A 25-meter dish antenna of the Very Large Array (VLA) is carefully split in half at its spin axis. Mechanics will climb into the hollow of the base, in the foreground, to inspect the roller bearings for wear, tear, and grease levels.
No Receivers in this Antenna
A shell of a 25-meter antenna of the Very Large Array (VLA) in central New Mexico. It was assembled and hauled to this set of piers, but it would not be ready to observe until a suite of receivers was installed in the hole in the center of the dish.
A Young VLA
The Very Large Array in December of 1979, one month after the final and 28th antenna had been delivered.
Roller Bearing for the VLA
These little rollers support the 25-meter dishes of the Very Large Array antennas. Periodically, the antennas must be separated and these rollers removed for inspection, greasing, or replacing.
Ultimate Snow Blower
Shortly after the 300-foot telescope was built in Green Bank, its capacity for collecting snow became legendary. How to remove 2 acres of snow? Tipping the dish sometimes worked, but ice still got trapped in the mesh surface. Lighting fires underneath helped, but the melt soon put out those fires. Then an idea for a snow blower, way before its time, was imagined, and staff got hold of a surplus Rolls-Royce jet engine. A few times in the winter of 1963, this engine was aimed at the dish and snow blown away. However, it was too loud and costly to run, and eventually was no longer used.
Building the 300-foot
In 1961, the 300-foot telescope was under construction in Green Bank, West Virginia. The footings, base, and secondary supports of the telescope are seen here.