American S-70 Derrick for the Green Bank Telescope - 1993 F&M Mafco

In June of 1993, F&M Mafco ( http://www.fmmafco.com ) supplied the American S-70 Derrick for the assembly of the Green Bank Telescope. The derrick sat on a 200' tower for seven years for the construction assembly.

The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) is the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope and the world's largest land-based movable structure. It is part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) site at Green Bank, West Virginia, USA. The telescope honors the name of the late Senator Robert C. Byrd.

The current telescope was built following the collapse of the previous Green Bank telescope, a 90.44m paraboloid. The previous telescope collapsed on 15 November 1988 due to the sudden loss of a gusset plate in the box girder assembly, which was a key component for the structural integrity of the telescope.[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bank_Telescope#cite_note-0

The telescope sits at the heart of the United States National Radio Quiet Zone, a large area where all radio transmissions are either limited or banned outright, to help the telescope function properly.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Green Bank Telescope
• American S-70 Derrick
• F&M Mafco
• NRAO