Square Kilometre Array

Australia's getting (fingers crossed) a BIG telescope!  Woohoo! 

From the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon Kim Carr 11/11/08.

Australian square kilometre array industry consortium >> Press Release

 ...

The Commonwealth is totally committed to Australia’s SKA bid, and it’s not hard to understand why.

The SKA is a huge economic opportunity – a $2 billion opportunity – and we’d be foolish to ignore that.

But it is also a great scientific opportunity, a great innovation opportunity – an opportunity to revolutionise Australia’s technological capabilities and the world’s understanding of the universe.

This is a project to fire the imagination, and I have no doubt that your presence here says as much about your spirit of adventure as it does about taking care of business.

The SKA is one of the largest mega-science projects ever conceived:

• comparable to the Large Hadron Collider outside Geneva

• comparable to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor under construction in France.

It has ambitious scientific goals, ambitious technical requirements, and an ambitious lifespan.

Are the times right for this kind of ambition?

I think they are. ...

Australian square kilometre array industry consortium >> Press Release