The Square Kilometre Array A Plain Person s Guide

Transcription

1 The Square Kilometre Array A Plain Person s Guide Peter Hall International SKA Project Engineer, MCCT-SKADS Training School Bologna, September 24,

2 Overview Radio telescopes, new & old Introduction to SKA & science case (brief) SKA design space Sensors (antennas) and other systems Reference Design technology development Some enabling technologies Pathfinders and Design Studies SKA specifications 2007 Siting brief Project timelines & management The SKA Preparatory Phase initiative International engineering, procurement,, studies Bright people needed! SKA progress and directions

3 Radio telescopes

4 Some current radio telescopes Australia Telescope Compact Array Very Large Array Arecibo Parkes About 10,000 sq metres effective area J. Sarkissian

5 Radio astronomy basics Telescope as radiometer: T sys ~ T antenna + T receiver S=2k T ant / A eff For radiometer, T ~ T sys /(Bτ) 1/2 Then, S=2k T sys / { (Bτ) 1/2 A eff } For small S, need big A eff /T sys Telescope FoM: Single field science: A eff /T sys Survey science: (A eff /T sys ) 2. FoV Different telescope designs for different frequencies and applications

6 Not just dishes. CoRE Molonglo Nancay BSA - Pushchino

7 Sensitivity of radio telescopes Square Kilometre Array

8 New radio telescopes Exploit convergence of radio and ICT Parameter space + flexibility = discovery Less metal, more ICT Gains achieved via functionality/cost improvements» Ride the consumer wave» Re-use expensive area, do more with photons Pose many challenges New players can be as effective as old in key areas» Architecture optimization, calibration, Collectively chart course to SKA and beyond - New science and technology at each stage - SKA and Pathfinders (LOFAR, ATA etc) are incubators for new astronomy & technology

9 Radio telescope arrays Now Few large antennas Small field-of-view Ultra-sensitive cryogenic receivers using massive coolers Analog signal path (quantization after IF) No, or unsophisticated interference mitigation - as an afterthought Precision structural and mechanical engineering SKA Pathfinders & Beyond Many medium or small antennas Wide and/or multiple independent fields-of-view Leading-edge un-cooled receivers (or modestly cooled receivers with miniature coolers) More DSP in signal path (possibly RF quantization below 2 Interference GHz) mitigation integral to system design Mass produced structures, drive and control elements

10 SKA

11 SKA at a glance Very wide field-of-view Aperture synthesis radio telescope with 1 km 2 of effective collecting area by 2020 Wide frequency range (25 GHz) Transformational science via new technologies Huge survey sensitivity; wide fields High resolutions in time, frequency & spatial domains Addresses fundamental physics questions Innovative design International funding: > 1 billion 2 short-listed sites: WA and Southern Africa x Cordes et al, SKA Memo 85

12 Wide field-of-view Allen Telescope Array Parkes SKA

13 Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos: Eleven Science Questions for the New Century US National Academies Board on Physics & Astronomy (2003) What Is the nature of the Dark Energy? How did the Universe begin? Did Einstein have the last word on gravity? What are the masses of the neutrinos and how have they shaped the evolution of the Universe? What is Dark Matter? How do cosmic accelerators work and what are they accelerating? Courtesy Brian Boyle Are protons unstable? What are the new states of matter at exceedingly high density and temperature? Are there additional space-time dimensions? How were the elements from iron to uranium made? Is a new theory of matter and light needed at the highest energies?

14 A few key RA discoveries Quasars, radio galaxies Jets and super-luminal motion Cosmic Microwave Background (3K) Dark matter in spiral galaxies Interstellar molecules Masers, megamasers (black hole dynamics) Pulsars Gravitational radiation in binary systems Slow rotation of Venus Spin-orbit locking of Mercury 4 of 7 Nobel Prizes in Astrophysics to RA

15 Observing the Distant Universe Today optical HST Today - radio VLA 2020 radio SKA HST WFPC2 2.5 arcmins FOV ** Radio waveband advantage unaffected by intervening dust **

16 Telescopes look back in time CMB Primordial soup - matter and energy mm-waves COBE satellite NASA Dark Ages - before the stars? radio SKA Early galaxies - stars light up light 10m +

17 Looking back to the Big Bang SKA was originally the hydrogen telescope born in late 1980s & early 1990s Dark Ages

18 SKA science priorities The first stars and galaxies in the Universe Emergence of structure Large scale structure of the Universe Dark energy Origin and evolution of cosmic magnetic fields The magnetic Universe Gravity in the strong field case Gravitational wave detection Planet formation Including search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) EXPLORATION OF THE UNKNOWN SKA is the radio member of a suite of next-generation telescopes

19 Radio quiet: A clear view to the early Universe Detecting the first stars & galaxies 11.5 < z < 5.2 The Epoch of Re-ionisation First stars & galaxies formed at this time redshift Courtesy Carole Jackson

20 SKA: the big picture Digital radio camera radio fish-eye lens Radio fish-eye lens + stations to 3000 km Inner core Station

21 SKA is an aperture synthesis telescope - A large aperture radio telescope is synthesized by sampling the wave-front in the aperture plane SKA needs angular and high dynamic range resolution not just sensitivity 3 km

22 SKA in general Exploits convergence of radio and ICT Parameter space + flexibility = discovery Uses less metal, more ICT Many gains via consumer wave Poses new challenges New players effective in pivotal technologies Is an incubator for selected leadingedge technology Radio astronomy is traditionally effective in this role Astronomers are sophisticated end users

23 Science & engineering exposition New Astronomy Revs, 48, 2004 Experimental Astronomy, 17, 2004 ( for details)

24 SKA: radio meets IT

25 SKA concept sensor distribution (About 150 stations) (About 2000 antennas)

26 SKA as e-science Antenna Array DSP ( correlator ) Pb/s Post-processing HPC ( imaging ) Tier 0 (SKA) Tb/s Europe USA Australia South Africa Tier 1 (National) E-science: Global collaboration in key areas of science, and the next generation of infrastructure that will enable it. More data, more computation, faster networks, more collaboration, exploration of data and models in silico discovery, floods of public data, GRID computing,.. J. Taylor, OST. Tier 3 (Institute) Tier 4 (Researcher) Gb/s Tier 2 (Regional)

27 SKA technology topics

28 Sensor (antenna) types Optic s What defines the primary field-ofview? (1 st stage beam-former technology) continuum Electronic s Concentrator (dish) Aperture phased array FOV expansion Optical (multiple feed cluster) Electronic (phased array feed) Analog (RF) beamform Digital beamfor m ATA, meerkat, APERTIF, ASKAP BEST, SKAMP EMBRACE MWA LOFAR 2-PAD Extreme electronic beamforming Technology choice depends on applications, frequency and delivery epo

29 Extreme electronic beam-forming (< 1 GHz) Processing of wavefront by optical beam-former Processing of wavefront by electronics and software cost decreases with time Moore s law aperture re-use many telescopes at once! individual apertures can be part of much bigger aperture synthesis correlation array

30 Top-level SKA engineering What is desired single FoV sensitivity, (A eff /T sys )? What is the best A eff, T sys trade-off?» Area is especially key to sensitivity at low freq where Galactic noise dominates» Receiver noise dominates at high frequencies Can A eff /T sys be traded for survey speed? Often, but not always Consider survey speed FoM (SSFoM) (A eff /T sys ) 2 * FoV Wide FoV may be cheaper than better A/T but how do we get it?» What type of antenna?» What cost balance between receptors and downstream signal processing/computing? How do we maintain tractable data volumes, rates and processing power? How do we optimize system performance-cost ratio? System design approach See SKA Memo 91 But will use technology snapshots for this talk

31 Pre-Sept 07 SKA design numbers At 1.4 GHz need A eff /T sys ~ m 2 K -1 G/T ~ 68 db K -1 With T sys ~ 50 K (or if T sys ~ T receiver receiver noise figure ~ 0.7 db) A eff = 10 6 m 2 Or 1 square kilometre FoV 1 deg 2 at 1.4 GHz At least tens of deg 2 below 1 GHz For A eff = 10 6 m 2 and cost = 1 billion SKA must cost < 1000 per m 2 cf present-day telescopes at 10,000 per m 2 Turn to convergence of radio and ICT engineering to develop new design paradigm

32 SKA concepts KARST (China) LAR (Canada) Cylindrical Reflector (Aust) Small-N Solutions Large N, Small D (USA) Luneburg Lens (Aust) Aperture Array Tiles (Europe) Large-N Solutions

33 Luneburg Lens Antenna Spherical lens with variable permittivity A collimated beam is focussed onto the other side of the sphere Beam can come from any direction

34 Reference Design antennas High-Band > 3 GHz: wide-band feed Mid-Band GHz: dish + phased array feed Swinburne/CVA visualization Low-Band Mid-band all-sky monitor: dense aperture array < 0.3 GHz: sparse aperture array

35 SKA antenna applications Frequency range (GHz) Sparse Aperture Array Dense Aperture Array Dish + Focal Plane Array Dish + Single-Pixel Feed Low-band EoR array All-sky monitor Imaging mid-band array High-band array (to ~0.5 GHz) (to ~1 GHz) Pathfinders or Design Studies LOFAR, MWA, LWA SKADS ASKAP, APERTIF ATA, TDP, meerkat Mid-band SKA is the focus of intense Pathfinder activity

36 Small Dish + Phased Array Feed Phased array feed Multiple fields ~ λ/d radian 10 m dish cost target: ~ 30k exc. feed FOV expansion factors ~30 may be practical D Correlator & further processing Digital beamformer Terminology: PAF is one type of Focal Plane Arra

37 Phased Array Feed FOV Expansion M H z F O V f o r P a r a b o lic D is h e s N a t u r a l F O V R e q u ir e d F O V Expansion factors ~50 may be feasible FOV (deg 2 ) F O V E x p a n s io n F a c t o r 0. 1 P J H a ll, 4 / 0 6, v D is h D ia m e t e r ( m )

38 PAF Operation Key question: How calibratable are PAFs? Courtesy D. Hayman

39 Developing PAFs Vivaldi array (ASTRON) Checkerboard array (CSIRO)

40 Plastic antennas? Canada 10 m carbon fibre mould South Africa 15 m composite antenna (KAT XDM)

41 SKA Receivers Typical Requirements Frequency range Instantaneous bandwidth Application Number of units Integration level Physical temperature Rx noise equiv. Dynamic range Low Band GHz (2-3 sub-bands) ~ 25% of centre freq. Phased arrays (Aperture or focal plane) Millions Feed optical O/P 300 K (ambient) ~ GHz > 8 bits High Band 3 25 GHz (2 sub-bands) 25%, to 4 GHz max. Single feeds (wideband) Thousands RF package < 80 K (cooled) ~ 7 10 GHz > 4 bits

42 Low band receivers one approach A POL RF IN MHz LNA PASSIVE HIGHPASS RF AMP PASSIVE LOWPASS RF AMP GILBERT CELL ACTIVE MIXER LOWPASS VGA SAMPLER SERIALISER 850nm FIBRE TO CONTROL ROOM DUAL POLARISATION WIDEBAND TAPERED SLOT ANTENNA 20dB Gain 500MHz 50K Noise Temp ~3rd Order -10dBm Comp. Point 2dB Ins. Loss 15dB Gain 200K Noise Temp 0dBm Comp. Point 1700MHz ~3rd Order 3dB Ins. Loss Q D Q 15dB Gain 400K Noise Temp 5dBm Comp. Point LO AMP 0dB Conv. Loss 250MHz 0dB Comp. Point 5th Order Active 800K Noise Temp 0dB Ins. Loss 800K Noise Temp GILBERT CELL ACTIVE MIXER LOWPASS dB Gain 800K Noise Temp 0dBm Comp. Point VGA SAMPLER 512Msps 8 bit E O A POL DATA Gbps D Q 0.18 um RF-CMOS HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE INTEGRATED RECEIVER MHz RF Band 512 MHz IF (Direct IQ Conversion) 8 bit Digitiser 50 K Noise Temperature (0.7 db NF) Q QUADRATURE LO LO AMP E E O O SAMPLE CLOCK 512 MHz LOCAL OSCILLATOR MHz RECEIVER ELEMENT (1 OF 64) B POL RF IN MHz 0.18 um RF-CMOS HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE INTEGRATED RECEIVER 400 E O B POL DATA Gbps RF CMOS Integrated Receiver MHz S. Jackson, J. Harrison, P. Hall Transistor f T (GHz) Transistor Speed Gate Length Length Trend Speed Trend Gate Length (µm) Year

43 Cheap as chips receiver Jelly bean receivers are enabling technology for phased arrays Jackson, Hall, Harrison Low-band CMOS receiver: 3.5 x 2.5 mm, I-Q baseband architecture GHz, RF digital solution

44 SKA not just antennas High speed data transport Tb/s from EACH station on scales of hundreds of km 100 Gb/s trans-continental and trans-oceanic links Longest links will rely on telcos and research networks Need government support for economical access Signal processing Peta-ops per second Need highly scaleable solutions Post-processing, information management New super-computer architectures Archive and sharing of data will be a major challenge Infrastructure Civil, electrical (power, ), communications Operations and support

45 Technology growth rates Performance per Dollar Spent Source: Scientific American Optical fibre (bits/sec double every 9 months) Data Storage (bits per square inch double every 12 months) Silicon Computer Chips (Number of transistors double every 18 months) Number of years

46 High Performance Computing Starving in an era of plenty (Dally et al 2001) Raw GFLOP, memory, bandwidth costs all down Still supercomputers cost much more per GFLOP & GByte than low-end machines» Scalability is the issue Scalability removes barriers in key applications Signal processing & analysis, protein folds, fluid flow in machinery, Streaming promises scalability to PFLOPS Involves stream architectures, high-speed signaling, efficient interconnection New HPC architectures and implementations are enabling technology for next-generation telescopes Calibration, imaging and visualization Real-time signal processing HPC in data stream Electromagnetic synthesis and simulation

47 HPC in signal path Replace DSP environment with supercomputer e.g. LOFAR and BlueGene/L Enormous flexibility and upgrade potential Augment CPU with FPGA engines E.g. improved FFT Design new processors suited to streaming/dsp e.g. integer arithmetic More attractive total cost of ownership Excellent current opportunities for radio astronomers to have major impact on new-generation supercomputers

48 DSP or HPC? Line between DSP and general purpose computers will be blurred SKA LOFAR DZB/Jive Courtesy ASTRON

49 Data transmission realities Total costs > 200 M Even with advances in f/o sources etc High trenching costs must share with power etc Need careful optimization between WDM and multiple fibre approaches Fibre management (incl. connectors etc) is a major issue Different technology optimizations for different distances Longest links will rely on telcos and research networks Need government cooperation for economical access

50 Global connectivity Up to 640 Gb/s capacity Source: Simon Olawo, EASSy

51 SKA development

52 Technology SKA challenges - summary Performance + Cost Project Management Wideband, efficient antennas Sensitive, low-cost receivers Fast, long-distance, data transport High performance DSP & computing hardware New data processing and visualization techniques Large-scale software engineering Evolving science goals High levels of technical risk International politics Possible funding phase slips Ambitious delivery timescale Industry liaison

53 SKA development approach Astronomy & engineering iteration to refine specs Rapid convergence International system design effort Strong emphasis on technology demonstration Retire risk as early as possible Regional pathfinders are crucial» > 200M investment Focus on: Aggressive cost reduction strategies Industry engagement» To deliver SKA on required timescales Reference Design technologies 1% (pathfinders) 10% (SKA Phase 1) 100% (SKA)

54 Two large pathfinders Multiple fields-of-view (350 x 6.1m) LOFAR + meekat, ASKAP, SKADS, TDP,.. ATA

55 Recent ATA-42 result HI image

56 Technology Readiness Level (TRL) NASA/DoD PrepSKA + Pathfinders

57 KSP ID Desirable SKA performance KSP Description 1 The Dark Ages 0. 1 Frequency Range GHz FoV Sensitivity Survey Speed Resn. Baseline Dyn. Range Poln deg 2 m 2 /K deg 2 m 4 K - 2 mas Km L M H L M H 1a* EoR >~3x L H 1b First Metals , L L 1c First Galaxies & BHs 20, H H 2 Galaxy Evolution, Cosmology & Dark Energy 2a* Dark Energy 6x L L 2b* Galaxy Evolution 1x L L 2c Local Cosmic Web 2x L L 3 Cosmic Magnetism 3a* Rotation Measure Sky 2x M H 3b Cosmic Web 1x M H 4 GR using Pulsars & Black Holes Search 1x10 8 ~5 - L 4a* Gravitational Waves - >15, M H 4b BH Spin 1 10,000 - M H 4c* Theories of Gravity >15, M H 5 Cradle of Life 5a* Protoplanetary Disks < , L L 5b Prebiotic Molecules , L L 5c SETI 1 6 Exploration of the Unknown Large Large

58 SKA performance-cost optimization Ae/Tsys=10000 m^2/k, Fmax=3 GHz, Tsys=35K, Eff=65% What are the specification tradeoffs? What specs enable transformational science within a given budget? Draft specs now available Design your SKA at: ost/ 2,500,000,000 2,000,000,000 1,500,000,000 1,000,000, ,000,000 0 PAF v WBSPF for constant SSFoM cost M Dish Diameter [m] diameter Computing Correlator Long Haul Links Station Electronics Short Haul Links Antenna Electronics Antennas PAF 1x10^9 PAF 3x10^8 WBSPF 3x10^8

59 SKA draft specifications 2007 Upper frequency limit for phase two ~8 GHz Higher frequencies as part of Phase 3 (post-2020) Lower frequency limit ~ 0.07 GHz But should GHz array should stay as part of SKA? Survey science emphasis Survey speed as primary spec Includes explicit recognition of transient surveys Narrower band antenna solutions 3:1 for phased arrays; 6:1 for single-pixel feeds Likely more pronounced performance-to-cost peaks than 10:1 designs More sub-classes of aperture array & dish feeds» Greater role for sparse aperture arrays < 0.6 GHz Wide-field (~30 deg 2 ) synthesis imaging limited to baselines below ~5 km Mitigates huge spectral line computing burden Lorimer et al. 30 Jy peak, ms duration

60 Draft top-level SKA specs Parameter Phase 1 10% SKA Phase 2 Full SKA at low & mid bands Phase 3 Full SKA Frequency range: Survey speed (m 4 K -2 deg 2 ) * Low (GHz) High (GHz) MHz MHz 0.7 GHz 1.4 GHz 3 GHz 8 GHz 25 GHz Min. sensitivity at 45 o (A eff /T sys ) (m 2 K -1 ) * Configuration MHz MHz GHz 8 GHz 25 GHz core (< 1km) inner (< 5 km) mid (< 180 km) outer (up to at least 3000 km) Signal processing Spectral image size/time domain (max baseline) channels sample rate x 10 6 (1 x 10 7 ) 3 x 10 5 (1 x 10 7 ) % 7.5 % 10 % 10% 5 km ms (8) 3 x 10 9 (2 x ) 1.3 x 10 7 (2 x ) 1.2 x 10 8 (2 x ) 6 x 10 7 (6 x 10 8 ) (2.6 x 10 6 ) 1.4 x 10 7 (4 x 10 5 ) 2 x (4 500) (2 500) % 50 % 75 % 100 % 10 km (32 768) 0.1 ms (35) 3 x 10 9 (2 x ) 1.3 x 10 7 (2 x ) 2.4 x 10 8 (2 x ) 1 x 10 9 (6 x 10 9 ) 1.4 x x % 50 % 75 % 100 % 20 (50) (32 768) 0.1 ms NB: no explicit field-of-view specification

61 SKA project matters

62 SKA site selection Physical characteristics required Very quiet radio frequency environment, particularly for the core region Large physical extent (> 3000 km) Low ionospheric turbulence Low troposphere turbulence Not many suitable sites in the world Site selection process started in 2003 Request for full proposals issued 1 September 2004 Four proposals received on 31 December 2005 Short-list of two acceptable sites 30 August 2006 Likely final selection ~2011

63 Telescope siting - clues

64 Terrestrial RFI FORTÉ satellite Forte Satellite

65 Industry interaction in host country 200M (possible)!" Host nation has to be smart in reaping hi-tech returns. Example: universities (or similar) can be incubators of collaborations.

66 SKA timeline Science Case publishe d ISSC MoAs Reference design selected Site short-list Initial specs: 10% & full SKA Concept Desgn. Ext. Review EC-FP7: System design Governance PrepSKA 1% SKA Science Funding Site Selection 10% SKA Science SKA Complete Concept Demos Concept Design System Design Phase 1 (10%) Const n Full Const n Europe: SKADS US: Technology Dev Programme - TDP US: Allen Telescope Array - ATA Aust.: Australian SKA Pathfinder - ASKAP South Africa: Karoo Array Telescope - MeerKAT Netherlands: Low Frequency Array - LOFAR

67 SKA timeline Science Case publishe d ISSC MoAs Reference design selected Site short-list Initial specs: 10% & full SKA Concept Desgn. Ext. Review EC-FP7: System design Governance PrepSKA 1% SKA Science Funding Site Selection 10% SKA Science SKA Complete Concept Demos Concept Design System Design Phase 1 (10%) Const n Full Const n US: Europe: SKADS US: Technology Dev Programme - TDP Allen Telescope Array - ATA Pathfinders: 18M ($25M) Aust.: Australian SKA Pathfinder - ASKAP South Africa: Karoo Array Telescope - MeerKAT Netherlands: Low Frequency Array - LOFAR 65M (AU$100M) 105M (1Bn Rand) 104M

68 SKA timeline Science Case publishe d ISSC MoAs Reference design selected Site short-list Initial specs: 10% & full SKA Concept Desgn. Ext. Review EC-FP7: System design Governance PrepSKA 1% SKA Science Funding Site Selection 10% SKA Science SKA Complete Concept Demos Concept Design System Design Phase 1 (10%) Const n Full Const n Europe: US: SKADS Technology Dev Programme - TDP 38M US: Allen Telescope Array - ATA Aust.: Australian SKA Pathfinder - ASKAP South Africa: Karoo Array Telescope - MeerKAT 9M ($12M) Design Studies Netherlands: Low Frequency Array - LOFAR

69 SKA timeline 22M ( 7.6M EC FP7) Science Case publishe d ISSC MoAs Reference design selected Site short-list Initial specs: 10% & full SKA Concept Desgn. Ext. Review EC-FP7: System design Governance PrepSKA 1% SKA Science Funding Site Selection Anticipated SKA Funding Decison 10% SKA Science SKA Complete Concept Demos Concept Design System Design Phase 1 (10%) Const n Full Const n Europe: SKADS US: Technology Dev Programme - TDP US: Allen Telescope Array - ATA Aust.: Australian SKA Pathfinder - ASKAP South Africa: Karoo Array Telescope - MeerKAT Netherlands: Low Frequency Array - LOFAR 250M 1.5B

70 Current SKA management structure SKA management structure International Science Advisory Committee International Collaboration Working Group International SKA Steering Committee Executive Committee International SKA Project Office International Engineering Advisory Committee International Site Selection Advisory Committee Engineering Working Group Site Evaluation Working Group Science Working Group Simulations Working Group Outreach Committee Operations Working Group 8 task forces 2 task forces 6 task forces 1 task force

71 SKA preparatory phase: PrepSKA ( ) WP1: PrepSKA management WP2: SKA system design Includes hardware & software Initial Verification System Establishes Central Design Integration Team (CDIT)» 15 engineers» Located Manchester UK WP3: Continuing site selection process Regional, international, joint projects WP4: Governance WP5: Industry and procurement policy WP6: Funding model WP7: Implementation strategy 22M Eu program with strong international collaboration (including US Technology Development Project)

72 Europe (LOFAR, SKADS) WP2 SKA design Other (via working groups) Australia (ASKAP) Central Design Integration Team Canada (ASKAP) System design & integration South Africa (MeerKAT) Technology innovation & prototyping USA (ATA, TDP)

73 WP2: SKA design Recognizes primary role of Pathfinders & Design Studies in technology development Leverages current programs to generate coherent SKA design Brings the best technologies together into complete program Emphasizes fit for manufacture design Delivers Overall SKA concept design, with costing Detailed SKA Phase 1 design Initial Verification System for SKA Phase 1 design Demonstrates functional central team, plus strong working links to regional engineering ~180 p*yr effort Many shared central and regional projects

74 WP5: Procurement Recognizes that industry is crucial to SKA development, delivery & operations Coordinated by INAF Procurement Working Group to be formed Funding agencies, consultants, industry, PWG looks at: Potential for global industry in development & construction Possible procurement models» Maximize added-value for participating nations (recognize different ambitions) Risks attached to various models PWG outputs: Procurement options paper for discussion by funding agencies etc., then Draft policies on industry engagement, procurement, protocols for research institute involvement,. Opportunities for national industry input to PrepSKA WP5 Via national funding agencies, national research bodies, engineering task forces» Ideal routes for industry clusters, peak bodies,

75 FP7 Preparatory Phase: Elements of Work Package 2 (WP2) T1 T2 T3 T4 T 5 T 6 T 7 T 8 T 9 P1 SKA design SKA concept delineation CDIT SKA specification CDIT SKA life-cycle study KAT SKA operations plan ASTRON SKA support plan CDIT SKA cost opt n CDIT SKA manufacturing studies UK:man SKA technical doc. CDIT SKA system design CDIT P2 SKA-P1 sub-system spec & evaluation SKA-P1 subsystems spec. & evaluation CDIT P3 Initial Verification System IVS specification CDIT IVS construction UK IVS integration & test CDIT P4 Dish design & optimization Dish design 1 (basic metal) CSIRO Dish design 2 (composite) KAT Dish design 3 (carbon fibre) DRAO Dish design 4 (hi perf. metal) TDP P5 Feed prototyping Wideband single-pixel feeds TDP WFoV Aperture array tiles UK:man WFoV - Phased array feeds CSIRO WFoV Multiple-feed clusters KAT P6 Receiver prototyping Low-noise amplifiers ASTRON Integrated receivers CSIRO New-gen. cryo solutions TDP P7 Signal transport prototyping Intra-antenna data links CSIRO Intra-station data links UK:man Station-core data links UK:man LO and timing UK:man Monitor & control UK:cam P8 Signal processing prototyping Station DSP UK:oxf Correlator DRAO RF interference mitigation ASTRON Non-imaging processors UK:man P9 Computing specification & prototyping SKA computing & software spec. CDIT Computing hardware CDIT Software engineering ASTRON Data products & VO plan UK:cam Calibration ASTRON Science post proc. CSIRO P10 WP2 design study management CDIT project management CDIT

76 SKA - recent progress Reference Design selected Key development technologies identified Initial emphasis on bands <10 GHz endorsed Sites short-listed Major progress in Pathfinders: meerkat, ASKAP, SKADS, ATA, LOFAR, Funding Agencies Working Group formed International SKA Forum proposal Directed science-engineering interaction a.k.a. tough talking Updated science case, detailed engineering system studies, new performance vs cost analysis More emphasis on SKA Phase 1 Initial specifications (and SKA evolution) to be set by early 2008 First-round infrastructure study complete Successful PrepSKA European 7 th framework submission

77 International SKA coming milestones Late 2008: Major engineering specs agreed Includes base (dish) technology option Early 2009: External engineering review 2010,11: Reviews of pathfinder technologies Can base technology be extended to wide fields-of-view? ~ 2011: Possible site selection End 2011: SKA system design Top-level SKA Detailed SKA Phase : Progressive SKA rollout

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