FRIB completed assembly and testing of all baseline cryomodules on 11 June. The baseline cryomodules contain superconducting resonators that accelerate FRIB’s heavy-ion beam while operating at temperatures a few degrees above absolute zero. On 23 June, the final beta=0.53 cryomodule was moved into the linear accelerator tunnel. It is the final of 46 cryomodules total in the tunnel.

During the move, the cryomodule is transported from the testing area to the FRIB building using a flatbed truck. The cryomodule is connected to a 30-ton overhead crane using special lifting fixtures. It is then lowered 40 feet down into the tunnel through a hatch at the ground level.

FRIB completed and certified all 46 beam-accelerating cryomodules on time and on budget in its production facility. A total of 324 superconducting resonators assembled in the cryomodules will be cooled down with liquid helium to accelerate the beam.

The completion of the final cryomodule brings to an end six years of production. Now that it is complete, the final cryomodule can be installed in the third section of FRIB’s linear accelerator (linac). Installation involves connection and testing tasks to fully integrate the cryomodule into the linac. Such tasks include alignment, checking connections, establishing power, testing, cleaning, and cooling down to cryogenic temperatures. Once the section is fully installed, FRIB will continue with beam commissioning through all linac sections.

FRIB is the nation’s first large superconducting linear accelerator with the majority of superconducting accelerator resonators produced domestically. The technology was developed at Michigan State University and transferred to domestic industry.