WHAT: Rapid Prototype Array
WHERE: Russell Reservation, Lafayette, California
WHY: The seven-dish configuration is a test bed for scientists developing SETI's 1hT (One Hectare Telescope), a $25 million large-array radio scope to be completed in 2005. The 1hT - a network of hundreds of dishes - will supercharge the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, scanning billions of frequencies and listening for even the weakest pulse and continuous-wave signals.
HOW: The prototype allows researchers to refine the signal-processing systems and control software that make this array of standard 12-foot Orbitron TVRO mesh antennas work together as a single instrument. Engineers will also test the mechanical systems that rotate the dishes and other elements of the back-end electronics.
WHO: SETI Institute, in partnership with the UC Berkeley Radio Astronomy Laboratory
MORE: www.seti.org
