The five-hundred-meter aperture spherical radio telescope (FAST) project

Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is a Chinese "mega-science" project to build the largest single dish radio telescope in the world. Its engineering concept and design pave a new road to realize a huge single dish in an effective way. Being the most sensitive single dish radio telescope, FAST will enable astronomers to jump-start many science goals, such as surveying the neutral hydrogen in the Milky Way and other galaxies, detecting faint pulsars, hearing the possible signals from other civilizations, etc. The feasibility studies for FAST have been carried out for 14 years, supported by Chinese and international astronomy communities. The National Development and Reform Commission approved the funding proposal of FAST in 2007 with a capital budget close to 700 million RMB. The project time is 5.5 years from the commencement of work in March of 2011 and the first light is expected in 2016.