ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project

Chapter One

[10] The letter from A. Penzias to William E. Howard, 27 February 1969, and the reply from D. Heeschen to A. Penzias, 18 March 1969 can be found at NAA-NRAO, Tucson Operations, 36 Foot Telescope, Box 4. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/20198

Chapter Two

[4] Wilson to Vanden Bout and others, NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Planning, Box 1. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34977

[5] Notes taken throughout the meeting by Solomon, his hand-written draft of the letter to Bautz and Johnson, and a copy of the 29 October 1982 letter can be found at NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Planning, Box 1. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34977

Chapter Three

[32] Pankonin to Vanden Bout, 4 November 1991, NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Planning, Box 3. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34936

[33] Vanden Bout to Pankonin, 13 November 1991, NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Planning, Box 3. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34936

[35] Anonymous Reviews of the Millimeter Array Proposal [1991], NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Planning, Box 3. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34936

[36] Millimeter Array Design and Development Plan, September 1992, NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Planning, Box 3. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34930

Chapter Four

[15] Raffin, Phillippe and Kusonuki, A, Searching for Submm Sites in Chile, [SAO] Submillimeter Array Technical Memorandum 59, 14 May 1992, NAA-RLB, MMA, Box 2. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/35394

[20] Bob Brown Reminiscence of 1994 Chile Trip, Brown to Vanden Bout (undated, ca. 2004), NAA-RLB, MMA. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/35380

[25] Gordon’s final report, written for the record, is dated 30 May 2000 (revised 3 August 2000) but the report material was available to NRAO management much earlier in a of draft reports sent to Brown. The final report can be found at NAA, Papers of Mark A. Gordon, ALMA, Box 2. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/8766

[26] Recommended Site for the MMA, May 1998 NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Site Selection. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/20920

Chapter Five

[3] The referee’s reports can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38538

[4] The letters can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38537

[8] NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38700

[16] The agreement to jointly study potential sites can be found at NAA-NRAO, ALMA,ALMA Multi-Institutional Agreements. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/36716

[19] The IRAM/ESO/OSO/NFRA report can be found at: NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Planning, Box 6. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34880

[23] A copy of the resolution is in NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Planning, Box 6. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34877

Chapter Six

[5] The MMA Program Plan – Design and Development Volume 2 can be found at: NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Planning, Box 7. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34872

[6] The report of the Lehman Review can be found at: NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Planning, Box 9. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34854

[8] ALMA Design and Development MOU Between NSF and Europe (signed), December 1998. NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Multi-Institutional Agreements, Box 1. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38469

[11] The MMA/LSA Feasibility Study can be found at NAA-NRAO, MMA, MMA Planning, Box 7. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34871

[14] Resolution between the ALMA Coordination Committee and NAOJ Concerning Coordination between LMSA and ALMA (signed), 12 November 1999. NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Multi-Institutional Agreements, Box 1. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38464

[18] The minutes of the ALMA Board meeting of 6 April 2001 in Tokyo can be found at: NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38701

Chapter Seven

[1] A draft of the Bi-Lateral ALMA Agreement can be found at NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Multi-Institutional Agreements, Box 3. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34391

[3] The Bi-Lateral ALMA Management Agreement can be found at NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Multi-Institutional Agreements, Box 4. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/36686

[4] The agreement bringing Japan into the ALMA partnership can be found at: NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Multi-Institutional Agreements. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/36712

[5] The first amendment can be found at NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Multi-Institutional Agreements. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38362

[6] The second amendment can be found at NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Multi-Institutional Agreements. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/36717

[7] The Tri-Lateral ALMA Agreement can be found at NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Multi-Institutional Agreements. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/36692

[9] The Tri-Lateral ALMA Management Agreement can be found at NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Multi-Institutional Agreements. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/36689

[12] The purchase order for the Vertex prototype antenna can be found at NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Design and Construction, Box 1. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34542

[15] Evaluation of the ALMA Prototype Antennas Report (Executive Summary), dated 28 May 2004, can be found at NAA-AUI, Projects, ALMA. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38374

[20] The US process of proposal review leading to the selection of a production antenna contractor is described in the ALMA Antenna Procurement Summary of 15 April 2005. It can be found at NAA-AUI, Projects, ALMA, Box 5. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38454

[21] The JTET report can be found at NAA-AUI, Projects, ALMA. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38373

[22] Porter’s letter to AEM can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38357

[23] The ATWG reports of 29 September can be found at NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Advisory & Coordinating Committees, Box 4. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/34469 The addendum of 17 November 2004 can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38358

[24] A memorandum by R. Lucas reporting his discovery of the error in the holography software can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38361

[25] ALMA Joint Antenna Technical Group (JATG) Test Results, 2005 can be found at NAA-AUI, Projects, ALMA, Box 5. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38367

[26] The letter to NSF requesting approval of the purchase of production antennas from Vertex can be found at NAA-AUI, Projects, ALMA, Box 5. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38368

[27] Our account of the production antenna procurement events at ESO draws heavily from the memoir of Pieter van der Kruit, “Five and a Half Years in ESO Council, 77-95.” It can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/37496

[33] Corbett’s memorandum, Antenna Procurement - Options, 7 June 2005, can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38360

[41] A copy of the Council resolution can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38359

[44] The letter VA sent to ESO can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38463

[45] The letter to E. Schreier from R. Vardeman can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38389

[47] The ALMA Delta Cost Review Report can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38364

[48] The total cost of the North American 12 m antennas can be found in the release of claims located at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38387

[53] Cesarsky’s letter to Dickman can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38363

[56] Bement’s letter can be found at: NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38386

Chapter Eight

[10] The account by Beasley of the ALMA cost increase evolution can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38542

[11] The report can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38498

[12] A spreadsheet with all the cost savings options that shows those the ALMA Board approved can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38541

[13] The report on the Review of Costs for the ALMA (Beckwith Report) can be found at NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Rebaselining. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38500

[17] The NCMR report, known as the “Hartill Report” may be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38501

[18] The MOU (unsigned copy) for the Taiwan-American Program in Radio Astronomy (TAPRA) can be found at NAA-NRAO, ALMA, ALMA Multi-Institutional Agreements. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38539

[19] Dickman’s presentation can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38540

[20] Bement’s memorandum can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38535

Appendix C Lessons Learned

[1] A memorandum, Lessons Learned from ALMA, by E.J. Schreier and J. Webber, September 2010, is an accounting of the reasons behind the cost increases revealed in the re-baselining of the project. It can be found at NAA-PVB, ALMA, ALMA: The Story of a Science Mega-Project. https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/38502