Daily Image
07-09-2009
Square Kilometre Array (SKA) timeline update
| Submitter: | Michael Garrett |
| Description: | Over the last few months, significant progress has been made by the SKA Program Development Office (SPDO) in fleshing out a more detailed time-line for the construction of the SKA. With input from the major design and preparatory studies, such as the FP6 SKA Design Study (SKADS), the US SKA Technology Development Program (TDP) and the FP7 SKA Preparatory Study (PrepSKA), not to mention the various SKA precursor and pathfinder telescope initiatives, including the LOFAR and APERTIF projects, a realistic timeline for the project is beginning to emerge. Recently, the Agencies SKA Group (ASG) has also been installed, and their influence on the timeline in terms of political and financial constraints will be increasingly felt as the project matures still further. The timeline presented above was presented to the ASG at their meeting in the Hague earlier in the summer. It shows the goal of constructing the first phase of the SKA telescope during the period 2013-18. While this might all sound like the far future, its essential to realise that the basic design of the telescope will need to be well established not only before construction can start, but before serious funding can flow. ASTRON, together with the rest of the global SKA community, has the heavy responsibility of ensuring that the best possible SKA is built for the next generation of astronomers. In this regard, the next 12-18 months will be crucial - it behooves us to ensure that the fantastic results now flowing from LOFAR, APERTIF and EMBRACE are widely presented to the rest of the community. |
| Copyright: | SKA Project Development Office (SPDO) |
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