World’s Biggest Telescope Gets Underway

A potential model of the Square Kilometer Array. Photo: SKA Organisation / Swinburne Astronomy Productions

After almost 30 years of planning, development, and research, construction on the world’s largest radio telescope, the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), is set to begin in South Africa and Australia. The telescope is slated to be completed in 2028.

The telescope is a major step in international space cooperation. Eight countries will be members of the SKA Organisation: Australia, China, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are the current members. France plans to join soon. The organization will be based in the United Kingdom, where data from the telescope will be processed and analyzed. Construction contracts for the telescope will go to companies from member countries, incentivizing international cooperation on space exploration. As more countries join the SKAO, more international organizations have become involved in the process. There are now roughly 100 organizations working on the SKAO project coming from the six major continents.

SKA will observe data from the earliest stages of the universe by detecting light from the stages after the Big Bang.

The telescope will be constructed by thousands of antennas spread across South Africa and Australia and will be powered by an Australian supercomputer. The sites will combine for over a square kilometer of collection antennas. 131,072 antennas will be built in Australia, while 197 dishes will be built in South Africa. 

While planning for the telescope goes back to the 1990s, it was only in Nov. 2022 that land was secured for the telescope in Australia. Delays on the construction of the telescope were tied to land disputes between the government of Western Australia and local Aboriginal communities, specifically the Wajarri Yamaji community, whose land will now contain the telescope. Australia’s Industry and Science minister Ed Husic said that the Australian government worked closely with the Wajarri Yamaji community to honor the community’s astronomical history, land heritage, and culture. The expanded site will be known as Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, or “sharing sky and stars,” and will also help give extra financial support to the Wajarri community.

Telescopes point to the sky in South Africa. Photo: SKA SA / Fernando Camilo

The SKAO also aims to reduce the carbon footprint created by the array. Computers, dishes, and arrays all require large amounts of power to operate. The computing done by astronomers around the world leaves a much higher carbon footprint than the average person produces, an issue which engineers at the SKA seek to tackle by incorporating less wasteful technologies into the sites and increasing the amount of time between technology replacements.

The development of international scientific infrastructure in South Africa will expand the nation’s developing economy and help bring important intellectual capital to the country. New construction and investment will give South Africa a chance to decrease the development gap with the most developed nations, in turn allowing the nation to strengthen its economic ties with neighboring countries.

Hundreds of millions of Euros of new investments are flowing into South Africa, which will jointly be awarded to South African and Australian companies for the construction of the telescope. In both South Africa and Australia, local incorporation will play a major role in the construction and operation of the array, giving back to communities affected by the construction. The investment in astronomical sciences will not just allow researchers to learn more about the life history of the universe, but will also produce tangible benefits such as roads and telecommunications for the individuals inhabiting the Earth.