Saturday, 16:35

Impossible Engineering

FAST is the biggest and most sensitive radio telescope on the planet. An engineering project of gargantuan proportions, the telescope was constructed in a record five years. Able to receive weaker and more distant radio signals than ever before, FAST will enable researchers to detect radio signals from billions of light years away, leading to greater exploration of the galaxies. The fixed, inverted, geodesic dome antenna has a 500m diameter and movable 'active' surface made up of over 4450 perforated aluminium panels.