The large dish antenna systems were built in 1957 for the then National Bureau of Standards (NBS, now known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology) Central Radio Propagation Laboratory for radio wave propagation studies under Air Force sponsorship. These dish antenna systems were required to make reliable measurements of the total refraction and scatter of radio wave propagation through the entirety of the Earth's atmosphere. The NBS site locations in Boulder and Haswell, Colorado, were selected for the VHF/UHF work as it provides the terrain conditions which are required to develop the necessary propagation data.

The dish reflector is made of aluminum alloy and has a diameter of 60 feet, and has a focal length of 25 feet. The surface aluminum is perforated with 1/4-inch holes. The dish is capable of tracking the stars, planets, Sun, and the Moon. The design allows the dish to track many satellites which were not in use when this dish was built.