Booster Section Gets a "Big Boost"
Putting the first Booster module in place
Construction of the significant components of the NAL accelerator system continues to proceed on schedule despite wintry blasts and snow-filled fields.
NAL received occupancy of the newly-constructed Booster tunnel on the scheduled contract date---Thursday, February 26, 1970. Appropriately, there was a celebration after the Booster section completed supervising the Belding Engineering Co. moving the first of 48 modules into position in the tunnel. A module consists of two magnets and an energy storage system mounted on a steel girder -- each module weighs approximately 16 tons.
The module was lowered into the hatch by cranes and rolled into place on dollies. Norman Hill, Material Support administrator, was praised for his efforts in coordinating the entire move from the Booster Laboratory in the NAL Village to the Booster tunnel at the permanent site.
Roy Billinge, Booster section leader; Helen Edwards, physicist with the Booster section, and other members of the Booster team were on hand for this historic occasion. It was recorded for posterity by the Argonne Motion Picture unit, under the direction of George Lindholm, and by Tony Frelo, NAL photographer.
There were expressions of gratitude, too, to the Herlihy Mid-Continent Contracting Co. for their work in clearing the area of machinery and debris to make room for installation of the module on schedule.