CDL: Central Development Laboratory

The CDL maintains a complete suite of facilities and expertise to design, develop, assemble, and test cutting edge radio astronomy technology.

The mission of the CDL is to support the evolution of NRAO’s existing facilities and to provide the technology and expertise needed to build the next generation of radio astronomy instruments.

The CDL’s mission is accomplished through development of the enabling technologies.

These technologies include low noise amplifiers, millimeter and sub-millimeter detectors, optics and electromagnetic components (feeds and phased arrays), digital signal processing, and new receiver architectures. CDL staff have developed and produced these critical components and subsystems not only for NRAO’s telescopes, but also for the worldwide astronomical community for ground and space-based instruments.

NRAO technology increases our understanding of the Universe and contributes to American competitiveness.

Technical innovations developed or enhanced at the CDL have contributed to improvements in communications antennas, transistors, cryogenic coolers, medical and scientific imaging, time and frequency standards, atomic clocks, GPS navigation, 911 emergency call location, and precision spacecraft navigation.

In addition to pushing the limits in its core technology areas, the CDL is exploring novel technologies and concepts for the next generation of receivers, including cryogenic phased array feeds and highly integrated receivers.

In support of the wider U.S. astronomy community, the CDL is also collaborating with several organizations on forefront scientific experiments to address fundamental questions described in the Astro2010 decadal survey “New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics”: HERA-PAPER for probing the epoch of reionization, and DARE to look even further back in time—to the formation of the very first stars at the end of the Dark Ages. The CDL enables, through advances in instrumentation, these experiments and next generation facility pathfinders.

Related News

Applications Accepted for 2022 Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program

Applications are now being accepted for the 2022 Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP).

Inspiring, Retaining and Promoting Female Talent in STEM Careers

Retaining and promoting female talent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a goal that must be embraced by large scientific facilities, civil society, academia and the private sector.

Big Astronomy Hosts Live Talk and Q&A with Astronaut Dr. Sian Proctor

On Friday, February 4 at 7:00 pm EST, join astronaut, geoscientist, explorer and space artist Dr. Sian Proctor for a live talk and Q&A hosted by Big Astronomy.

NRAO Director Tony Beasley Honored as Lifetime AAAS Fellow

Tony Beasley, Director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and AUI Vice President for Radio Astronomy Operations, was today elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

West Virginia Students Contact International Space Station LIVE

Friday, May 7th at 8:00 AM EDT, students in rural West Virginia will experience this once in a lifetime opportunity. Green Bank Elementary-Middle School (GBEMS) will be contacting astronaut Mark Vande Hei on the International Space Station (ISS).

The Universe just Became More Accessible: Free Software for Exploring the Universe Through Sound

Today free software has been released to help the blind and visually impaired (BIV) explore the universe through sound. With the support from the National Science Foundation’s STEM+C program, Innovators Developing Accessible Tools for Astronomy (IDATA) brought together nearly 200 BIV and sighted students, teachers, astronomers and programmers from across the Nation to create this innovative software called Afterglow Access.

Nueva Mineria covers the importance of ICTL’s Open Science model pioneered by AUI

The ICTL is a Chilean clean technology institute that is committed to developing innovations in the mining, power, battery, manufacturing, and related industrial sectors. The Open Science model allows a larger community to access R&D facilities based on the merit of their proposals.

VIDEO: Multi-wavelength Observations Reveal Impact of Black Hole on M87 Galaxy

In 2019, a worldwide collaboration of scientists used a global collection of radio telescopes called the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) to make the first-ever image of a black hole — the supermassive black hole at the core of the galaxy M87, some 55 million light-years from Earth.

ACEAP Alumna Selected as Astronaut for SpaceX

Sian Procter, a participant in the Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP) in 2016, has been selected as an astronaut by SpaceX. The Inspiration4 mission, scheduled to launch sometime after 15 September 2021, will orbit Earth for three days and conduct a variety of experiments.

New Images Reveal Magnetic Structures Near Supermassive Black Hole

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) — the worldwide collaboration that produced the first image of a black hole in 2019 — has produced a new image showing details of the magnetic fields in the region closest to the supermassive black hole at the core of the galaxy M87. The new work is providing astronomers with important clues about how powerful jets of material can be produced in that region.

You are now leaving AUI

You will be redirected to the related partnering organization's website.

You will be redirected to
in 4 seconds...

Click the link above to continue or CANCEL