FAST does 'eye exercises' to maintain top performance

Updated: Feb 9, 2021 By Yang Jun in Guiyang chinadaily.com.cn Print

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The aerial photo shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in Southwest China's Guizhou province.[Photo by Yang Qingliang/For chinadaily.com.cn]

With the help of the system, engineers can do "eye exercises" for the telescope to inspect and maintain normal operations. If a problem arises on the reflection panel, engineers will mimic a "spacewalk" by using a helium balloon 7.6 meters in diameter to greatly reduce their weight to stand on the panel airily to make repairs.

In this way, the world's largest telescope undergoes the world's most delicate and intelligent "eye exercises".

Wang Jin contributed to this story.

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