The National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) Group Sends a Letter to Thank the Structural Design Team of Our School for Its Contributions to the FAST Project

2017/03/03

Reported by: Xiao Ke
Translated by: Ren Shaorui
Edited by: Garrick Jones

Recently, NAOC of Chinese Academy of Sciences has sent the letter to thank the structural design team of our school for its great contributions to the FAST project. FAST is the largest single caliber spherical radio telescope in the world.

The letter of thanks follows. The finish of the FAST project is significant for our country to achieve a major original breakthrough in the forefront of science and technology and accelerate innovation driven development. The academician SHEN Shizhao, professor FAN Feng and professor QIAN Hongliang are together involved in the preparatory work for the whole support structure of the reflector. They complete the design of the 30-meter Miyun model, present the overall scheme of the support structure and finish the preliminary design of the structure, which provides the solid guarantee for the implementation of the FAST project.

It is known that the spherical radio telescope with a 500-meter caliber, called the super Eye in the Sky, came into use in the Karst pit of the Ping Tang county of Gui Zhou province on September 25 last year. The Eye in the Sky is constructed under the leadership of NAOC of Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has taken 22 years from concept presentation and location choosing to being finished. FAST is the most sensitive radio telescope with the world’s largest single caliber and the independent intellectual property. The research team of our school has been involved in the FAST project from the beginning. Many key techniques are applied in the structure system of the active reflector, which is called one of the three independent innovations of the Eye in the Sky.

The letter of thanks