ALMA Front End, October 2010
Wendy Harper and Erik Gaines ready the ALMA Front End Integration Center's testing lab. Behind them is a model of the back of an ALMA antenna dish. The Front End is the cryogenically-cooled cabinet filled with the ten receivers used by ALMA astronomers. This testing facility reproduces the movements of an antenna and provides simulated observations for the receivers. Put through its paces, Front Ends for ALMA are adjusted to perfection before being shipped to Chile for integration into assembled ALMA antennas. This facility at NRAO in Charlottesville, Virginia tested 22 Front Ends for ALMA. Our partners in Japan and Europe delivered the other 44.
