  TAMA300, an interferometric gravitational-wave detector with 300-m baseline
length, has been developed and operated with sufficient sensitivity to detect
gravitational-wave events within our galaxy and sufficient stability for
observations; the interferometer was operated for over 10 hours stably and
continuously. With a strain-equivalent noise level of $h\sim 5 \times 10^{-21}
/\sqrt{\rm Hz}$, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 30 is expected for
gravitational waves generated by a coalescence of 1.4 $M_\odot$-1.4 $M_\odot$
binary neutron stars at 10 kpc distance. %In addition, almost all noise sources
which limit the sensitivity and which %disturb the stable operation have been
identified. We evaluated the stability of the detector sensitivity with a
2-week data-taking run, collecting 160 hours of data to be analyzed in the
search for gravitational waves.
