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(Last Reviewed :  24/08/2010 )

KEY POINTS

  • The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a collaborative international project, currently involving organisations in 20 countries, to build a massive, next-generation radio telescope.  A number of governments are considering becoming funding partners in the project.
  • The international astronomy community has identified two potential sites for locating the SKA – Australia and Southern Africa. The main criteria, especially for the core site, are exceptional radio-quietness and suitable atmosphere and climatic conditions.  Potential partner governments have agreed to a process to select the most suitable site by early 2012.
  • Key areas for business involvement in the SKA project include high-end information and communications technology, advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, construction and provision of infrastructure, transport and operations logistics.
  • The Government is cooperating closely with the Western Australian Government, the Government of New Zealand and CSIRO on the bid to host the SKA in Australia and New Zealand.  On 21st August 2009, the Australian and New Zealand Governments formally agreed to cooperate on the SKA and jointly bid to host the project.
  • The governments have committed in excess of $300 million to develop new world-class radio astronomy infrastructure and capability to underpin the bid including:
    • establishing the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) in the Mid-West of Western Australia as the world's best radio observatory and the candidate SKA core site;
    • a new $120 million radio telescope, the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP), being built by CSIRO to prove Australian technology, industry capability and the Australian site. The first of the 36 ASKAP antennas has now been installed at the MRO;
    • the Murchison Wide-Field Array (MWA) low frequency ‘aperture array’ telescope, being built by a consortium of US, Australia and Indian institutions with Australian and US government funding;
    • a new 12-m radio telescope at Warkworth in the North Island of New Zealand, operated by the Auckland University of Technology.  The Warkworth telescope has been part of successful Very-Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) experiments with telescopes in Australia, including ASKAP, proving the feasibility and enormous scientific value of the proposed 5,500 km Australia-New Zealand SKA baseline;
    • developing a leading-edge capacity in radio astronomy research, engineering and operations in Western Australia – including the $80 million Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre for SKA Science which will also support other areas of science, and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), a collaborative research centre in astronomical science and engineering that will contribute to the realisation and success of the SKA;
    • a 700km fibre optic link from the MRO to the Pawsey Centre in Perth with dedicated capacity for the SKA and precursor telescopes;
    • a $47.3 million project to develop innovative renewable energy solutions for the SKA – through building green energy plants for the MRO (solar/storage/diesel) and Pawsey Centre (direct heat geo-thermal).
  • Australia and New Zealand participate actively in the international program to undertake R&D and develop a policy framework for the SKA.  They are also using their international relationships and diplomatic resources to promote the SKA as a project with huge scientific potential, as well as a wide range of non-science benefits, including a technology development agenda that is likely to produce major innovation in sectors such as ICT and renewable energy, with significant spill-overs.
  • The governments have a comprehensive strategy to promote the credentials of Australia and New Zealand to be the host region for the SKA.  That strategy emphasises the strong technical advantages of the region in terms of radio-quietness, flexibility in configuring the array, long baseline and the availability of infrastructure, particularly a national broadband network with good global connectivity, to enable an efficient and cost effective implementation of the SKA. 
  • The technical advantages of the Australia-New Zealand site will enable the scientific and non-scientific outcomes of the project to be maximised for all the international partners.

FACTS AND FIGURES

The SKA is a true mega-science project in its global reach, scale and scientific and technical ambition. The array will consist of several thousand antennas over a 5,500 km baseline (in the case of an Australia-New Zealand configuration), operating as a single instrument with 10,000 times the potential of existing telescopes to make new discoveries.

It will be one of the largest science projects of the 21st century, expected to cost in excess of €9 billion, including construction and operations, in an anticipated operating life of 50 years.  Funding for the SKA will come from a consortium of nations.

The potential benefits of hosting the SKA in Australia and New Zealand will include business opportunities and industry development, boosting local research and innovation, attracting world-class talent and intangible benefits such as enhancing the global standing of both countries in science and engineering and providing an iconic project to draw young people to careers in these fields.