network) is a network of large antennas and communication facilities that support interplanetary spacecraft missions, and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the Solar System and the universe during Soviet times. It was built to support the space missions of the Soviet Union. Similar networks are run by the USA, China, Europe, Japan, and India. As of present, the Deep Space Network is maintained by Russia.

History

The first Soviet space communications network had 13 stations and was designed to track Earth orbiting satellites, not deep space probes. Interplanetary missions require larger antennas, more powerful transmitters, and more sensitive receivers, and an effort was started in 1959 to support the planned 1960 launch of the Venera series of missions to Venus and the Mars program of spacecraft to Mars. The selected design consisted of eight 16-meter dishes placed on two hulls of diesel submarines, welded together and laid down on the railway bridge trusses. These trusses were mounted on bearings from battleship gun turrets. Three such antennas were built: the two North stations for receiving, and the south station a few kilometers away for transmitting. In 1978, these antennas were augmented by the 70-meter antennas at Yevpatoria and Ussuriisk. Construction on a third antenna at Suffa, Uzbekistan was halted with the collapse of the Soviet Union. As of 16 October 2018, the Director of the radio observatory, Gennady Shanin, announced that a two-year "roadmap" for completing construction had been agreed to by Russia and Uzbekistan. On June 24, 2024, Ukraine launched at least four missiles at the Yevpatoria facility in Crimea, currently occupied by Russia. Damage to the site and current status is unknown.

Facilities

There were four main antennas in the Russian Deep Space Network:

A 64-meter antenna at Bear Lakes, near Moscow, Russia A 64-meter antenna at Kalyazin, Russia A 70-meter antenna at Yevpatoria in Crimea, currently occupied by Russia A 70-meter antenna at Galenki near Ussuriisk, in Primorsky Krai, Russia A 70-meter antenna on the Suffa plateau in Uzbekistan was never completed

Missions Some of the Soviet space program missions that have communicated by the Soviet DSN include:

Venera 11 and Venera 12 Venera 13, Venera 14, Venera 15, Venera 16 Vega program Astron Phobos program Granat Interball Spektr-R Fobos-Grunt (in 2011)

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Soviet Deep Space Network

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Soviet Deep Space Network claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Soviet Deep Space Network before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Soviet Deep Space Network ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Soviet Deep Space Network

In research: Soviet Deep Space Network appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Soviet Deep Space Network in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Soviet Deep Space Network is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Deep space networks, Space program of Russia, Space program of the Soviet Union, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Soviet Deep Space Network outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Soviet Deep Space Network in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Soviet Deep Space Network means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Soviet Deep Space Network out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Soviet Deep Space Network in simple terms?

Why does Soviet Deep Space Network matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Soviet Deep Space Network?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Soviet Deep Space Network.