The station was officially opened on 5 March 2003 by the Premier of Western Australia at the time, Geoff Gallop.

The station operates a 35-metre (115 ft) dish designated NNO-1[5] capable of two-way transmission in both S- and X-bands using 2 and 20-kilowatt transmitters, as well as cryogenic low noise amplifiers for downlink.

NNO-2 may also be operated independently of NNO-1, as it commonly does during support activities for launches of Ariane 5, Vega, and Soyuz rockets from the Guiana Space Centre.

The new antenna is being built to the same mechanical specification as NNO-1, utilising a 35-metre (115 ft) main reflector on a mount capable of 1 degree-per-second tracking in both azimuth and elevation, by a consortium of companies.

Once complete, the antenna will support X-, K- and Ka-bands uplink and downlink, and has provision for a future 100 kW class X-uplink.