International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 13-15, 1981 / Bahia Hotel, San Diego, CaliforniaThe Networks Consolidation Program (NCP) was established by NASA in the fall of 1979 to accomplish the consolidation of the two NASA Ground Tracking Networks into a single unified network. Consolidation of the two networks had been recommended by an all-Networks NASA planning group and presented to NASA top management in October of that year. The consolidated network of 1986 will make use of facilities that are now included in the Goddard Ground Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network as well as the existing JPL Deep Space Network. These facilities will be combined and modified to provide a consolidated network that is capable of supporting the set of planetary and high earth orbiter missions that are planned for that era. The drivers for the development of the consolidated network are both technical and economic. The consolidated network must provide the increased sensitivity needed to support the Voyager 2 spacecraft at its distant encounters with Uranus and Neptune in 1986 and 1989. It must provide support to spacecraft in high earth orbit and at the nearby planets at data rates which may be a factor-of-ten higher than present deep space data rates. And it must do both with significantly less cost for maintenance and operation than the sum of the separate networks would have cost in the late 1980’s. This report traces the history of activities and events that led to the decision to consolidate the NASA ground tracking and data networks. It also presents a summary of the planned evolution of the NASA ground tracking networks, from the time of decision in October 1979 through the mid 1980’s. It is an updated version of a report presented at the AIAA/NASA symposium on Space Tracking and Data Systems, June 1981.International Foundation for TelemeteringProceedings from the International Telemetering Conference are made available by the International Foundation for Telemetering and the University of Arizona Libraries. Visit http://www.telemetry.org/index.php/contact-us if you have questions about items in this collection
