See upgrades to SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s X-ray laser, including some of the 37 cryomodules to be completed, in a collection of photos showcasing its trademark orange styling, and learn more about the experiments it will enable.

In the first two photos, workers install one of 37 cryomodules needed for LCLS-II in the linear accelerator tunnel. When linked together and chilled to near absolute zero, these cryomodules will accelerate electrons to almost the speed of light.

Next up is the undulator hall, where magnets will cause the speedy electrons to swerve back and forth to produce ultrafast X-ray laser pulses. In the last two photos, workers install one of two new undulator systems that can tune these pulses to different wavelengths for a wide spectrum of experiments.

Together, these upgrades will create beams that fire a million pulses per second, up to 10,000 times brighter than SLAC’s current X-ray laser.