System engineering in the ALMA project

Abstract

The Atacama Large Millimeter and Sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) is a sub-millimeter-wavelength radio telescope under construction in northern Chile at an altitude of 5,000 meters. The ALMA telescope will be composed of 66 to 80 high-precision antennas plus their electronics systems, all of which operate as a single instrument. This telescope will observe the cold regions of the Universe with unprecedented depth and clarity. These regions, which are often optically dark, shine brightly in the sub-millimeter portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. ALMA is a partnership between institutions in Europe, North America, Japan and the Republic of Chile and is currently one of the largest ground-based astronomy projects under construction. ALMA is a complex and technically challenging instrument and the development and construction is dispersed over four continents. Such a project requires a strong system engineering team if it is to come together as a complete system and meet its performance objectives. ALMA System Engineering activities can be divided into; System Design and Analysis, Product Assurance, Prototype System Integration, and System Integration in Chile. This paper reports on these System Engineering activities and achievements. It also describes how the System Engineering team is staffed and organized and reports on some early technical achievements.