Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor believes South Africa has a strong chance of winning its bid to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a multi-billion rand international radio telescope that will be between 50 and 100 times more sensitive than any such instrument ever built.

South Africa and Australia are competing to host the SKA, construction of which is expected to cost about €1.5-billion. The international science funding agencies and governments involved in the international SKA consortium are expected to announce the winning bidder in 2012.

Pandor was at the SKA site outside Carnavon in the Northern Cape this week to witness the completion of the seven-dish Karoo Array Telescope (KAT-7), which serves as a percursor to the MeerKAT, an operational demonstrator telescope that forms a core component of South Africa's SKA bid.
Read More...