FAST is short for Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope,also called Chinese Sky Eye.Which is a major national science and technology infrastructure construction project in China.
The construction of FAST started on March 25, 2011; the inauguration ceremony was held on September 25, 2016. The technology infrastructure entered trial operation, and the trial commissioning work passed the Chinese national acceptance work on January 11, 2020, and was officially opened for operation. .
FAST has created a new model of building giant telescopes, and built a radio telescope with a reflecting surface equivalent to 30 football fields. The sensitivity is more than 2.5 times that of the world’s second largest telescope, which greatly expands human vision and is used to explore the origin and evolution of the universe.
| Chinese Name | 500米口径球面射电望远镜 | Belong To | Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, China |
| Foreign Name | Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(Abbreviation:FAST) | Type | Technology infrastructure |
| Another Name | 中国天眼 | Floor Space | 260000 m² |
| Date of Construction | March 25, 2011 | Competent Department | Chinese Academy of Sciences |
| Put into Use Date | January 11, 2020 | Legal Entity | National Astronomical Observatory of Chinese Academy of Sciences |
FAST Build and Run
Building History
On August 26, 1993, at the International Radio Union Conference, astronomers from 10 countries, including China, proposed a plan to build a giant telescope, eager to go back to the original universe before the radio wave environment was completely destroyed, and solve many problems in astronomy. Driven by this scientific source, through continuous exploration, Chinese astronomers put forward proposals and engineering plans for the construction of a 500-meter-aperture spherical radio astronomical telescope in the karst depression in Guizhou.
On September 23, 2005, FAST held an expert review meeting for the FAST project proposal, and the project passed the review; on November 4, FAST started the project application work.
On March 29, 2006, the Bureau of Basic Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences hosted the “FAST Project International Evaluation and Consultation Meeting”, which affirmed the feasibility of the key technologies of the 500-meter-aperture spherical radio telescope; The Kunming Branch and the Science and Technology Department of Guizhou Province organized a FAST project coordination meeting in Guiyang, negotiated the conditions provided and the measures to be taken for the implementation, and reached a consensus; on July 15, FAST confirmed the location of Guizhou Province. Dawodang Depression, Pingtang County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
On July 10, 2007, the National Development and Reform Commission approved the FAST project proposal.
On March 18, 2008, FASTFAST conducted the expert evaluation of the feasibility study report; on October 31, the National Development and Reform Commission approved the feasibility study report of FASTFAST; on December 12, the FAST preliminary design report and investment estimate passed the review Work; On December 26, FAST held a groundbreaking ceremony at Dawotai, Guizhou site.
On June 9, 2009, FAST completed the detailed survey and bidding for the site; on November 16, FAST completed the acceptance of the prototype of the all-aluminum structure reflector unit.
On September 15, 2010, FAST passed the acceptance of the design and research of the feeder cabin; on September 26, the construction drawing design of the FAST project site passed the expert review; on November 12, FAST held the project management contract signing ceremony.
On January 23, 2011, FAST held the groundbreaking ceremony of the excavation project at the site; on March 25, FAST started construction; on November 30, FAST held the signing ceremony of the construction drawing design contract for the feed support tower.
On February 22, 2012, FAST completed the contract acceptance of the “FAST Project Feed Cabin Scheme Optimization Design”; on August 4, FAST completed the drainage tunnel penetration project.
On March 25, 2013, FAST carried out the excavation of the telescope site, the construction of the base and the active reflector; on June 4, FAST completed the acceptance of the fiber optic cable simulation condition test; on November 29, FAST completed the feed support tower The acceptance work of the foundation project; on December 31, FAST completed the closing of the ring beam steel structure.
From March 15, 2014 to July 23, 2014, FAST carried out the on-site installation of the feed tower; on May 1, FAST carried out the construction of the cabin docking platform; on June 23, FAST completed the main construction of the cabin docking platform ; On July 17, FAST carried out the construction of the reflective surface cable net manufacturing and installation project; on July 23, FAST completed the acceptance work of the reflective surface ground anchor project On September 11, FAST completed the acceptance of the FAST ring beam manufacturing and installation project Work; On October 16th, FAST completed the completion and acceptance of the surveying foundation pier; on November 15th, FAST completed the construction of the reflective surface cable net manufacturing and installation project; on November 30, FAST completed the reflective surface cable net manufacturing and installation project acceptance work.
On January 21, 2015, FAST completed part of the welding and installation of the surrogate cabin structure; on February 4, FAST completed the installation of the last steel cable, the cable-net closure; on February 10, FAST completed the first cable drive Support cable installation; August 2, FAST completed the hoisting of the first reflection unit; September 30, FAST completed the project’s integrated wiring project, and carried out the withstand voltage test of 10kV high-voltage cables and substation equipment debugging work ; On November 21st, FAST conducted the first upgrade test of the feeder cabin; on November 30th, FAST completed the acceptance of the cabin docking platform.
On July 3, 2016, FAST completed the installation of the last reflector unit; on July 31, FAST completed the construction of the main arrowhead of the observation base; on September 25, FAST held the inauguration ceremony, and the technology infrastructure entered trial operation , Trial debugging work.
On April 19, 2019, FAST was opened for trial; on April 22, FAST passed the process acceptance work; on May 27, the FAST project passed the file acceptance work; on May 30, the FAST project passed the construction and financial professional acceptance work.
On January 11, 2020, FAST passed the Chinese national acceptance work and was officially opened for operation.
Observation Run
On April 18, 2018, FAST (FAST) discovered millisecond pulsars for the first time and obtained international certification.
On January 24, 2019, FAST and the Tianma Telescope achieved the first joint observation and obtained very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) interference fringes.
On March 31, 2021, FAST invited astronomers around the world for observation applications.
FAST Construction Site
FAST is located in Dawodang Depression, Jinke Village, Kedu Town, Pingtang County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, China. It is about 85 kilometers away from Pingtang County in the northeast and 45 kilometers away from Luodian County in the southwest.
FAST Main Objective
Building Goals
1. The FAST project lays a spherical crown-shaped active reflector with a diameter of 500 meters in the karst depression of Guizhou, and forms an instantaneous paraboloid with a diameter of 300 meters in the observation direction through active control;
2. The light-duty feed platform supported by the optical-mechanical integration cable, coupled with the secondary adjustment device in the feed cabin, can achieve high-precision pointing tracking without rigid connection between the feed and the reflecting surface;
3. Configure a multi-band, multi-beam feed and receiver system covering frequencies from 70 MHz to 3 GHz in the feed cabin;
4. Develop terminal equipment for different purposes for FAST scientific goals; build astronomical observatories.
Science Targets
1. Inspect the neutral hydrogen in the universe and study the large-scale physics of the universe to explore the origin and evolution of the universe;
2. Observing pulsars and studying the material structure and physical laws in extreme states;
3. Leading the international low-frequency very long-baseline interferometry network to obtain the ultra-fine structure of celestial bodies;
4. Detect interstellar molecules, study star formation and evolution, and explore the origin of life in space at the first level of black holes at the core of galaxies;
5. Search for possible interstellar communication signals and search for alien civilizations.
FAST Value Meaning
App Value
The construction of FAST involves many high-tech fields, such as antenna manufacturing, high-precision positioning and measurement, high-quality radio receivers, sensor networks and intelligent information processing, ultra-wideband information transmission, and massive data storage and processing. The key technical achievements of FAST can be applied to many related fields, such as large-scale structural engineering, high-precision dynamic measurement in the kilometer range, development of large-scale industrial robots, and multi-beam radar devices. The construction experience of FAST will have an impact on the development of China’s manufacturing technology in the direction of informatization, extremeization and greenization.
Extend China’s space measurement and control capabilities from geosynchronous orbit to the outer edge of the solar system, and increase the downlink rate of deep space communication data by dozens of times. The measurement accuracy of the pulsar arrival time has been improved from 120 nanoseconds to 30 nanoseconds, making it the most accurate pulsar timing array in the world, making pulsar clocks for the prospective research of autonomous navigation. It conducts high-resolution microwave inspections, diagnoses and identifies weak space signals with a resolution of 1 Hz, and serves as a passive strategic radar for national security. It can be used as a “meridian project” incoherent scattering radar receiving system, providing high resolution and observation efficiency; tracking and detecting coronal mass ejection events, serving space weather forecasting.
As a multidisciplinary basic research platform, FAST has the ability to extend neutral hydrogen observations to the edge of the universe, observe dark matter and dark energy, and search for the first generation of celestial objects. About 7,000 pulsars can be discovered in one year, and the material structure and physical laws in extreme states can be studied; there is hope to discover the matter of strange stars and quark stars; Determine the arrival time of pulsars to detect gravitational waves; join the International Very Long Baseline Network as the largest station to image the hyperfine structure of celestial bodies; it is also possible to discover giant maser galaxies with high redshifts, and realize the first methanol superpulse outside the Milky Way Ze’s observational breakthrough; used to search and identify possible interstellar communication signals, search for extraterrestrial civilizations, etc.
Development Driven
The establishment of FAST in Guizhou has opened up new channels for Guiyang to seek major development opportunities by fully supporting the construction of national super-large scientific facilities, and to accelerate the improvement of Guiyang’s technological and economic level. It is of great significance to the structural upgrading of Guiyang’s equipment manufacturing industry and aluminum industry. First, accelerate the improvement of the innovation capabilities of the aluminum industry and equipment manufacturing industry. Second, speed up the growth of local high-tech enterprises of aluminum materials and the formation of high-performance high-tech aluminum industry chain. Three, to promote the technological progress and technological upgrading of the electromechanical industry and the three major military enterprises in Guiyang.
FAST was built in Guizhou, making the remote and isolated karst mountainous area of southern Guizhou become a world-renowned international astronomical academic center and a new window to show Guizhou to the world. It will have an immeasurable impact on the economic development and social prosperity of the poor mountainous areas in southwest China, and contribute to the national western development strategy. The astronomical science popularization base with FAST as the main body will promote popular science work in western my country and even the whole country, educate young people, publicize the public and decision-makers, and serve the long-term strategic goal of rejuvenating the country through science and education.
The construction of the FAST project will enable Guizhou Province to develop into an international first-class astronomy exchange center, a world astronomy research center and one of the astronomical science and technology tourism destinations in a relatively short period of time. FAST is not only of great significance to promoting the development of world astronomy, but also plays an important role in promoting the development of education, science and technology, tourism, popular science and big data industries in Guizhou.