The World's Largest Radio Telescope to Be Built in Australia

The construction of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), the world's largest radio telescope, is set to start in 2021. The official launch of this long-awaited project in Western Australia is planned for 2027, according to Naked Science.

After seven years of work in Western Australia, the design phase of the SKA has been completed, and construction work has commenced. Located 800 kilometers from Perth, the project will see the installation of 130,000 individual radio receivers spread over more than one million square meters, which will work in conjunction with the MeerKAT radio telescope situated in South Africa. The SKA is an international endeavor involving 14 countries.

"Our budget is 1.87 billion euros for the first five years. In the last seven years, my team has received over 10 million dollars in support to reach this benchmark, and a significant portion of these funds has allowed Western Australia to prepare for the construction of the SKA," said Professor Steven Tingay.

The adaptive aperture array network, which aims to study celestial bodies, will become the world's largest scientific center dedicated to exploring the history and evolution of the universe just a few million years after the Big Bang. It will also reveal significant advancements and achievements in physics.

The SKA will have the capability to detect extremely faint extraterrestrial signals, significantly expanding the scope of previous projects. Furthermore, the SKA will play a critical role in Western Australia's recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.