The SKA Takes Off With £119M Contribution From The UK

(2014-03-27)

After the International Space Station and the Large Hadron Collider the world?s next great science project is the Square Kilometre Array,? declared the Minister. ?Investment in science is a crucial part of this government?s long-term economic plan. It?s about investing in our future, helping grow new industries and create more jobs ? and that will mean more financial security for people across the country.? This represents a major investment in the SKA, whose first phase (Phase 1) of construction has been cost-capped at ?650M. Under the current schedule for the project, funding for construction of Phase 1 is due to be confirmed by 2016 with start of construction expected in 2018 and early science expected to start in 2020. Effectively, Minister Willetts? announcement secures a significant portion of the construction budget for Phase 1, bringing the project that much closer to taking off. Following the announcement Prof. Phil Diamond, Director General of the SKA Organisation, said: ?This is a really exciting announcement for the SKA and a solid proof that the project is now really underway. With such a major investment secured there is no stopping it?. Prof. John Womersley, CEO of the UK?s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and chair of the SKA Board, said: ?It?s fantastic news for the SKA. This represents a significant investment on behalf of the UK and, along with our other contributions, aims to confirm the UK?s leading role in key aspects of the project?. STFC also confirmed that it is investing £19M over the next four years in the SKA project, made up of a capital investment in Big Data of £11M and a further £2M a year in the on-going core programme. The UK is already heavily involved in the effort to design the computing and software for the project which will have a data processing capacity 1,000 times greater than currently available. The £19M from STFC will be made up of grants to the three main SKA technical institutes in the UK, the Universities of Cambridge, Manchester and Oxford, along with the University College London and the University of Southampton. The announcement comes as the SKA?s Board meeting is taking place at the SKA Headquarters, with high-level representatives from all 11 member countries attending. In another confirmation of the SKA?s convincing development, more member states are also expected to join the SKA Organisation in 2014. Source: https://www.skatelescope.org/news/uk-minister-announcement-funding/

Images


Credits