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Australias battle with South Africa in the new space race

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AustraliaandSouthAfricaareengagedinafuriousrivalrynotoveroilorlandorevensport,butfor scientificprestigeandthechancetohostamachinesopowerfulitwillbeabletoseebacktothe beginningoftheUniverse.
ByAustralianTimeson5April,20121:19pminWorldnews/nocomments

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Australia,BrianBoyle, Murchison,SKA,SKAtelescope, SouthAfrica

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HughesreadyforSteyninCape TheSquareKilometreArray(SKA)isabillionpoundprojectthatwillform TownTest

themostpowerfultelescopeonEarth,onethatwilloperateuntilatleast 2050inaninitiativethatwillemploythousands.

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Bothnationshavebeenworkingontheirbidssince2006forthechanceto becometheworldleaderinastronomy,andtheendisveryclose.TheSKA boardwasexpectedtoannouncethewinnerofthebidwhentheymetin Amsterdamlastweek.However,afterseveralmeetingstodiscussthebids andadvisorypanelfindings,thedeliberationsweresofinelybalancedthat afinaldecisionhasnowbeendelayeduntilMay. WhereinAustralia? TheSKAwillbe50timesmorepotentthanitspredecessorsandwillconsist of3,000dishes(receptors)ofthreedifferenttypes,withatotalcollecting areaofover1km2.Thereceptorswillbearrangedinfivespiralarmsfroma centralcore,andifAustraliawinsthebid,thatcorewillbeattheMurchison RadioastronomyObservatory(MRO),approximately315kmnortheastof GeraldtoninWesternAustralia. TheShireofMurchisonintheWAoutbackisroughlythesizeofThe Netherlandsandyethasapermanentpopulationofapproximatelyjust110 people.Thislowpopulationdensityenablesthestrictradioquietness requirementsoftheSKAtobemet.IfAustraliaweresuccessfulinitsbid, thisenvironmentwouldbemaintainedforthefuturebya260kmradiusMid WestRadioQuietZone. WhatwillSKAdo? Inessence,theSKAwillattempttoanswerbigscientificquestionsaboutthe beginningsandexpansionoftheUniverse,themysteriousdarkmatterof spaceaswellasEinsteinstheoriesongravity.Inadayitwillgenerate enoughrawdatatofill15million64GBiPodsandinaweekitwillcollect

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australiantimes.co.uk/news//australias-battle-with-south-africa-in-the-new-space-race.htm

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4/8/12

Australias battle with South Africa in the new space race

SowhatdoesAustraliahavetooffer? TheremoteMurchisonsiteboastsclearskiesfreefromlightpollutionand radiointerference,plusgoodinfrastructure.Thelowpopulationdensity acrossWAandinlandAustraliameansthatthereissignificantflexibilityin theplacementofremotearraystationstoachieveallSKAsscientific objectivesandAustraliaiswellprovidedwithhighbandwidthopticfibre networks.AviewoftheSouthernskythatoverlapsthatofotherscientifically importanttelescopesandexcellentobservationalaccesstothecentreofthe MilkyWaymeanAustraliamayyetpipourAfricanrivalswhosemain advantageislowcost.Inaddition,TheLuckyCountryofferspolitical stabilityandhasanestablishedhistoryofinnovationandachievement radioastronomy. Thebenefits? WinningSKAwouldbeamassiveboosttothecountrysstanding internationally,astheprojecthasagoodchanceofwinningNobelprizes fromtheprojectsgroundbreakingresearch.Hostingtheworldsmost powerfultelescopewouldalsodrawforeigninvestmenttoAustraliaand boostdomesticbusiness. Thedecision? WhilebothAustraliaandSouthAfricaremaininclosecontention,thefinal decisiononthelocationoftheprojectwillbemadebyapanelofexperts fromfivecountriesChina,Italy,theNetherlands,BritainandCanada.Itwas evenmutedlastweekthattheprojectcouldseeacompromiseandbe dividedbetweenbothnations. TheMemberswishedtomoveaheadwiththesiteselectionprocess,and recognisedthatitisdesirabletomaintainaninclusiveapproachtoSKA,a pressstatementread.Theynotedthatitisimportanttomaximisethevalue fromtheinvestmentsmadebybothcandidatehostregions.Theytherefore agreedtosetupasmallscientificworkinggrouptoexplorepossible implementationoptionsthatwouldachievethis. HowevertheProjectDirectorfortheAustralianbid,DrBrianBoyle,doesnt necessarilysupportacompromisedsolution. TheANZSCC(AustralianNewZealandSKACoordinationCommittee) doesnotfavourasplitsiteoutcomethatwouldhavesignificantimpacton thescienceoutcomesoftheproject.WebelievethatafullscaleSKAas envisionedbytheinternationalcommunityisbothachievableand desirable,DrBoylesaid. WethereforelookforwardtoaclearrecommendationfromtheSKASite AdvisoryCommittee.Ifasitedecisionismadearoundmaximisingthe scienceoutcomesfortheSKA,westandreadytoworkwiththeinternational communitytorealisethisfullpotentialfortheSKAanddeliveroneofthe worldsmostambitiousandexcitingscienceprojectsofthe21stcentury. ShouldAustraliabeawardedtheSKAproject?Haveyoursaybelow:
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