After 7 construction seasons, IceCube is finally complete!
Construction ended quietly on Saturday, Dec. 18th(New Zealand date), as the last string was lowered into the ice, completing the 86-string, 5,160 optical module array. This was the last of 7 strings deployed in December; this was a very short season compared with the last two seasons, when 19 and 20 strings were deployed, respectively. Work at the Pole has now turned toward packing up the drill for long-term storage, upgrading the computer system on the surface, and sending now-surplus material North.
The occassion was celebrated by press-releases galore:
Several groups have issued press releases to note the occasion:
From the NSF and University of Wisconsin:
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=118236&org=NSF&from=news
From LBNL:
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-icecube-world-largest-neutrino-observatory.html
From DESY (in German):
http://www.desy.de/e428/e548/e4802/e87334/e105250/index_ger.html
There was also a modicum of press coverage - check out google or google news for the latest.
A belated Happy Holidays to everyone.