FIRST BEAM TO FACET

The SLAC 3km linear electron accelerator has been reconfigured to provide a beam of electrons to the new Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests (FACET) while simultaneously providing an electron beam to the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). On June 23, 2011, the first electron beam was transported through this new facility. Commissioning of FACET is in progress. On June 23, 2011, an electron beam was successfully transported through the new FACET system to a dump in Sector 20 in the linac tunnel. This was achieved while the last third of the linac, operating from the same control room, but with a separate injector system, was providing an electron beam to the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), demonstrating that concurrent operation of the two facilities is practical. With the initial checkout of the new transport line essentially complete, attention is now turning toward compressing the electron bunches longitudinally and focusing them transversely to support a variety of accelerator science experiments.