The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has confirmed its support for South Africa's leadership in the bid to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope, encouraging all partners involved to do their part in ensuring its success.
The SADC Council of Ministers issued this confirmation at their recent meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Success in this bid would signal a coming-of-age for science and technology in Africa, result in major science and technology-led development, and reinforce the emerging consensus among African countries and their leaders about the fundamental importance of science and technology to Africa's development.
Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique and Namibia are to host remote stations of the SKA, the central location for which will be Carnarvon in the Northern Cape. The site will be host to the seven-dish Karoo Array Telescope and the 80-dish MeerKAT telescope, the pathfinders which will contribute to the development of the technology required for the SKA.
The SKA, for which Australia is also bidding, will be a mega radio telescope, about 100 times more sensitive than the biggest existing radio telescope. The final decision on the successful host country is expected in 2012.
The SKA will consist of approximately 3 000 dish-shaped antennae and other hybrid receiving technologies, with a core of about 2 000 antennas and outlying stations of 30 to 40 antennas each, spiralling out of the core. These stations will be spread over a vast area of up to 3 000 kilometres.
The combined collecting area of all these antennas will add up to one square kilometre, or one million square metres. Fifteen countries are currently involved as potential funders of the SKA, with another three countries having expressed interest.
The SKA is expected to constitute a capital investment of about €1,5 to €2 billion about one-third from the United States and one-third from the European Union, with the remainder funded by the other partners, including the host country. While a large part of these funds will be spent in supplier countries, there will also be significant investment in the host country, particularly for maintenance and operations over a 20 to 30 year period. The operating and maintenance costs of the SKA are expected to amount to about €150 million per year.
The SADC Council has noted that the establishment of the SKA facility would require the development of considerable information communication technology (ICT) capacity and infrastructure, as well as a major effort by the continent to train astronomers, engineers and information technology experts at senior level.
Already 141 students are receiving support for physics and engineering research on topics related to the SKA and the MeerKAT telescope, which is being built by South Africa as a precursor to the SKA. Thirty-seven of these students are from other African countries.
For more information contact:
Dr Tshepo Seekoe
Chief Director: Radio Astronomy Advance
Tel.: 012 843 6868
Cell: 082 523 4920
E-mail: tshepo.seekoe@dst.gov.za
Ms Lindiwe Lusenga
Chief Director: Multilateral Cooperation and Africa
Cell: 083 634 8990
E-mail: Lindiwe.lusenga@dst.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
24 November 2009
