Indonesia's Bandung Institute of Technology, in cooperation with the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, on Wednesday completed the main antenna installation for the country's first Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Global Observing System (VGOS) radio telescope at the Bosscha Observatory in Bandung, West Java Province.

The telescope project is part of a broader bilateral collaboration under the framework of the "Cooperation Plan on Jointly Promoting Cooperation within the Framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Maritime Fulcrum," signed by China and Indonesia on Nov. 16, 2022. The VGOS facility is expected to enhance scientific capacity in fields ranging from radio astronomy to Earth observation.

A large crane was used on Wednesday to lift and place the 85-ton antenna structure, bringing the total height of the VGOS telescope building to 19 meters and marking the final phase of the structural installation. The telescope will later be equipped with a GNSS receiver, a weather station, and a holometry antenna to enable multidisciplinary research.

As a global network of synchronized radio telescopes, VGOS provides highly precise observations of cosmic radio sources. By combining data from stations around the world, the system enables accurate measurements of Earth orientation parameters, monitoring tectonic plate movements and continental drift, and contributing to precise terrestrial and the celestial reference frames, astronomical time scale, and climate studies.

"The presence of the VGOS gives us an opportunity to make history once again. We hope this instrument will help advance Indonesian astronomy and deliver real contributions to science," said Hesti Retno Tri Wulandari, head of the Bosscha Observatory and chair of the VGOS Development Implementation Team.

According to Qi Zhaoxiang, deputy director of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, the facility is expected to be completed by October 2025.

"This VGOS station is a co-located astro-geodetic site established by China and Indonesia, integrating multiple astro-geodetic techniques. It plays an important role in the high-precision determination of Earth orientation parameters and the monitoring of tectonic plate movements. And this cooperative project will promote international academic exchange and scientific cooperation," he said. (Xinhua)