Today, DSS 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, and 27 are all inactive. Buildings at DSS 12 now house administrative offices. DSS 13 has been repurposed for research and development activities. DSS 14, 24, 25, and 26 all continue to support NASA's Deep Space Network mission. The complex still helps track dozens of spacecraft across the solar system, including the various Mars rover missions. You can find a full list of the programs it presently supports here.

Throughout all of the expansions and additions at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC), Goldstone Airport offered a valuable way for Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) personnel and contractors to make both routine and emergency trips to the remote complex. Since its founding in 1936, the official address of JPL's headquarters has been in Pasadena, California, though the bulk of its main campus is now technically inside the limits of the city of La Caada Flintridge.

The straight distance between JPL and GDSCC, which lies to the northeast, is around 110 miles, but the actual distance by ground transport, at least as of 1977, was approximately 175 miles. The distance between Burbank Airport, where NASA staged many of the flights, and Goldstone Airport is around 115 miles.

In its 1978 Fiscal Year budget request, NASA asked for $150,000 to extend the runway at Goldstone airport from 4,760 feet to 6,000 feet and widen it from 60 feet to 100 feet to better support these activities. Paved turnarounds and a small ramp at the north end of the runway were also part of the request, which Congress ultimately approved.

"There is a constant requirement for JPL technical personnel to travel to Goldstone on routine or emergency projects for short periods of time," an official budget document explained. "Consequently from 25 to 100 people are flown to and from Goldstone Daily."

These upgrades brought the runway at Goldstone to its present dimensions. They remained the extent of major improvements there for decades.

It's not entirely clear when NASA officially transferred control of Goldstone Airport to the Army. As of 2005, it was still using it for flights to the GDSCC.

David Acton, a Ball Aerospace engineer who worked on the Deep Impact mission, which sent a probe to study the comet Tempel 1 that year, arranged for a tour of the complex for himself and a number of others. A NASA Beechcraft King Air flew them to Goldstone from Burbank.

However, in October 2014, the Army activated Company B, 229th Aviation Regiment at Goldstone Airport, marking the beginning of the drone training mission there. Early that same year, in its budget request for the upcoming 2015 Fiscal Year, the service asked for $45 million to build the new 52,100-square-foot hangar and associated infrastructure for Company B. The unit originally operated out of temporary structures.

Despite its training focus, Company B actually deployed for combat operations in Afghanistan in support of the U.S.-led coalition there in late 2015, with the idea that it would take up residence at the new facilities at Goldstone when it returned. The Army broke ground on the hangar and associated construction in January 2016.

One can see in the recent satellite imagery of Goldstone that the runway is marked "UAS," the abbreviation for "Unmanned Aircraft Systems." This would indicate that it is only approved now for use by unmanned aircraft, which could preclude any further fixed-wing shuttle flights to the airport by the Army, NASA, or anyone else without some sort of prior approval and coordination. Helicopters could still potentially fly to and from the airport.

With its new facilities at Goldstone Airport, Company B continues to fly training missions in support of activities at the nearby National Training Center. The airstrip is an ideal location for drone operations due to its remote location, combined with the general nature of the rest of GDSCC, which significantly reduces the amount of potential outside signal interference. This is one of the reasons why JPL decided to construct its space communications systems and radio telescopes in this area in the first place.

Company B has also remained available for operational deployments, as necessary. In November 2017, the unit deployed to Iraq supporting the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS.

Goldstone's isolated location could also make a good place for testing more sensitive upgrades for the Gray Eagle or new, advanced unmanned platforms. In addition to its primary mission as a training facility, the NTC also supports various test and evaluation activities.

With its space race origins, Goldstone Airport and the rest of the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex has had a fascinating history already. That lineage has taken a new twist with the Army moving in and creating a key drone base out of the once very basic airstrip. The little remote base now looks set for years of further use supporting Army drone activities at the nearby National Training Center.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com and tyler@thedrive.com

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NASA Airstrip Deep In The Mojave Desert Has Been Turned Into A Military Drone Base - The Drive