The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a €1.5bn ( £1.3bn) project to build the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope, aimed at answering fundamental questions about the universe. The SKA will be an array of radio antennas with a collection area of a square kilometre with its core in South Africa or Australia. Signals from individual antennas will be combined to form one giant telescope. Construction could start as early as 2016.
Nine national governmental and research organisations agreed on to establish a founding board for the project and agreed to work together to secure funding for the next phase. The UK SKA consortium is made up of the universities of Manchester, Oxford and Cambridge together with the Science & Technology Facilities Council.
The project team said that the design, construction and operation of the SKA has the potential to impact skills development in science, engineering and in associated industries, not only in the host countries but in all project partners.
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