AKIPRESS.COM - China has fitted the final piece on what will be the world's largest radio telescope, due to begin operations in September, reports BBC.

The 500-m-wide Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, is the size of 30 football fields.

The $180-mln satellite project will be used to explore space and help look for extraterrestrial life.

Advancing China's space program remains a key priority for Beijing.

Scientists are now due to start debugging and trials of the telescope, Zheng Xiaonian, deputy head of the National Astronomical Observation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences said.

FAST will replace the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which is around 300 m in diameter, as the world's largest telescope.