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S&T Minister Mangena visits SKA Team 2005/10/20
Science and Technology Minister Mangena visits SKA Team 2005/10/20
South Africa is bidding to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) the next-generation radio telescope
being developed by a global consortium of radio astronomers.
In addition, South Africa is intending to build an SKA technology
demonstrator called the Karoo Array Telescope (KAT), in collaboration with
European, Australian and American radio astronomers.
On 20 October 2005 South Africa's Minister of Science and Technology,
Mosibudi Mangena, visited the SKA offices in Rosebank, Johannesburg for a
briefing on the project. He was accompanied by Deputy Minister Derek
Hanekom, Director General Rob Adam, Deputy Director-General: Science and
Technology Expert Services Adi Paterson and
others.
Dr. Bernie Fanaroff, the SKA Project Manager, briefed the visitors on
progress with SKA and with KAT. SKA engineer Gerhard Petrick then described
the testing of the radio frequency interference (RFI) levels at the SKA
sites.
The focus then moved to a live demonstration by Geographic Information
System Manager Ferrial Adam of the impressive GIS computer system being used
to evaluate SKA sites not only in South Africa, but in Ghana, Kenya,
Namibia, Mocambique, Madagascar and Mauritius. The GIS system is able to
overlay a wide variety of information that the SKA team have obtained on
topology, geology, population, radio transmitters, SKA site locations and
more onto maps.
Finally Dr. Dirk Baker, an antenna expert on the SKA team, showed the
Minister prototypes of the Focal Plane Array system that will be used to
receive the radio signals at the foci of the KAT antennae.
A photo essay on the visit and aspects of the presentations follows,
with particular reference to HartRAO's role in building the RFI test
systems.
Click on image for LARGE version.
Credit: Marina Joubert, Southern Science
Ferrial Adam demonstrates the GIS to Minister Mangena.
Click on image for LARGE version.
Credit: Marina Joubert, Southern Science
Derek Hanekom, Adi Paterson and Minister Mangena are intrigued
by the GIS demonstration from Ferrial Adam.
Click on image for LARGE version.
Credit: Marina Joubert, Southern Science
With a long tradition of radio astronomy in the Department of Physics and
Electronics at Rhodes University, it is not surprising that many graduates
of the department are involved in SKA and KAT. From the left, Mike Inggs
(UCT/SKA), Dirk Baker (Grintek/SKA), Justin Jonas (Rhodes/HartRAO/SKA), Mike
Gaylard (HartRAO), George Nicolson (HartRAO/SKA), Paul Manners (Rhodes/SKA),
Adrian Tiplady (SKA), Alex Fortescue (GIS consultant for SKA). They are
seen here at the after party.
Click on image for LARGE version.
Credit: Gerhard Petrick, SKA
Here the team from Astron are setting up their RFI system for comparative
measurements with the HartRAO-built system at the SKA core site.
Click on image for LARGE version.
Credit: Gerhard Petrick, SKA
Japie Greef is seen here in the HartRAO electronics workshop building
the antenna assembly for an RFI measurement system.
Click on image for LARGE version.
Credit: Gerhard Petrick, SKA
Extensive RFI screening was applied to the mobile RFI test systems
after experience with the first system. Here a Faraday cage to contain
electronic equipment is being constructed in the HartRAO mechanical workshop
by Andre van der Merwe and Richard Moralo.
Click on image for LARGE version.
Credit: Gerhard Petrick, SKA
The RFI measuring systems built at HartRAO are operated in the field by
ICASA. Here the ICASA field teams are shown during training at Houwtek near Somerset West, in front of
one of the mobile RFI systems. SKA RFI Project Manager Gerhard Petrick is
on the far left. HartRAO engineer Keith Jones is second from the left. SKA
RFI analayst Paul Manners is eighth from the left.
Click on image for LARGE version.
Credit: Gerhard Petrick, SKA
One of the mobile RFI systems is seen here at site Karoo 7, showing typical
weather and scenery.
Click on image for LARGE version.
Credit: Gerhard Petrick, SKA
The trailer (not built by HartRAO) on which one of the RFI systems was
mounted took some damage on a rough road in the Karoo. An emergency fix-it
team of Jacques Grobler and Pieter Stronkhorst (above) went out used some
ingenious methods in the village of Carnarvon to transfer the equipment to a
new trailer.
Click on image for LARGE version.
Credit: Gerhard Petrick, SKA
A large tree in Carnarvon acted as a crane for lifting the electronics
cabin off the damaged trailer.
