Four insights into the Next Generation Very Large Array radio telescope project

The requirements are extreme: the antennas must be aligned so precisely that they could theoretically focus on a golf ball on the moon. To achieve this, Liebherr is using a play-free, three-row roller slewing ring with an external diameter of 3.3 metres as well as specially developed azimuth and elevation drives. These enable positioning with precision to the nearest millimetre – even in windy conditions and when there are temperature fluctuations.

The ngVLA is expected to deliver radio images that are hundreds of times more detailed than the images produced by the Hubble or James Webb telescopes. This should enable research into the creation of stars and planets, the area around black holes and the chemical composition of gas clouds. Liebherr and mtex show how interdisciplinary collaboration and engineering can push limits – and how precision technology from Biberach will be the key component for research into the universe.