This March 13 marks the culmination of the celebration of our first decade of full operations, 11 years since ALMA was inaugurated. A period that has marked not only the entire scientific community and radio astronomy worldwide, but also, of course, those who lived these first steps in the flesh. Here we relive their best memories, obtained from the interviews we have conducted during this last year:
“I remember the arrival at the site of the first ALMA antenna in October 2007, installed in Vertex sector for its assembly. We had to receive it at the port of Antofagasta and accompany its transfer to the OSF, an event at the time, which was covered on TV and in the written press”.
Héctor Ceballos, Warehouse Supervisor.
“They were building antennas, so there were many people working on the site, of many nationalities. In the casino you could hear several different languages, like a Tower of Babel.”
Darío Hernández, Electronics Technician I.
“I remember the atmosphere for the inauguration. We were in the control room, super worried about moving the antennas at the right time.”
Héctor Alarcón, Array Operator Deputy Manager.
Click and relive the moment of the inauguration from the Control Room:
“We were visited by political and scientific figures, which was a very important step in astronomy. Little by little, the observations began to give us innovative images and knowledge.”
Francisco Pino, Technician Cryogenics & Vaccum.
“At the beginning, all my work was done ‘by hand’, with very little experience regarding the type of data that ALMA generated, all of us learning from each result. The observatory had a lot of mystique and we were all more than proud to work here.”
Liza Videla, Science Archive Content Manager.
“One event that struck me was the surprise visit of David Gilmour, the famous Pink Floyd musician. For the occasion, the Engineering team built a motorized “mock-up” showing Gilmour playing guitar among the ALMA antennas. He took pictures and videos of us himself: he became our fan!”.
Giorgio Siringo, Front End Technical Lead & Spectrum Manager.
(David Gilmour on the picture)
“It is very gratifying to realize that the work done contributed to an important milestone worldwide, like when we were part of capturing the first image of a black hole. These are the things that make you really proud.”
Óscar Alarcón, Power Team Operator.
“In these 10 years ALMA has changed a lot, both in its organization and scientific production, and has become an established project worldwide. I am happy with the way things have gone. It has been a unique and rewarding adventure that has enriched me, with no regrets.”
Giorgio Siringo, Front End Technical Lead & Spectrum Manager.
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Demasiado emocionante, me emociona tanto la increíble historia que ha vivido este observatorio, y formar parte de este megaproyecto se siente empequeñecedor a momentos.