Construction of ALMA 2009

4 June, 2024 / Read time: 1 minute

This video recorded in September 2009, compiles the first milestones in the construction of the telescope at the Antenna Array Operations Site (AOS). After a brief introduction to the Atacama Desert, with beautiful postcards of the local flora and fauna, it shows the arrival of 2 antennas at the Operations Support Facility (OSF).

The first is a 12 meter antenna, and shows the 28 kilometer journey from the OSF to the Chajnantor Plain, where the AOS will be built. The other antenna, built by Mitsubishi, has a diameter of 7 meters. The video records the shipment of the Japanese antenna from the Port of Kōbe to the Port of Mejillones in Chile. It shows part of the 4-day journey of the truck caravan escorted by Carabineros de Chile, in the direction of the OSF, to be assembled, tested and then transported to the AOS along with the others.

Finally, the video shows how the first interferometry test was performed, using the signal from 3 antennas of 12 meters in diameter, setting a milestone and thus taking a big step for the future operation of the observatory.

Credits:
ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO).