Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) presented in Germany
With key technology contribution by Airborne
As a proud project partner, Airborne’s development team attended the recent presentation of the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) in Germany. The telescope is intended to provide insights into the origin and development of our universe since the Big Bang as well as into the formation of stars and galaxies. With its final location at 5,600 meters, precise mirror surface, large field of view and innovative instruments, it is the most powerful of its kind in the world.
On April 4, 2024, the new Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) was presented in Xanten on the Lower Rhine. Present at the event were all partners, stakeholders and shareholders, including Fred Young, after whom the telescope was named, since he was involved in the project for many years and generously contributed to its funding. The FYST is a state-of-the-art telescope with a mirror diameter of six meters. It will provide insights into the formation of the first stars after the Big Bang and into the formation of stars and galaxies in general.
FYST project partners
Partners in the FYST project are Cornell University (USA), a German consortium of the University of Cologne, the University of Bonn and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching as well as a Canadian consortium of several universities. The telescope was designed by CPI Vertex Antennentechnik in Duisburg, which contracted Airborne to develop and build the two Mirror Support Structures for the telescope. The FYST was assembled in Xanten on the site of Wessel GmbH.
“We are very proud that we were given the opportunity to design and build the two Mirrors Support Structures for this extraordinary telescope in close cooperation with our client CPI Vertex Antennentechnik. We faced many challenges in this groundbreaking project. Our strong partnership with CPI Vertex Antennentechnik demonstrates that we were able to overcome them successfully by working closely together.”
FYST presentation event in Germany
Apart from keynotes on the scientific background and technical peculiarities, the team demonstrated the movement of the FYST and offered guided tours so the participants were able to get an impression of the new telescope design. During the event, Fred Young was very interested to hear from Airborne’s Composites Expert Jaap Dekker how we were able to overcome the different challenges in the design and manufacture of the composite Mirror Support Structures.
Professor Dr Dominik Riechers from the Institute for Astrophysics of the University of Cologne said: “The novel optical design of FYST will deliver a high-throughput, wide-field of view telescope capable of mapping the entire southern hemisphere sky very rapidly and efficiently. We are trying to understand no less than the origin and development of our universe since the Big Bang.”
Karsten Gerlof, Chancellor of the University of Cologne said: “It is an extraordinary achievement that universities such as the universities of Bonn and Cologne can contribute to the establishment of such a large research infrastructure. This is only possible thanks to long-term planning. We would like to thank all our sponsors and consortium partners.”
In addition, Professor Dr. Stephanie Walch-Gassner (President of the German Astronomical Society, Institute for Astrophysics at the University of Cologne), Thomas Görtz (Mayor of the city of Xanten), Edeltraud Klabuhn (Mayor of the city of Duisburg) and Chapman Godbey (U.S. Consulate General Düsseldorf) welcomed the participants.
Further development of FYST
Following the event, the FYST will initially be further developed. This includes mounting the mirror structures into the assembly for initial alignment and testing. At the end of the year, its components will be disassembled and transported to its final location in the Chilean Atacama Desert. It will be located at 5,600 meters elevation on Cerro Chajnantor in Chile, overlooking the ALMA array. The observations of the wide-field of view telescope at submillimeter wavelengths are slightly distorted by water vapor in the Earth’s atmosphere and the signal is greatly attenuated. Therefore, a high and dry site is required.
