  The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is a Chinese
mega-science project funded by the National Development and Reform Commission
(NDRC) of the People's Republic of China. The National Astronomical
Observatories of China (NAOC) is in charge of its construction and subsequent
operation. Upon its expected completion in September 2016, FAST will surpass
the 300-meter Arecibo Telescope and the 100-meter Green Bank Telescope in terms
of absolute sensitivity in the 70 MHz to 3 GHz bands. In this paper, we report
on the project, its current status, the key science goals, and plans for early
science.
