Australia and South Africa jointly awarded SKA Telescope

In a widely expected, but somewhat controversial decision, the Square Kilometer Array facility has been awarded to both Australia and South Africa.

It is understood that Australia / New Zealand have been awarded the low frequency component for the SKA, whereas South Africa has been awarded the mid frequency component.

The press release states:

"The majority of SKA dishes in Phase 1 will be built in South Africa, combined with MeerKAT. Further SKA dishes will be added to the ASKAP array in Australia. All the dishes and the mid frequency aperture arrays for Phase II of the SKA will be built in Southern Africa while the low frequency aperture array antennas for Phase I and II will be built in Australia."

Congratulations to all involved from both Australia and South Africa. Whilst I'm sure everyone would have wanted the whole facility, it is a great reward to two deserving sites.

For the full press release head here.

Australia and NZ submit bid for the SKA

On the 14th of September, Australia and New Zealand submitted their formal proposal to host the Square Kilometer Array. The Square Kilometer Array will be the worlds most sensitive Radio-Astronomy instrument, and is expected to cost around AUD$2 Billion to build, making it one of the most prominent scientific instruments worldwide.

The Australia / New Zealand Bid is in direct competition to host the SKA with Southern Africa, with the Australian / New Zealand site believed to be superior to Southern Africa in terms of radio quietness, which is critical to maximise the scientific value of the instrument, as well as being able to leverage off the Australian government's new Australia-wide fibre-optic network, the National Broadband network. Australia and New Zealand also offer a highly stable political environment to support the SKA facility, ensuring stability across its predicted 50 year timeframe.

The facility will involve thousands of Radio telescope dishes, centered in the Murchison region of Western Australia but extending across the whole of Australia as well as New Zealand, offering a telescope baseline of 5,500 kilometers.

The Australian / New Zealand bid brought together over 47 government agencies from across Australia and New Zealand, in a strong show of political support from both sides of the Tasman. If selected, the SKA will put Australia and New Zealand at the forefront of radio-astronomy for generations to come, bringing the best minds globally to work with the facility.

The site selection is expected to be announced in early 2012, with  the SKA fully operational by 2020.

Go you Aussies and New Zealanders!