Square kilometre array decision delayed again
Board may consider joint Oz-South Africa operation
SaaS data loss: The problem you didn’t know you had
The board deciding on the location for the Square Kilometer Array has once again delayed choosing between Australia and South Africa as the host nation.
Whether because the two proposed sites are so close as to present a nearly-impossible decision, or whether the political lobbying surrounding the SKA bids is has evenly divided the SKA board, the decision has been put off until May.
In a neutrally-worded statement, the SKA board said after its Schiphol (Netherlands) meeting that the board has “agreed to set up a small scientific working group” to report back in May.
While Australia has been pitching the climatic and radio-quiet superiority of its site, South Africa has been emphasizing the importance of the SKA as a development project.
The board’s statement hints that the opposing arguments may be resolved by accepting both bids, saying “it is desirable to maintain an inclusive approach” to the project, and it is “important to maximize the value from the investments made by both candidate host regions”. The working group has been instructed to “explore possible implementation options that would achieve this”.
Those investments include “pathfinder” builds both in South Africa and Australia – the 36-antenna ASKAP, at Murchison in Western Australia; and the seven-dish KAT-7 array in South Africa’s Karoo region, a precursor to its MeerKAT pathfinder array.
The two countries are also working on the vast computing requirements needed to support the SKA. ®
COMMENTS
So, there's really only one important question isn't there?
If one site is scientifically superior, and the other has great development potential:
Is this a scientific project, or a social development project?
Re: Must be sited in Australia
they should have used comparethemeerkat.com to make the decision between the two sites.
Why build only one?
When for just twice the price (or less) you can build TWO?
I would hazard a guess that twice the telescopes would give your FOUR times as much science.
And everyone knows MORE SCIENCE is a good thing.
What you need to know about cloud backup
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything
Cloud storage: Lower cost and increase uptime
SaaS data loss: The problem you didn’t know you had
