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Square Kilometre Array (SKA)

South Africa is leading Africa’s bid to host the world's most powerful radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

The International SKA Steering Committee shortlisted Africa and Australia in 2006 as the bidders for the project. A consortium of the major international science funding agencies, in consultation with the SKA Science and Engineering Committee (SSEC), will announce the selected site for the SKA in April 2012.

News

Africa is ready to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA): Minister Pandor
29 March 2012 - The process for the allocation of a preferred site to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope is reaching its conclusion. The anticipated date for a final decision is the 4th April, although this is likely to be delayed as the members of the SKA Organisation consider the final site decision.
>> Minister Naledi Pandor: Meeting with South African National Editors Forum on Square Kilometre Array (SKA) bid process

KAT-7 is a seven-dish prototype interferometer array in the Karoo - photo SKA

Extra-galactic milestone for South Africa's KAT-7 telescope
14 March 2012 - South Africa's KAT-7 telescope, a seven-dish array which is a precursor to the much larger MeerKAT telescope in the Karoo and to the Square Kilometre Array, has reached another major milestone by observing the radio emission from the neutral hydrogen gas (HI) in a nearby galaxy. Hydrogen gas emits radio emission in a spectral line at a very specific frequency of 1420 MHz.

MeerKAT animation
Watch the latest animation about MeerKAT, the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the southern hemisphere until the SKA is completed.

Facts on the SKA

• This groundbreaking project for world science will observe, capture and analyse radio signals from the immediate aftermath of the Big Bang. It will search for earth-like planets and potential life elsewhere in the universe, test fundamental scientific positions such as the theory of gravity, and probe the dark energy of the early universe.

• The SKA will be 50 to 100 times more sensitive than any radio telescope built to date and will have an extensive array of approximately 3 000 antennae. Half of these will be concentrated in a central region of 5 km in diameter, and the rest will be distributed up to 3 000 km from this central concentration. 

• The SKA will require the world’s fastest supercomputer and Internet connectivity to operate and will offer unparalleled scientific and business opportunities.

• The bid project was endorsed by the South African Cabinet in 2003 and is in line with the Government's Astronomy Geographic Advantage Programme (AGAP), which aims to establish a hub of world-class astronomy facilities in Southern Africa.

The development impact

• Winning this mega astronomy infrastructure bid is expected to result in investment in Africa of about $2 billion in the continent during construction and $200 million per annum over a 20-30 year period. It will boost the development of high level skills and cutting edge technology infrastructure.

• The SKA will drive the development of internet connectivity in both rural and urban areas in Africa. A World Bank study concluded that every 10% increase in bandwidth connectivity for developing countries produces 1.3% growth in gross domestic product (GDP) of the host country.

• The SKA will attract the world's best scientists and engineers to work in Africa, and provide unrivalled opportunities for scientists and engineers from African countries to engage with transformational science and cutting-edge instrumentation, and to collaborate in joint projects with the most renowned universities and research institutions in the world.

• The location of the SKA in Africa will go beyond socio-economic development and will strengthen self belief and identity.  If successful, the SKA Bid will strategically position Africa as a continent of choice for science and technology investments.

• As the United States (US) and other nations’ space programmes have done for decades, the SKA will expand the imaginations of people everywhere and raise the general appreciation for science and inspire the next generation. 

• African Heads of State and Government endorsed South Africa’s bid to host the SKA at the African Union Summit in January 2010.

• At its meeting in Dakar, Senegal in January 2010, the African Physical Society (AfPS) ‘unequivocally’ endorsed the sitting of the SKA in Africa.

Africa's bid

• Africa offers the astronomical "richness" of the southern skies and a strong tradition of astronomy. Possibly the oldest solar observatory was found at Nabta Playa in southern Egypt.

• South Africa’s Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is the largest optical telescope in the Southern hemisphere. Moreover, Namibia has the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) telescope, while several other African countries are constructing or refurbishing telescopes.

• Africa’s bid proposes that the core of the mega telescope be located in an arid area of the Northern Cape, with about three antenna stations in Namibia, four in Botswana and one each in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar, Namibia and Zambia. 

• Each antenna station will consist of about 30 individual antennae. The combined collecting area of all these antennae will add up to one square kilometre. These antennae will be connected via a data communications network to a very large and powerful data processing facility on the SKA site in the Northern Cape. 

• The Karoo region of the Northern Cape is known for its topography, is sparsely populated and has a very dry climate. It geological profile is described as safe and stable with no seismic activity or natural disasters. 

• South Africa's Astronomy Geographic Advantage Act of 2007 [PDF] declares the entire Northern Cape Province, with the exception of the Sol Plaatje Municipality (Kimberley) as an astronomy advantage area with strict regulations on radio frequency interference and 12.5 hectares around the core site protected as a radio astronomy reserve.

• In 2010 the proposed site was declared a national key point by the South African government.

• A site comparison by a University of Pretoria (UP) student, based on data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) AQUA Satellite recently indicated that the total water vapour content at the South African core site is 39% lower than the Australian core site.

• The total water vapour content has a negative effect on array radio telescopes like the SKA and the difference of 39% is considered significant. Cloud cover (which has a similar effect to reduction/loss of signal for satellite TV on a cloudy day) is similar for the two sites during half of the year but for the other half the cloud cover over the Australian site is higher.

• South Africa has excellent science and technology relations with the European Union (EU), and currently participates actively in the EU Framework Programme, including infrastructure projects. The US and the EU, which has invested millions in SKA research, will emerge as the main funders of the SKA.

MeerKAT

• Construction of Africa’s SKA precursor telescope the Karoo Array Telescope (known as MeerKAT) is at an advanced stage to test possible technologies to be used in the ultimate design of the SKA itself.

• Once completed, MeerKAT will be the biggest radio telescope in the world until the completion of the SKA around 2023, meaning that South Africa will have 10 years of science that no one else will have.

• Five years before the MeerKAT telescope becomes operational, more than 43 000 hours of observing time (adding up to about five years) have already been allocated to radio astronomers from Africa and around the world, who have applied for time to do research with this unique and world-leading instrument.

• A preliminary design review (PDR) of the infrastructure for the MeerKAT telescope is currently being developed at the astronomy reserve in the Karoo region. The design is being developed with the first phase of the SKA in mind.

• The SKA South Africa project awarded the provision of the long-term MeerKAT and Southern Africa Large Telescope (SALT) 10 Gbps data link to InfraCO/Neotel. An interim 10 Mbps data link between the MeerKAT project office in Cape Town and the MeerKAT site went live on 19 January 2011 allowing for operation of the KAT-7 radio telescope to take place from the project's engineering headquarters in Cape Town.

• A team of technicians will be permanently on site at the KAT-7 telescope in the Karoo from 1 March 2011 to provide technical support during the roll-out and commissioning of the instrument.

• Tenders for the project are expected to be advertised during the third quarter of 2011 and construction is expected to commence by the end of 2011.

• South African engineers at the MeerKAT project office in Cape Town are taking the lead in the development of new generation astronomy tools such as the ROACH (reconfigurable open architecture computing hardware) boards in collaboration with UC Berkeley and National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).

• The ROACH board is a primary building block for digital signal processing systems in many next-generation radio telescopes for high-performance computing.

• A milestone has been achieved in South Africa with the successful detection of "fringes" in a joint very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observation performed using one of the seven 12m dishes of the KAT-7 radio telescope, near Carnarvon together with the 26m dish of the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) near Pretoria

Benefits to the South African economy

• In South Africa the bid has already provided 800 construction job opportunities in the Northern Cape and will create a further 100 jobs this year.

• Government took a decision in 2004 to increase the number of PhD and MSc graduates in radio astronomy. The SKA’s Human Capital Development Programme (HCDP) was established deliberately to focus on developing highly scares skills required for the running and upkeep of the SKA.

•  HCDP has spent nearly R42 million on capacity development in radio astronomy and the disciplines of engineering relevant to radio astronomy.  From 2011 to 2014 the investment in capacity development will increase to about R50 million a year (an additional R200 million investment) and R35 million a year from 2015 to 2025 (a further boost of R350 million).

• The SKA Youth into Science and Engineering project has since 2005 awarded 293 bursaries to learners in various areas of astronomy.  This includes 38 PhDs, 63 MScs and 15 postdoctoral fellowships. Grants have been made to 72 women and 39 students from other African countries. In addition, six research chairs have been established at South African universities.

• Support has been provided to 216 university lecturers and professors, postdoctoral fellows, postgraduate and undergraduate students, interns and engineering technician students and students from schools in the towns close to the South African SKA site.

• In addition to their participation in ‘blue skies’ scientific research, the young people supported by this programme will serve South Africa and Africa in key areas of economic development in the future. The bursaries have also created opportunities for studies in Astronomy at the University of Nairobi in Kenya and the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo in Mozambique. Madagascar and Botswana are planning to do the same and Mauritius is enhancing its existing Astronomy capacity.

• The number of professionals working in radio astronomy increased from 12 in 2003 to 54 in 2010. There are now also about 70 engineers, scientists and technicians in the project office working on the development and construction of the MeerKAT telescope.

• The South African SKA Project Office (SASPO) signed a formal collaboration agreement with the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) which will see the expansion of their staff exchange program and a outreach program to be associated with the Karoo radio astronomy reserve. The details of the collaboration will be finalised in the coming months, with the goal of signing an expanded memorandum of understanding in March 2011.

Benefits to communities surrounding the project site

• Undergraduate students with bursaries from the SKA South Africa Project regularly visit local communities in outreach programmes designed to excite learners of the Northern Cape about the leading role that their province is playing in the SKA.

• SKA Africa's schools outreach programme is equipping maths and science teachers in the area with new knowledge and skills, so that they will feel motivated, confident and inspired in teaching relevant subjects.

• As part of the outreach programme objectives, it aims to increase Grade 11 - 12 enrolments in maths and science, as well as to help learners achieve at least 60% in these subjects.

• A  R750 000 grant from the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) have been used to build and equip a Cyberlab (computer centre) at Carnarvon High School. The lab is equipped with 43 desktop computers, a laptop, an interactive board and a printer.

• In towns like Carnavon and Williston lab equipment and computers are being provided to learners through a partnership between government and private sector sponsors.

• The US Embassy in Pretoria has donated books to the Carnarvon primary school.

• Aurora Private School, based in Johannesburg, invited 12 educators from Carnarvon and Williston to take part in an educational exchange programme to share best practices in science and mathematics education.

• The SKA South Africa Project has established stakeholder forums in the towns of Carnarvon, Williston and Van Wyksvlei to update communities on developments and benefits of the project.

Brochure on South Africa's proposal to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) [PDF]

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Last modified: 30 March 2012 13:58:11.