Finishing Up and a Celebration

At the beginning of 1963 it was clear that the project was approaching completion even if there were still numerous tasks to be completed, putting in some doubt the 31 July completion date. The raising of the azimuth arm in March cleared the way for the completion of the installation of the heavy and upper light reflector cables. This, in turn allowed the installation of the wire mesh surface to commence in early April. April also saw the completion of the installation of the waveguide along the catwalk and the raising of the platform to close to its final height, allowing the catwalk and cable car to be used to access the platform. Apart from some minor adjustments, the reflector surface was completed at the end of August and August also saw the raising of the line feed. Work on the telescope was essentially complete by the end of September and AFCRL ended their activities as contract monitors. Five years and 4 months after Bill Gordon’s May 1958 seminar at Cornell University, his dream had come to fruition. A celebration was held on 1 November.