China Marks 10 Years of FAST Operations and Scientific Achievements

People's Daily reported that the 500-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope in Pingtang, Guizhou, has observed the sky for 10 years following its completion on September 25, 2016. Chief engineer Jiang Peng noted that the major national scientific facility successfully transitioned from initial construction to stable and efficient operations. During commissioning, the team faced operational difficulties such as testing the 30-ton feed cabin suspended at an altitude of 140 meters, which required millimeter-level positioning within a span of more than 200 meters. The engineering group completed the entire commissioning process in just over two years, finishing faster than the four or more years commonly needed for conventional large radio telescopes. The facility has recorded more than 1300 pulsars to date, surpassing the total count discovered by all other radio telescopes worldwide over the same operational span. These celestial findings have enriched human knowledge of stellar evolution, galaxy evolution, and cosmic origins, while generating research across fast radio bursts and black hole evolution. Beyond core astronomical science, domestic research teams rebuilt pulsar data processing software from the ground up, optimizing key algorithms to increase processing precision by 50%. More than 10 domestic scientific research institutions now utilize this independently developed analytical system.

Manufacturing techniques refined for domestic steel cables subsequently spread outward to aid Chinese production of aircraft carrier arresting cables, mountain passenger ropeways, and large bridges.