SKAO Corner
Historic moment as SKAO Council approves construction BY CASSANDRA CAVALLARO AND MATHIEU ISIDRO (SKAO)
We are GO for SKA construction. It was not announced quite like that, but when the SKAO’s Member States voted to approve construction of the SKA telescopes, at their third Council meeting on 25 June 2021, it marked a truly historic moment for thousands of people who have worked towards this goal over the past 30 years. The telescopes, SKA-Low in Australia and SKA-Mid in South Africa, will be the two largest and most complex networks of radio telescopes ever built. Recent times have brought so many milestones for the SKA
Astronomical Society’s Annual Meeting a few days later, on 29
project that the momentum has been almost palpable: the
June.
approval of the telescopes’ design at the end of 2019, multiple ratifications of the SKAO treaty leading to the creation of the Observatory in January 2021, the unveiling of the SKAO brand in May, the accession — or announcement of future accession — of new members to the Observatory and now, at last, the beginning of construction activities. “This decision by Council is arguably the biggest milestone of the project to date,” said SKAO Director-General Prof. Philip Diamond following the meeting. “It opens the door for us to start construction, and in not so many years start the
The SKAO wasted no time in getting procurement under way; on 1 July those activities formally began, after months of preparation and Contract Readiness Reviews, and in recent weeks several market surveys. In the coming months, the SKAO will place some 75 contracts in its Member States, for a total construction cost of €1.3billion (2021 euros). Operations will represent an additional €0.7billion over the 2021-2030 period. On the two sites, the first significant activity is due to happen
delivery of science by the SKA telescopes.” Prof. Diamond
early next year, with construction of the telescopes lasting
announced the news to some 600 astronomers from the
until 2028. Early science opportunities will start well before
global astronomy community in a plenary talk at the European
that, in the next few years, thanks to the telescopes’ array
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