<p>The world's largest telescope built in China, having a reflector of the size of 30 football fields, is poised for a trial-run as installation work has been completed after the last of 4,450 panels was fitted into the centre of the big dish today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Hoisting the last triangular panel to the reflector lasted about 40 minutes.<br />It was a landmark step for the telescope's planned launch of operations in September, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.<br /><br />About 300 people, including builders, experts, science fiction enthusiasts and reporters, witnessed the installation at a karst valley in Pingtang County in the southwestern province of Guizhou.<br /><br />Scientists will then begin debugging and trial observation of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), said Zheng Xiaonian, deputy head of the National Astronomical Observation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which built the telescope.<br /><br />The telescope which is aimed at observing deep space was stated to be most visible project of China's plans to transform into high-tech nation focussing on research in advanced science and technology moving away from cheap manufacturing.<br /><br />The project has the potential to search for more strange objects to better understand the origin of the universe and boost the global hunt for extraterrestrial life, Zheng said.<br /><br />The radio telescope will be the global leader for the next 10 to 20 years, he said.<br />Upon completion, the telescope will dwarf Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory, which is 300 meters in diameter.<br /><br />It will also be 10 times more sensitive than the steerable 100-meter telescope near Bonn, Germany, he said.<br /><br />Work on USD 180 million FAST project began in 2011. <br /><br /></p>
<p>The world's largest telescope built in China, having a reflector of the size of 30 football fields, is poised for a trial-run as installation work has been completed after the last of 4,450 panels was fitted into the centre of the big dish today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Hoisting the last triangular panel to the reflector lasted about 40 minutes.<br />It was a landmark step for the telescope's planned launch of operations in September, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.<br /><br />About 300 people, including builders, experts, science fiction enthusiasts and reporters, witnessed the installation at a karst valley in Pingtang County in the southwestern province of Guizhou.<br /><br />Scientists will then begin debugging and trial observation of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), said Zheng Xiaonian, deputy head of the National Astronomical Observation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which built the telescope.<br /><br />The telescope which is aimed at observing deep space was stated to be most visible project of China's plans to transform into high-tech nation focussing on research in advanced science and technology moving away from cheap manufacturing.<br /><br />The project has the potential to search for more strange objects to better understand the origin of the universe and boost the global hunt for extraterrestrial life, Zheng said.<br /><br />The radio telescope will be the global leader for the next 10 to 20 years, he said.<br />Upon completion, the telescope will dwarf Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory, which is 300 meters in diameter.<br /><br />It will also be 10 times more sensitive than the steerable 100-meter telescope near Bonn, Germany, he said.<br /><br />Work on USD 180 million FAST project began in 2011. <br /><br /></p>