[asac] Announcement of Contract for ALMA Antennas

[Alwyn Wootten]

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, July 11, 2005

Media Contacts:

Miriam Satin
Associated Universities, Inc.
(202) 462-1676
msatin at aui.edu

David Finley
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
(505) 835-7302
dfinley at nrao.edu



Announcement of Contract for ALMA Antennas

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and Associated Universities,
Incorporated (AUI), which operates the National Radio Astronomy
Observatory for the National Science Foundation, are pleased to announce
that on July 11, 2005 AUI signed a contract with Vertex Communications
Corporation to purchase up to 32 antennas for the Atacama Large
Millimeter Array (ALMA).

NSF authorized AUI to negotiate and sign a contract to purchase North
America's share of the ALMA antennas following a long and careful
procurement process which included extensive coordination with North
America's European partner, the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and
with the Joint ALMA Office (JAO), which is overseeing construction of
the array. NSF's approval followed the recommendation of the ALMA
Director and the unanimous concurrence of the ALMA Board, the
supervisory and regulatory body for ALMA. The decision affirms NSF's
commitment to this transformational international instrument, and its
confidence in the ALMA team and the strength of the ALMA partnership. At
its June 2005 meeting, the ESO Council reaffirmed its commitment to
ALMA, and ESO is working to complete its parallel antenna procurement
process as soon as possible, as recommended by the ALMA Director and the
ALMA Board at the June 2005 meeting of the Board.

ALMA will be the premier millimeter and submillimeter telescope in the
world. It is under construction in the Altiplano region of northern
Chile and, when completed in about 2012, will comprise an array of up to
64 12-meter antennas, with an additional compact array supplied by
Japan. ALMA will probe many fundamental questions in astronomy such as
the origins of planetary systems and the nature of early galaxies.

The ALMA project is an international partnership between Europe, North
America and Japan, in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The
project is funded in North America by the National Science Foundation in
cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada, in Europe by
the European Southern Observatory and Spain, and in Japan by the
National Institute of Natural Sciences. ALMA construction and operations
are led on behalf of North America by the NRAO, on behalf of Europe by
ESO, and on behalf of Japan by the National Astronomical Observatory of
Japan.