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Feel the Space: Abandoned Antenna Measurement Reference Center - Republic of Armenia

... He was an honest man.
And Sergey Korolev came to my layout. Valentina Tereshkova was also with him. She really liked the idea of creating this antenna. Then Bogomolov said: “Don't think that this is my invention. It belongs to this guy. " And he presented my project to Korolev, saying that it is extremely necessary for the study of space.

I thought it was necessary to create a large antenna of a new type.
The idea itself was new. It was no easy task. The difficulty lay not only in the theoretical and operational calculations, but it was also necessary to get positive feedback in the scientific community in order to start building this antenna.

Alexey Fedorovich Bogomolov, a talented young man, created a separate design bureau at the Institute of Energy. And he was also its leader. He held a closed exhibition. Not everyone knew about this exhibition. And he invited me to present the layout of my antenna. He said: "Sergey Korolev will come to this exhibition, and you will personally represent it."

He was an honest man. And Sergey Korolev came to my layout.

The construction of the antenna was a great victory for us. Surprisingly, it met our expectations. As the saying goes, she left behind all the other antennas.

This antenna today (circa 2005 - ed.) holds the record for the level of its own noise - 2.4 Kelvin.

After the first operation of the antenna, accurate data made it possible to make two major scientific discoveries of world significance.
First. There are older stars that have a red color. They are called red giants.
It was generally accepted that there were no explosions on these stars. But quite by accident we discovered such an explosion.

With this antenna, we observed a distant galaxy. Suddenly, a powerful flash, an impulse, was registered. It became clear that there was a flashing star on the way (This Gemini / η Geminorum - ed.)located far from this galaxy.

I was with one astronomer who said that this star does not belong to this galaxy. The radiation from this explosion could not reach us from such a distance and be so intense. This star is closer, and it is a large red giant.

The astronomer said: "But it is generally accepted that there are no explosions on these stars ...?"
But now it was already an established fact.

The second most important discovery was as follows. There is one theory that is commonly called the Big Bang. According to this theory, the universe came about as a result of one big bang.

Such a statement seems foolish. How could millions of stars, these large galaxies, come from a big bang, no matter how big it was?

But my antenna is very sensitive, has the lowest noise floor. This allowed us to experiment.

According to the big bang theory, to this day there is residual radiation, the temperature of which is 2.7 Kelvin. This is the so-called residual background. This was accepted by the scientists. But my antenna showed that this radiation does not exist. It's fantastic.

This antenna moved through space deviating by 40 degrees. in different directions. And 2.4 Kelvin was recorded and nothing else. If this residual radiation really existed, then in addition to the intrinsic noise there should have been 2.7 K and a total of 5.1 K. But this is not the case. The measurements show 2.4 K. This is proof that there is no residual radiation.

Nothing.
I believe that the time will come and this fact will be accepted by everyone. There is no other choice.
Life is a struggle. Including in the world of science.

- academician Paris Heruni (1933-2008)

A bit from the editor

The main pride of Academician Heruni is the ROT 54 / 2.6 or GEPI-32/54 mirror radio-optical telescope, which was a truly special invention. The numbers in the first version of the name mean the diameters of two working mirrors - 54 and 2.6 meters, the second version means the State Standard of the Radiation Field, where 54 meters is the diameter of the mirror, and 32 is its working part when considering the radiation source.
Heruni received a building permit in the 70s, and from 1981 to 1985 the active phase of construction lasted. By 1987, all the necessary infrastructure was completed, the telescope was adjusted and put into operation.

With the help of explosions, a pit was created, then a concrete bowl was built in it. Iron pipes are embedded in it, on the edge of each of them there are 3.6 thousand duralumin shields, approximately 1x1 meter in size, with which the telescope mirror is paved. The polishing of these shields was of particular technical difficulty, because the reception of radio waves in the millimeter and submillimeter ranges depends on the quality of the surface.

Therefore, each panel of the mirror was hand-molded and finished with 70 micron precision. The full text of the patent for the radio-optical telescope with a description of the design can be seen among the links at the end of the post.

The radio telescope has truly changed the world of science. First of all, the novelty of the principle of its work played a role. The construction of the antenna brought changes not only to the scientific environment, but also changed the life of the population of local villages for the better. Next to them, GECAI, the State Reference Center for Antenna Measurements, has gradually grown. During the years of rapid development of the complex, many interesting buildings and antennas were built on its territory.
In close proximity to the eminent radio telescope shown above, there is an unfinished AREV solar energy concentrator, in the focus of which it was planned to build a turbine converter.

His naked skeleton is invariably adjacent to the radio telescope in almost any photographs of the GECAI complex, taken after 1994.

The idea of the academician, which was born in 1992, aroused wide interest in the world, and from 1994 to 1996 the construction of the AREV concentrator was financed by the British firm "Solargen Energy Corporation". However, in 1996, the construction was stopped, and cooperation with the British company was interrupted due to disagreements. According to unconfirmed reports, the disagreement consisted in the firm's desire to remove the academician from copyright for AREV upon completion of construction.

At the moment, only a metal skeleton overgrown with bushes is in a state of readiness, on which about 1/10 of the required number of panels has been installed. The scale can be assessed by looking at the barely noticeable figure of Egor ABV on the right side of the photo.

Some of the unidentified panels found their home in the interior next to the control panel.

And here is the place itself, prepared for the control panel.

The completed part of the concentrator gradually deteriorates, the metal frame rusts, and the special mirror panels suffer from weather conditions without proper care.

Between the hub and the radio telescope is a medium-sized building, two low, single-access towers with a common basement. These are laboratory buildings.
Two hundred triangular panels for AREV are neatly placed and laid out on all floors, in corridors and rooms.

Some are intact, others have been disassembled, others are broken, the fourth are propping up the windows, but they all have one thing in common - a thick layer of dust that can hardly be erased.

If the report was written only from this building, it would probably be called "The Kingdom of Dust Mirrors."

In one of the rooms, there are still traces of past scientific activities and observations, in particular, documentation and photographs of celestial bodies.

Both towers, not only in their design, but also in terms of content, are worthy to be called twins, but the basement floor pleasantly surprised with a completely different filling. The rooms here housed installations resembling climatic ones.

The hall is equipped with a real anechoic chamber, and even created so that its walls absorb light.

In general, this is not surprising, because the center tested not only antennas and equipment emitting radio signals, but also mirror elements of the solar concentrator, which were mounted here on special stands and tripods.

The material from which the radio-absorbing coating is made is curious - it is ordinary paper to the touch. It's like an origami hobby group has been working on these paper fans for months.

The cell is now in a deplorable state. There are traces of fire, the wooden floors are dilapidated
However, the unusual continues to occur at every turn. There is a real funicular underground! A cable-drawn rail vehicle that delivered service personnel not just anywhere, but to the very heart of a large mirror radio telescope.

Upon arrival downstairs, the visitor fell to one of the three legs of the giant antenna. To the only one, which was also equipped with a cable car, but not for going down, but for going up - directly along the telescope support.

It is a pity that you will not ride.

Those who want to walk along the duralumin surface of the radio telescope risk getting stuck there for a long time. The angle of the surface is large enough and the surface itself is smooth, which reduces the chances of climbing back, especially in wet weather.

It is gratifying that we were able to find a model of the entire territory of the complex, as well as several other models in the control room ROT 54 / 2.6. As it turned out, the layout does not reflect the real situation, but only is close to it. The thing is that it is outdated and instead of the AREV concentrator on the ground, the model shows the elder brother of the main radio telescope Heruni, which is exactly twice as large as the GEPI-32/54 already familiar to us (GEPI-64/108). Its construction was planned, but, unfortunately, in reality GEPI-64/108 does not exist. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the development of science radically changed the plans of the academician, which remained forever imprinted on this model.

As you can see from the layout, the GECAI territory is replete with structures of various sizes and degrees of interest. A couple of the largest ones even have their own separate layouts. For example, the exemplary stand Osa-18.

The similarity of the original with the layout is high. But inside Wasp is a mess. Despite her frightening sting, directed into the sky, she is unlikely to ever use it.

This stand, like some others on the territory, is specially installed on a hill from which a decent view of the surrounding villages opens. This visibility works and vice versa - it can serve as a guide. The first thing that tourists passing by on the highway will see will be Osa-18, and not at all the ROT 54 / 2.6, which is larger than it.

At the test site with an impressive area, in addition to directly experimental antenna devices, standards in the field of microwave antenna measurements were stored and used, including expensive gilded samples - 11 primary state antenna standards.
Whether they were evacuated, destroyed or stolen is unknown, but devastation reigns in one of the premises allocated for them.

Another interesting object on the territory of the complex was the solar calendar, built in 1987 in front of the control room of the main radio telescope. Made of local igneous rock - red tuff, the solar calendar not only meets the basic requirements of science, but also has a cultural value. It is a tribute to the memory of ancient Armenian astronomers, whose trace in history was so diligently emphasized by academician Heruni. The famous sculptor Panosyan worked on the decoration of this solar calendar.

The calendar has three main scales: horizontal, vertical and spherical. The horizontal scale shows the months of the current calendar, the vertical scale shows approximate days, and the spherical scale shows the zodiacal constellations.

The same solar calendar, built two years later, was installed in front of the building of the National Institute of Standards in Yerevan, but its condition is much worse. Oddly enough, the remoteness of civilization and a large crowd of people has kept the older GECAI sample in better condition.

Metal elements are completely absent on the Yerevan copy, the inscriptions on the stone are more difficult to distinguish
However, next to this sample there are two stone tablets in Armenian and Russian / English, explaining to the masses what kind of calendar it is.

Despite the official statements about the serviceability of the mothballed radio telescope, after visiting it, it seems like slyness. According to sources, it was last included in 2011, which is also hard to believe. The announced figures on the required investments of $ 25 million for the restoration and updating of the ROT 54 / 2.6 systems are most likely underestimated, as is usually the case in megaprojects.

Exactly 10 years ago - on December 5, 2008, after a long illness, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia Paris Misakovich Heruni passed away. And while the antennas created under his leadership rust and crumble to dust, grateful descendants widely use the numerous and incorruptible theoretical knowledge created by him.

“There is no other choice. Life is a struggle. Including in the world of science "
- Academician Paris Heruni (1933-2008).

Additional materials on the topic:

1) "Itogi" magazine, article "Dialogue with the sky", 2002
http://www.itogi.ru/archive/2002/28/98303.html

2) Patent for ROT 54 / 2.6 + other patents of Paris Heruni
http://patents.su/4-1377941-zerkalnyjj-radioteleskop-geruni.html

3) Gazeta.ru reportage "The Vietnam War was won thanks to Armenian radio physicists", 2016
https://www.gazeta.ru/science/2016/06/14_a_8304977.shtml

4) Photo report Gazeta.ru "Mysterious radio telescope in the mountains of Armenia", 2016
https://www.gazeta.ru/science/photo/radioteleskop_geruni_v_armenii_.shtml

5) Writer Ruben Ter-Antonyan, "The Phenomenon of Paris Heruni", as manuscript, 2014
https://www.proza.ru/2014/08/03/775

6) "Voice of Armenia", article "The Phenomenon of Paris Heruni" 2010
http://eurasian-defence.ru/?q=node/24069

All rights to photographic materials and text belong to Artem Alexandrov.

That's all. Thank you for the attention! Yours sincerely, Unexplored World Team.

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5 Responses

  1. This antenna (the so-called Heruni radio telescope) has never worked in its life, and no space exploration, measurements, and, moreover, "scientific works" have been done. Never. Please stop misleading people ignorant of this topic and pursue selfish goals !!! This is unacceptable!

    1. dear Suren Harutyunyan, please tell us your version.
      Who are you and why are you sure that ROT-54 did not work?

  2. Taking into account Heruni's statement about the absence of relic radiation, everything else is also questionable ...

    1. Nobody forbids you to believe in the Big Bang, Santa Claus or the victory of communism :))

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