Post date: May 25, 2012 1:31:22 PM
CARNARVON, NORTHERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA (REUTERS) - The world's biggest and most advanced radio telescope, capable of detecting signs of extraterrestrial life in the far reaches of the universe, will be split between the two leading bidders for the project; South Africa and Australia with New Zealand.
South Africa and Australia with New Zealand have won their bids to host a huge radio telescope.
The decision was made at a meeting of the nations controlling the project, at Schipol Airport in the Netherlands on Friday.
When completed in 2024 the "Square Kilometre Array" (SKA) will be made up of 3,000 dishes, each 15 metres wide, together with many more antennae, that will stretch over 3,000
km (1,864 miles).
Scanning the sky 10,000 times faster and with 50 times the sensitivity of any other telescope, it will be used to study the origins of the universe and will be able to detect weak signals that could indicate the presence of extraterrestrial life.
A joint bid between Australia and New Zealand to host the telescope had been pitted against South Africa for the two billion U.S. dollars project that will bestow an economic boost and major scientific prestige on the winner.
The lobbying has been intense and at times acrimonious, with the Australians raising concerns about the security of such an expensive project in South Africa, which suffers from high rates of violent crime. South Africa has accused the other side of dirty tricks and selectively leaking data to boost its bid in what are supposed to be secret deliberations.
In March, a science panel gave a marginal preference to South Africa but after intense lobbying from both bidders the decision was delayed and a group of experts was set up to examine the scientific and cost implications of a split location.
That group reported back to the consortium on Friday.
Scientists say a split location would almost certainly add to the bill.
Radio telescopes work best in remote locations away from interference from other radio signals, hence the decision to site this one in the more sparsely-populated southern hemisphere.
Global tech companies are already earmarking development funds linked to the project, which will rely on computing technology that does not even exist yet to process the flood of data it will collect. Scientists estimate that the SKA will need processing power equivalent to several million of today's fastest computers.
The engineering and computing challenges are significant, not least the provision of power to run the array and the supercomputers in such a remote location.
It is in overcoming those challenges that the leaders of the project argue could lead to untold spin-offs for industry.
They point to Wi-Fi technology as one of the best known commercial applications to come from radio astronomy, for instance.
The first phase of construction is set to start in 2016, and by 2019 about 10 percent of the array should be built, extending some 100 km from the telescope's core. Expansion to 3,000 km should be complete by 2023 and the project will be fully up and running the following year.
In an interview with Reuters, the leaders of the project said they hope the array will help to answer some of the biggest questions about the formation and make-up of the universe.
The Britain-based consortium behind the telescope includes Canada, China, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom as well as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.