NASA’s 299‑ft DSS‑14 Antenna Flooded After Over‑Rotation — Still Offline as Investigation Continues

One of NASA’s largest deep‑space antennas, DSS‑14 at the Goldstone Complex in California, has been out of service since an over‑rotation on September 16, 2025, which damaged its fire‑suppression plumbing and allowed flooding into equipment spaces. Technicians have controlled the water, but the 299‑foot dish remains offline while inspectors and repair teams evaluate damage and restore systems.

What happened

According to agency statements, DSS‑14 experienced an over‑rotation that placed excess strain on cables and piping. That mechanical stress compromised the antenna’s fire‑suppression infrastructure, allowing water to enter instrument and electronics areas. The flooding has been contained, but the affected systems require inspection, repair, and verification before the antenna can return to service.

Operational impact

Losing DSS‑14 is a significant reduction in the Deep Space Network’s (DSN) capacity. NASA has been reallocating contacts to other DSN stations, stretching an already busy schedule of daily mission communications. High‑priority missions such as Artemis II (planned for April 2026) and long‑running probes like Voyager depend on robust DSN coverage, so a major dish outage increases scheduling pressure and raises the risk of conflicts between mission windows.

Context and contributing factors

The agency has provided limited public detail about the precise cause of the over‑rotation or a firm repair timeline. The outage comes amid broader operational strains: a recent government shutdown paused some activities and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced staff reductions affecting several hundred positions as part of organizational changes. Separately, a whistleblower report alleged that management decisions to reduce staff to meet fiscal targets created gaps in oversight; those allegations remain under review and do not establish a direct link to the DSS‑14 event.

Investigation and next steps

NASA has convened an investigative board to determine root causes and recommend corrective actions. The board's findings will guide repairs and help establish safeguards to reduce the chance of recurrence. Repair teams are conducting detailed inspections of mechanical, electrical, and safety systems; only after those checks and necessary repairs will the dish be returned to operational status.

Why this matters

The DSN is a limited, global resource that supports dozens of spacecraft every day. Planned outages — such as upgrades to a dish in Australia that lasted months — are scheduled well in advance. Unexpected, extended outages of a major antenna like DSS‑14 complicate mission planning and increase the workload on the remaining network assets.

For now, NASA and partner facilities must route critical communications through remaining DSN assets while investigators and technicians work to restore DSS‑14.

Note: This account consolidates agency statements and public reporting. Where allegations or internal disputes have been reported, they are described as such pending the investigative board's findings.