EISCAT 3D status update

  EISCAT3D, News

EISCAT 3D antenna elements

The mounting of the small antenna elements has started. This picture below, shows how the final antenna arrays will come to look like. This site in Karesuvanto, Finland will have about 5000 of these antennas.

Antenna elements being mounted on the ground plane, eventually filling up the whole area seen here. Photo: Robert Juhlin

This antenna will not be as visible in the surrounding landscape, as the former EISCAT parabolic dish antennas (apx. 35m. high). The height of this antenna will be around 5 meters with the antenna elements mounted on top. The only thing that will stand out are the lightening and calibration towers.

EISCAT 3D Skibotn, still lacking the antenna elements. Just the middle section is ready. The calibration and lightning towers are still not installed. Photo: Johan Svensson

The size of the whole antenna will be about 70 meters in diameter in Skibotn, Norway. The two receiver sites, in Finland and Sweden, will be a bit smaller. The appearance of the old and the new antennas are very different.

Although the visible parts of the system is coming together. There are still a lot of work left before we can present a system that is up and running.

Height of the finished antenna will be about 5 meters. Photo: Craig Heinselman

EISCAT Kiruna. Photo: Lars-Göran Vanhainen