China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) has linked up with new test antennas, a breakthrough toward upgrading the giant facility.
This achievement validates the core technology needed to transform FAST into a more powerful astronomical network.
To test this upgrade, scientists built a pilot array of four 40-meter antennas. Two of them have already performed successful joint observations with the main FAST dish, producing clear signals that confirmed precise synchronization, a fundamental requirement for the next phase.
The long-term plan is to build a hybrid-aperture radio interferometric array with FAST at its center, surrounded by up to 64 of these 40-meter antennas within a 30-kilometer radius in southwest China's Guizhou Province.
This configuration will create a "virtual telescope" with a resolution equivalent to a dish dozens of kilometers across, combining FAST's extraordinary sensitivity with much sharper imaging capability.
Since its commissioning in 2016, FAST has made groundbreaking discoveries in pulsar research, fast radio bursts, and nanohertz gravitational waves.
However, its ability to pinpoint the exact location and detailed structure of cosmic objects has been limited. The new array system is designed specifically to overcome this "vision" limitation while amplifying its "listening" power.
Once fully implemented, the enhanced FAST network will open new frontiers in astronomy, from studying gravitational wave events and neutral hydrogen galaxies to supporting national strategic needs such as deep-space surveillance and near-Earth object warning.
China FAST telescope links with test antennas in breakthrough upgrade
