SKA Engineering & Operations Centre

SKA Engineering & Operations Centre

Tracy Cheetham General Manager: Infrastructure & Site Operations

INFRASTRUCTURE SOUTH AFRICA Consortium Leader (SKA)

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Overview of presentation

• What is the SKA?

• SKA Science

• SKA Timeline

• SKA in South Africa and Africa

• SKA and MeerKAT phases

• SKA SA / SKAO Governance structure

• SKA Architecture

• SKA SA / SKAO Engineering & Operations

Centre existing status

• Locality plan in TRUP and land options

• SKA SA / SKAO Building requirements &

opportunities

• Way forward

What is the SKA?

• SKA stands for the Square Kilometre Array

- World’s largest radio telescope

- one square kilometre of collecting surface

through an array of antennas distributed

over a large area

• The SKA will be tens of times more sensitive and

hundreds of times faster at mapping the sky that

today’s best radio astronomy facilities

• The SKA will generate data at a rate of more than

10 times today’s global internet traffic

• Global project with SA, AUS, NZ, UK,

Netherlands, Italy, India, Sweden, Canada, China

+ more joining

What will the SKA do?

SKA Science

Challenging Einstein

- Strong field tests of gravity

Galaxy Evolution, Cosmology &

Dark Energy

- How do galaxies evolve?

- What is dark energy?

Cosmic Magnetism

Probing the Cosmic Dawn

Cradle of Life

Continuum Surveys

Radio Transients

SKA Timeline

• 2003 January: SKA SA project office established,

Dr Bernie Fanaroff appointed as Director

• 2005 December: First formal site proposal submitted

• 2006 August: South Africa and Australia short-listed

• 2011 September: Final site proposal submitted

• 2011 November: SKA Organization formed HQ at Jodrell Bank, UK

• 2012 February 22: SSAC recommends Africa as preferred SKA site

• 2012 May 25: SKA Organization split site announcement

(Majority to South Africa)

• 2013 November: SKA preconstruction work commenced

(Work Packages with resources committed in-kind

from partner countries)

• 2015 Mar: SKA 1 re-baselined to fit Euro 650M cost cap

• 2015 Apr: Preliminary Design Completed by all Consortia &

commencement of Stage 2

SKA Site Bid Decision – May 2012

Northern Cape

4% population

40% land area

AGA Act 2007

SKA Site in South Africa

Africa (mid-frequency)

Australia (low-frequency array)

SKA Antennas

The SKA in Africa

Partner Countries:

• Botswana

• Ghana

• Kenya

• Madagascar

• Mauritius

• Mozambique

• Namibia

• Zambia

SKA Phases 1 and 2

South Africa Australia

Dishes MFAA LFAA Dishes MFAA LFAA

SKA Phase 1 - 25 May 2012 MeerKAT + 190 ASKAP + 60 200 000

SKA Phase 1 - Mar 2015 MeerKAT +133 ASKAP 100 000

SKA 2 Thousands yes expand

MeerKAT precursor

• The MeerKAT radio telescope is funded by the

South African Government (DST)

• 64 dish array – precursor to the SKA

• Infrastructure for MeerKAT completed – 23

antennas installed on site

• 16 dish working array – end June 2016

• 64 dishes – end March 2017

• 64 dish working array – Dec 2017

• MeerKAT will be incorporated into SKA1

MeerKAT Core

13

Governance Structures

• SKAO Articles of Association – Limit mandate of SKA

Organization to make preparations for construction of SKA,

but may not proceed with procurement

• South Africa represented on the SKAO Board by the

Director General: Science & Technology and the SKA SA

Project Director

• SKAO Intergovernmental Organization (Treaty organization)

being established for procurement, construction &

operational phase

• SKA South Africa is a business unit of the National

Research Foundation (legal entity in terms of NRF Act)

• Hosting Agreement underway – describes what South

Africa has to provide/make available to the SKAO

Governance Structures

• South African hosting commitment includes:

- Protection of site in the Karoo from Radio Frequency

Interference

- Land in the Karoo

- MeerKAT radio telescope (SA instrument) will be

incorporated into SKA1_MID

- Other facilities subject to Commercial Terms and

Conditions which include:

- Engineering Support Centre in the Karoo;

- Science Data Processing Facility in Cape

Town;

- SKAO Engineering & Operations Centre in

Cape Town

MeerKAT/SKA Schedule

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 ----

Me

erK

AT MeerKAT Completed x x x x

MeerKAT Early Science x

MeerKAT Full Science x x x x x

SKA

1-M

id

SA Infrastructure Design

SA Infrastructure Construction

SKA1 Mid Design

SKA1 Mid Procure

SKA1 Construction

SKA1 Mid/MeerKAT Integration x x

SKA1 Early Science

SKA1 Full Science x x x x x x x

SKA

2

SKA2 Design

SKA2 Procurement

SKA2 Construction

SKA2 Science

Aligned with 5

year survey

time allocation 16 Antenna Array Science

capable by 30 June 2016

SKA Architecture

SKA Engineering &

Operations Centre

• Primary monitoring &

control of SKA radio

telescope from Cape

Town

• Integration, test &

verification from Bits in

to Bits out

• International Scientists

SKA SA / SKAO Engineering & Operations

Centre status

• SKA SA has 3 offices

- The Park, Pinelands (Cape Town) – lease which houses

SKA SA telescope engineering team, finance, SCM, HR,

scientists (150 people)

- Rosebank (Johannesburg) – lease which houses

infrastructure, HCD, strategy, RFI/AGA teams (40 people)

- Karoo Observatory (Karoo) – land/facilities owned by NRF

which houses telescope & site operations/maintenance teams

(up to 100 people in future)

• SKAO (international) HQ located in Jodrell Bank, Manchester

- SKAO currently upgrading their existing building in

Manchester which is funded by the UK Government

- There is a requirement in both host countries (SA and AUS)

to have an SKAO Engineering & Operations Centre which

includes and Integration Test Facility for the SKA during

construction

NRF-owned land

• SKA SA / SKAO requirements

- NRF has requested the SKA SA to move away from leasing

property in Cape Town to a long-term strategy of owning a

building and land

- NRF owns the land at the SAAO and at the entrance to the

River Club which are both located in the TRUP

- NRF has requested the SKA SA to consider both land options

and determine which is the most feasible (considering

heritage, timelines, flooding & mitigation, ecologically

sensitive areas etc.)

- The new building must cater for both SKA SA and the SKAO

Engineering & Operations Centre

- Building must be “iconic” and reflect high-tech building which

is environmentally friendly

- Co-locating the SKA SA/SKAO with SAAO will promote multi-

wave astronomy collaboration

Locality Plan within the TRUP


land options

Left: SAAO site (NRF owned)

Above: River Club site (NRF

owned)


building requirements

Description Total Area

SKA SA

Reception, Auditorium, Visitors Offices, staff offices,

canteen, stores, server room, library, Reverberation

chamber, telescope control room, Boardroom,

mechanical & electronic workshop, laboratory,

circulation space etc.

7418m2

SKAO

Offices, Integration Test Facility 807m2

TOTAL 8225m2

• Limited budget and requirements will have to be

reduced through design process


building opportunities

• Site adjacent/co-located to SAAO which promotes opportunity for

shared facilities (e.g. workshops) to reduce requirements and costs

• SKAO Integration Test Facility requirement can be fast-tracked

through possible re-use of SAAO workshops as interim

• Site adjacent to River Club. River Club development very attractive

to SKA SA and SKAO:

- Hotels (international, local scientists, staff accommodation

and hosting of international conferences)

- Gym

- Restaurants (eliminate canteen and reduce requirements and

costs)

- Accommodation (SKA SA HCD post graduates)

- Live/work/play theme very attractive with excellent working

environment


way forward

• Tender being prepared to appoint the design team (end May 2016)

• Scope will include:

- topographical survey, geotechnical survey

- assessment of geohydrological and other reports available for

both sites

- basic assessment/EIA (including heritage, archaeological,

ecological etc.)

- rezoning application and notification of development

- preliminary and detailed design of bulk civil infrastructure &

building

- Local authority and other approvals (including Water licenses)

• Both sites will be assessed by bidders as part of their recommendation on

the preferred site which will form part of the technical evaluation

• The Technical Evaluation Committee will evaluate based on criteria and

scoring and the preferred site determined based on specialist input

• Timelines: dependent on site – aim is to have a building Q1 2019

www.ska.ac.za

SKA Engineering & Operations Centre

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