In 1961, the site was selected by the National Research Council of Canada as suitable for the construction of a 120 ft (37 m) fully steerable antenna.

The telescope was designed to operate at higher frequencies than existing instruments, requiring much of it to be constructed of flat plates instead of an open mesh in order to accurately focus these signals.

Earlier experiments had used direct electrical links or microwave relays to extend the distance between the two telescopes, while still allowing real-time comparison of the phase of the two signals in a common instrument.

After a few more days they had made the first highly accurate measurement of the size of the quasar, showing it was less than 100 light years across, about 1/1000 the span of the Milky Way.

It was also used by Alan Bridle and Paul Feldman in 1974 for the first SETI search to be carried out at the 1.35 cm wavelength, emitted by water molecules in space.

As attention in radio telescopy turned to shorter wavelengths, representing higher energy events, the ARO became less useful to NRC.

[6] Since 2016, the antenna has been equipped with a digital radar system that provides Space Situational Awareness data on the location of geostationary spacecraft and debris larger than one square meter at ranges up to 50,000 km.