Records of the NRAO > Photographs Series > VLBA Unit

Collection Items

VLBA Montage
Description: The VLBA is a system of ten radio-telescope antennas,each with a dish 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter and weighing 240 tons. From Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the VLBA spans more than 5,000 miles,…

VLBA Early Montage, ca. 1990
Description: The VLBA is a system of ten radio-telescope antennas,each with a dish 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter and weighing 240 tons. From Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the VLBA spans more than 5,000 miles.…
Start Date: 1990-00-00

VLBA - Brewster
Description: The VLBA site in Brewster, Washington.

VLBA - Fort Davis
Description: The VLBA site in Fort Davis, Texas.

VLBA - Hancock
Description: The VLBA site at Hancock, New Hampshire.

VLBA - Kitt Peak
Description: The VLBA site on Kitt Peak, Arizona.

VLBA - Los Alamos
Description: The VLBA site in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

VLBA - Mauna Kea
Description: VLBA antenna on Mauna Kea, HI, the last VLBA antenna constructed.

VLBA - North Liberty
Description: The VLBA site in North Liberty, Iowa.

VLBA - Owens Valley
Description: The VLBA site in Owens Valley, California.

VLBA - Pie Town
Description: VLBA antenna at Pie Town, NM, the first VLBA antenna constructed.

VLBA - St. Croix
Description: The VLBA site at St. Croix, Virgin Islands.

VLBA Site Locations
Description: The VLBA includes 8 telescopes on the contintal U.S., one in Hawaii, and one in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: VLBA antenna design

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: VLBA receiver

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: VLBA dipole feeds and front end box

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: VLBA recorder

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: VLBA hydrogen maser

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: VLBA correlator in the Array Operations Center in Socorro, NM

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: VLBA Mark III system

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: In February 1986, construction began in Pie Town NM on the first of ten VLBA antennas. By the end of February the site had been cleared and phone lines brought in. This photo, taken on 20 March 1986, shows the antenna foundation excavation. The…
Start Date: 1986-03-20

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-09-04

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM. Employees of the VLBA antenna contractor, Radiation Systems Inc, are setting the azimuth track for the Pie Town antenna in preparation for grouting the track.
Start Date: 1986-09-07

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-09-22

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-09-25

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-09-25

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-09-25

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Making the subreflector mold for the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-10

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-10-07

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-10-15

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-10-15

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-10-30

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-11-04

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1986-12-04

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1987-01-03

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1987-01-16

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1987-02-21

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Installation of the L-band on the first VLBA antenna, Pie Town NM
Start Date: 1987

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the second VLBA antenna, Kitt Peak AZ
Start Date: 1987-04-20

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the second VLBA antenna, Kitt Peak AZ
Start Date: 1987-06-12

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the second VLBA antenna, Kitt Peak AZ
Start Date: 1987-06-12

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the third VLBA antenna, Los Alamos NM
Start Date: 1987-10-23

VLBA Construction, 1986-1987
Description: Construction of the third VLBA antenna, Los Alamos NM
Start Date: 1987-10-29

VLBA First Fringes, 1989
Description: Paul Rhodes and Dewey Ross study first fringes with the Kitt Peak VLBA antenna. In early 1989, Kitt Peak AZ, the second of the VLBA antenna sites, had been outfitted, and first light was observed on 21 February. First fringes, at 6 cm, were…
Start Date: 1989-03-09

Fort Davis VLBA, 1992
Description: The VLBA site in Fort Davis, Texas.
Start Date: 1992

Mauna Kea VLBA Antenna, 27 January 1992
Description: In May 1982 NRAO submitted to NSF the proposal to build and operate what became the Very Long Baseline Array. Construction began in Pie Town NM in February 1986 on the first VLBA antenna; construction on the tenth and final antenna on Mauna Kea HI…
Start Date: 1992-01-27

VLBA Dedication, 1993
Description: The VLBA was dedicated on 20 August 1993. In this photo, U.S. Representative Joe Skeen (left), NRAO Director Paul Vanden Bout (right), and NRAO Associate Director Bob Brown (background) watch as Senator Pete Domenici scans the bar code below the…
Start Date: 1993-08-20

Dedication of the VLBA, 20 August 1993
Description: Left to right: Miller Goss, Tim Cornwell, Bob Brown, Peter Napier, Dave Shaffer, Dave Finley (at podium), Dick Sramek. This ceremony was held in the VLBA Operations area of the Array Operations Center in Socorro. The map behind Peter Napier contains…
Start Date: 1993-08-20

VLBA - St. Croix, May 1996
Description: VLBA site at St. Croix, Virgin Islands
Start Date: 1996-05

Kitt Peak VLBA, ca. April 2001
Description: The VLBA site in Kitt Peak, Arizona.
Start Date: 2001-04

St. Croix VLBA Antenna Repair, 2005
Description: Rust damage to St. Croix VLBA antenna. The antenna is close to the ocean, so rust is a continuing problem.
Start Date: 2004-10-26

St. Croix VLBA Antenna Repair, 2005
Description: Repairing rust damage to St. Croix VLBA antenna. The antenna is close to the ocean, so rust is a continuing problem.
Start Date: 2005-04-13

St. Croix VLBA Antenna Repair, 2005
Description: Repairing rust damage to St. Croix VLBA antenna. The antenna is close to the ocean, so rust is a continuing problem.
Start Date: 2005-04-13

St. Croix VLBA Antenna Repair, 2005
Description: Repairing rust damage to St. Croix VLBA antenna. The antenna is close to the ocean, so rust is a continuing problem.
Start Date: 2005-04-13

Collection Tree