![]() Due to the declining cost of electronic components, the required electronics became practicable, resulting in a large cost-saving over telescopes of more conventional design. This requires high-performance electronics, which had been prohibitively expensive. To get similar sensitivity, the signals from all telescopes must be combined. Compared to a large dish antenna, large numbers of smaller dishes are cheaper for the same collecting area. The ATA is a centimeter-wave array which pioneers the Large-Number Small-Diameter concept of building radio telescopes. Overall, Paul Allen contributed more than $30 million to the project. The SETI Institute named the telescope in Allen's honor. ![]() Construction began immediately, thanks to the pledge of $13.5 million by Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft) to support the construction of the first and second phases. In March 2004, following the successful completion of a three-year research and development phase, the SETI Institute unveiled a three-tier construction plan for the telescope. However, it was not until early 2001 that research and development began, after a donation of $11.5 million by the Paul G. Overview įirst conceived by SETI pioneer Frank Drake, the idea has been a dream of the SETI Institute for years. In August 2014, the installation was threatened by a forest fire in the area and was briefly forced to shut down, but ultimately emerged largely unscathed. As of 2016, the SETI Institute performs observations with the ATA between the hours of 6 pm and 6 am daily. The facility is now managed by SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute), an independent, nonprofit research institute. Subsequently, UC Berkeley exited the project, completing divestment in April 2012. Īlthough overall Allen has contributed more than $30 million to the project, it has not succeeded in building the 350 6.1 m (20 ft) dishes originally conceived, and the project suffered an operational hiatus due to funding shortfalls between April and August 2011, after which observations resumed. ![]() The first phase of construction was completed and the ATA finally became operational on 11 October 2007 with 42 antennas (ATA-42), after Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft) had pledged an additional $13.5 million to support the construction of the first and second phases. Allen Family Foundation and Nathan Myhrvold. The project was originally developed as a joint effort between the SETI Institute and the Radio Astronomy Laboratory (RAL) at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), with funds obtained from an initial US$12.5 million donation by the Paul G. The array is situated at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Shasta County, 290 miles (470 km) northeast of San Francisco, California. The Allen Telescope Array ( ATA), formerly known as the One Hectare Telescope ( 1hT), is a radio telescope array dedicated to astronomical observations and a simultaneous search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). ![]()
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