The US space agency NASA is taking a close look at the serious damage that disabled the largest antenna at its Deep Space Network site in California two months ago. The 230-foot antenna, which tracks near-Earth asteroids and communicates with NASA's interplanetary spacecraft, has been out of service since the 16th of September. The antenna suffered an excessive rotation that strained its cabling and piping and damaged its fire-suppression system, which led to water damage and flooding, according to a report on the Gizmodo website.

The damaged antenna, prized for its sensitivity, received its first signal in 1966 from NASA’s Mariner 4 mission. In preparation for Voyager 2's mission toward Neptune, NASA upgraded the antenna's width from 210 feet, or 64 meters, to 230 feet, or 70 meters. It communicated as well with Voyager 1 in 2012 following the spacecraft's entry into interstellar space.

Meanwhile, NASA relies on two other deep-space communication antennas. They are located in Madrid, Spain and near Canberra, Australia.