The AS3 antenna is one of four satellite tracking and communications antennas that are part of the Near Space Network (NSN), a global array of ground-based spacecraft-support facilities managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
At 64.85 degrees latitude north, the AS3 antenna is in a prime location to link to satellites in high-inclination, polar orbits. The antenna’s high-latitude location makes a polar-orbiting satellite visible 12 of 14 orbits a day.
The Alaska Satellite Facility Distributed Active Archive Center (ASF DAAC) ground station, which hosts the four satellites, provides downlink support for transferring science data from satellites in low Earth orbit and support for telemetry, tracking, and command functions. These services are provided across multiple radio frequencies—S-band, X-band, and Ka-band—depending on the data rate requirements of a mission.
Specifications Table
Specifications
| Operational | 2013 |
| Latitude | 64.858875394 |
| Longitude | -147.854115119 |
| Elevation at feed | 204m MSL |
| S-Band feed | Prime focus |
| X-Band feed | Cassegrain focus |
| Command uplink capable | |
| Fully automated pass support capability | |
| 8400 three-axis pedestal with 7 deg third axis | |
| L-3 Datron antenna control assembly |