Building an North American ALMA Antenna

31 December, 2009 / Read time: 1 minute

This video shows the construction process of the North American antennas of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). In addition, part of the calibration process is shown, using a technology that mixes antenna components with the use of software to create three-dimensional maps of the dish surface.

The VertexRSI antennas were assembled in the Vertex building at the Operations Support Facility (OSF) in northern Chile. There, workers receive the antenna bases from Texas, USA. As can be seen in the footage, the antenna dishes arrive in separate pieces from Germany and are painstakingly assembled to ensure that the shape is as perfect as possible.

Credits: National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)