Large scale project management is in the tradition of China. Construction of impressively large Junk ships in dry dock environment, the terra cotta army with uniquely sculpted soldiers and the Grand Canal is just a few examples among many. Large projects also require risk management skills enabling adapting to inevitable series of changes as the timeline advances. Yet, here we see another recent marvel proudly created by the Chinese.
The Five-Hundred-Metre Aperture Spherical Telescope, known as FAST had been constructed over five years in a remote area of Guizhou province, south central China. It was built in a 45 million year old crater formed on a Karstic geology with a natural drainage, unlikely to be affected by flooding. As a superseding sequel to the iconic Arecibo observatory that was built in 1963 in Puerto Rico, the FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope) is a stunning marvel of science making it the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope. Since its completion in 2016, the 15 to 20 percent of the telescope’s total observing time was made available to the international community. The telescope is 3 times more sensitive than Arecibo and may help in the international search for the origin of the universe and the Big Bang. FAST’s chief engineer and scientist, Dr. Nan Rendong was a pivotal figure in the project since its conception for more than 20 years.
FAST consists of 4450 individual panels and Chinese project engineers had to design a net of ten thousand cables to create an inverted dome which can be accurately manipulated to detect signals. FAST’s focus cabin is also unique thanks to a directional tracking system.
A key mission for the telescope will be detecting pulsars, the matter that remains when a star eight times the size of the sun explodes. These pulsars rotate thousands of times per second and are the universe’s most accurate clock.
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