Editing Very Large Array (section)

==History==
The driving force for the development of the VLA was [[David S. Heeschen]]. He is noted as having "sustained and guided the development of the best radio astronomy observatory in the world for sixteen years."<ref>{{cite book |first1=Wallace |last1=Tucker |first2=Karen |last2=Tucker |title=The Cosmic Inquirers: Modern Telescopes and Their Makers |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1986 |isbn=0674174356}}</ref> [[United States Congress|Congressional]] approval for the VLA project was given in August 1972, and construction began some six months later. The first antenna was put into place in September 1975 and the complex was formally inaugurated in 1980, after a total investment of {{US$|78500000|1980|round=-6}}.<ref name="overview"/> It was the largest configuration of radio telescopes in the world.

In 1997 the VLA featured in ''[[Contact (1997 American film)|Contact]]'', the film adaptation of the 1985 [[Contact (novel)|book by the same name]] written by [[Carl Sagan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Filming Contact at the Very Large Array |url=https://www.qsl.net/n1irz/contact.html |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=www.qsl.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626174637/https://www.qsl.net/n1irz/contact.html |archive-date=2024-06-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Beyond The Visible: The Story of the Very Large Array |url=https://public.nrao.edu/gallery/beyond-the-visible-vla/ |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=National Radio Astronomy Observatory |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225055841/https://public.nrao.edu/gallery/beyond-the-visible-vla/ |archive-date=2024-02-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Radio Telescopes in the New Movie |url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=102822 |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=www.nsf.gov |language=English |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103021306/https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=102822 |archive-date=2024-01-03}}</ref>

With a view to upgrading the venerable 1970s technology with which the VLA was built, the VLA has evolved into the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA). The upgrade has enhanced the instrument's sensitivity, [[frequency]] range, and resolution with the installation of new hardware at the San Agustin site. A second phase of this upgrade may add up to eight additional antennae in other parts of the state of [[New Mexico]], up to {{convert|300|km|order=flip}} away, if funded.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/evla/ |title=The Expanded Very Large Array Project: A Radio Telescope to Resolve Cosmic Evolution |work=aoc.nrao.edu |publisher=National Radio Astronomy Observatory |access-date=2015-03-24}}</ref>

[[Magdalena Ridge Observatory]] is a new observatory a few miles south of the VLA, and is run by VLA collaborator [[New Mexico Tech]]. Under construction at this site is a ten-element optical [[interferometer]].

In June 2023, the [[National Radio Astronomy Observatory]] announced that they will be replacing the ageing antennae with 160 new ones at the site, plus 100 auxiliary antennae located across North America. The project, estimated to cost about $2 billion to build and around $90 million to run, will vastly expand the capabilities of the current installation and increase the frequency sensitivity from 50&nbsp;GHz to over 100&nbsp;GHz. The facility will be renamed the "'''Next Generation Very Large Array'''".<ref name="NGVLA">{{cite news |last1=Nott |first1=Robert |date=June 10, 2023 |title=Very Large Array getting even larger |url=https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/very-large-array-getting-even-larger/article_69208ece-0092-11ee-b730-4fd7793911be.html |access-date=June 19, 2023 |work=Santa Fe New Mexican |language=en}}</ref><ref name="NGVLA2">{{cite web |last1=Begay |first1=Mesha |title=Very Large Array to expand from 27 antennas to 260 |url=https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/very-large-array-to-expand-from-27-antennas-to-260/ |website=KOB.com |access-date=June 19, 2023 |date=June 13, 2023}}</ref>