Very Large Array - Upgrade and Renaming

Upgrade and Renaming

In 2011, a decade long upgrade project had resulted in the VLA expanding its technical capacities by factors of as much as 8,000. The 1970s era electronics were replaced with state-of-the-art equipment. To reflect this increased capacity, VLA officials asked for input from both the scientific community and the public in coming up with a new name for the array, and in January 2012 it was announced that the array would be renamed the "Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array". On March 31, 2012 the VLA was officially renamed in a ceremony inside the Antenna Assembly Building.