Photo – Page 44 – National Radio Astronomy Observatory

ALMA antennas and Front End Service Vehicle

Maintenance Vehicle that caters to all antenna sizes

The Front End Service Vehicle raises 20 feet high to service a 7-meter Japanese ALMA telescope. The FESV is based on the design of an airline catering truck. It is 36 feet long, 8 feet wide, and weighs 26 tons and has a cargo hold that can keep receiver cryogenics cold and safe.The vehicle can perform tasks on all three ALMA antennas.

ALMA Front End Service Vehicle and Transporter

ALMA’s Innovative Vehicles

The Front End Service Vehicle parked beside an ALMA Transporter in the Transporter Garage at the ALMA Operations Support Facility in northern Chile. These vehicles and their twins are uniquely designed for servicing the needs of the various ALMA telescopes.

ALMA Antennas from Japan

Two Japanese, 12-meter ALMA telescopes observing as a combined pair for the first time in the testing area of the ALMA Operations Support Facility in northern Chile.

Face of a 7-meter ALMA Antenna

Here is a close-up of one the dishes of a 7-meter ALMA telescope. This particular is from Japan due to the four wires inside the dish being straight with no pattern unlike the others.

Two North American Antennas at ALMA

These two North American 12-meter ALMA antennas were undergoing a test: observing the same object for the first time as a pair. The combined radio waves they created, called “first fringes,” showed ALMA astronomers that these two were ready for adoption into the array.

A Quartet of 7-meter Antennas

Four 7-meter Japanese ALMA telescopes are being readied for final testing and acceptance by ALMA at the Operations Support Facility in northern Chile in March 2011.

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