ann12093 — Mededeling
New Video Compilation Released: Relocation of an ALMA Antenna
3 december 2012: A fresh video compilation of an ALMA transporter in action is now available. Under construction on the Chajnantor Plateau in the Chilean Andes, ALMA (the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) is a revolutionary observatory, designed to study some of the coldest and most distant objects in the Universe. When construction is completed in 2013, ALMA will have a total of 66 antennas, which can be repositioned to reconfigure the telescope. The antennas, which are constructed from state-of-the-art precision components, each weigh over 100 tonnes, so moving them around requires specially designed vehicles. These vehicles, named Otto and Lore, are 20 metres long, 10 metres wide, 6 metres high, and have 28 tyres. An overview of the whole process of moving one of the 12-metre ALMA antennas, using the transporter Lore, is shown in this compilation. In this case, the move took place at the observatory’s Operations Support Facility, at an altitude ...