 Funding for the construction of the telescope was requested on the 19 December 1960, and the telescope was operational by the summer of 1964.The telescope was originally intended as a prototype for a larger, "Mark IV" telescope, which was never constructed.As a result, an elliptical dish was used, with a major axis of 125 ft (38.1 m) and a minor axis of 83 ft 4 in (25.4 m).