The world’s largest radio telescope observatory – being built in South Africa and Australia – has reached a new milestone.

The first of almost 200 telescope dishes that will eventually make up the Square Kilometre Array Observatory’s (SKAO) Mid-Array in the Northern Cape has been assembled on site.

Engineering News reports that the first phase of the SKA-Mid installation will comprise four antenna (telescope dishes) and is dubbed Array Assembly 0.5 (AA 0.5).

The first grouping of dishes – each with a diameter of 15m – will be used for testing and a process review before full-scale production of the dishes is started. SKA-Mid will cover the radio frequency range from 350 MHz to 15.4 GHz, ultimately increasing this to 24 GH.

‘As a team we are now totally focused on the next stage of activities because we have already got two more dish structures on site, ready for assembly,’ says SKA-Mid construction director Tracy Cheetham. ‘This is a complex environment, with many variables, but we are in a strong position to proceed with the next steps towards AA 0.5.’

While China-based CETC54 is manufacturing the dishes, Stellenbosch-based EMSS Antennas will manufacture the receivers, with each dish having more than one receiver. Other components for the SKA-Mid are being manufactured in Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

In Australia, assembly of the two-metre high dishes for the SKA-Low Array started in March, with more than 1 000 already in place. SKA-Low will total 131 072 antennas, covering the frequency range from 50 MHz to 350 MHz.

16 July 2024
Image: Square Kilometre Array Observatory