In 2006, GSI, together with a large international science community, presented the FAIR Baseline Technical Report (FBTR) on an unprecedented accelerator Facility for Antiproton and Ion beams Research in Europe, located in Darmstadt (Germany). This facility is based on extensive discussions and a broad range of workshops and working group reports, organized by the international user communities over a period of several years enabling unique experimental possibilities in the fields of nuclear- and astrophysics, hadron-, plasma and atomic physics as well as on applied physics. Following an in-depth evaluation of the proposal by the German Wissenschaftsrat and its recommendation to realize the facility, the Federal Government gave conditional approval for construction of FAIR in 2003. Since then the project has gone through major steps of development and significant progress has been achieved with regard to the scientific-technical and political preparation of the project under the governance of an international committee structure. The current status of the project will be reviewed.
The Spallation Neutron Source accelerator complex consists of a 2.5 MeV H- front-end injector system, a 186 MeV normal-conducting linear accelerator, a 1 GeV superconducting linear accelerator, an accumulator ring, and associated beam transport lines. The linac was commissioned in five discrete runs, starting in 2002 and completed in 2005. The accumulator ring and associated beam transport lines were commissioned in two runs in February and April 2006. With the completed commissioning of the SNS accelerator, the facility has begun initial low-power operations. In the course of beam commissioning, most beam performance parameters and beam intensity goals have been achieved at low duty factor. A number of beam dynamics measurements have been performed, including emittance evolution, transverse coupling in the ring, beam instability thresholds, and beam distributions on the target. The commissioning results, achieved beam performance and initial operating experience of the SNS will be presented.