International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 26-29, 1987 / Town and Country Hotel, San Diego, California / The Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, located in west-central New Mexico, obtains high-resolution radio images of astronomical objects by using Fourier aperture synthesis with 27 antennas. With the addition of X-band to its receiving capabilities by 1989, and when arrayed with the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC), the VLA will double the Deep Space Network (DSN) receiving aperture in the U. S. longitude for signals from Voyager 2 at Neptune. This paper describes the VLA and the installation of the X-band system, its operation and performance for Voyager data reception, and its capabilities for other science at X-band.