Dates of ALMA milestones as achieved

8 years from first prototype antenna to start of early science; 12 years to longest baselines

• 2003 Oct 01: First VertexRSI antenna delivered to NRAO
• 2005 Feb: Good holography results
• 2007 Mar 02: First fringes at ATF
• 2008 Jan 19: First spectrum at ATF
• 2009 Apr 30: First fringes at OSF, Chile
• 2009 Sep 23: First antenna at AOS
• 2009 Oct 21: First fringes at AOS, concrete pouring complete for all 192 pads
• 2011 Apr 22: Science verification data obtained on TW Hya in Band 7
• 2011 Jun 30: Call for proposals for Cycle 0
• 2011 Sep 30: Cycle 0 Early Science begins (16 antennas)
• 2012 Feb: First scientific paper
• 2014 November: First results from longest baselines
• 2015 October: First PI observations at longest baselines

Dates of SMA milestones as achieved

8 years from first antenna prototype to first external proposal deadline; 12 years to double bandwidth operation

• 1996: first prototype antenna assembled
• 1996 Dec 03: First beam map
• 1997 Fall: first redesigned prototype deployed (with counterweights and improved carbon fiber tubes)
• 1998 Oct 23: First fringes at Haystack
• 1999 Sep 30: First fringes on Mauna Kea
• 2003 Mar: First scientific paper
• 2003 Nov 22: Dedication, internal proposal observing begins (6 antennas)
• 2004 Feb 04: First external proposal deadline
• 2004 Nov: Special issue of ApJL on first science results
• 2008 Nov: Bandwidth doubled

Dates of MeerKAT milestones as acheived

8 years from beginning of construction to 16-dish images; 10 years to dedication

• 2008: Telescope requirements written (according to Foley et al. 2016 MNRAS)
• 2009: First fringes
• 2010: First image with four dishes (KAT-7)
• 2011: KAT-7 construction completed
• 2012: First KAT-7 image
• 2013 May: First scientific paper
• 2016 Jun: 16-dish image
• 2017 Apr: 32 dishes deployed
• 2018 Apr: 64-dish operation
• 2018 Jul 13: Dedication