140-foot Green Bank radio telescope construction, 1964. In December of 1964, work began on installing the 60 aluminum surface panels of the 140-foot (43-meter) dish telescope at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, West Virginia, USA. At the same time, the derricks and cranes used to lift the thousands of tons of structure were being dismantled. They had been familiar sights in Green Bank for over six years. The 140-foot telescope was completed in 1965.