From rats to snow, building massive scientific instruments in harsh environments requires money, brilliant engineering, and good old-fashioned human sweat.
"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand." -Woodrow Wilson
It's been another fantastic week here at Starts With A Bang, and I've got to laud all of you for doing your best to make it a good one! Let's get right into what this past week held:
Ground has finally been broken today at two sites in Africa and Australia that will host the Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO), the largest radio telescope in the world.
The SKAO Appoints Construction Directors for South Africa and Australia
Press Release from SKAO
Tracy Cheetham and Antony Schinckel have between them nearly 50 years’ experience delivering telescopes and associated infrastructure.
Two respected science infrastructure experts have been appointed to lead construction activities at the telescope sites of the SKAO, respectively, located in the Karoo in South Africa and Western Australia.
Tracy Cheetham, who is currently the head of construction planning for the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), will be the site construction director of the SKAO’s mid-frequency telescope in South Africa.
Antony Schinckel, who is currently the SKA’s head of construction planning for Australia and leads the SKA programme at Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, will be the site construction director of the SKAO’s low-frequency telescope in Australia.