Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IN-SKA (Square Kilometre Array: Infrastructure Detailed Design for SKA Phase 1)
Reporting period: 2016-01-01 to 2018-02-28
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is an international project to construct the largest and most sensitive radio telescope ever conceived. The SKA will use hundreds of thousands of radio telescopes receivers, in two separate continents, which will enable astronomers to monitor the sky in unprecedented detail and survey the entire sky thousands of times faster than any system currently in existence.
The objective of the IN-SKA proposal was to support the implementation of the SKA, enabling the start of construction from around 2020, and delivery of first science in the mid 2020's. The overall goal has been to develop the documentation needed to deliver all of the critical infrastructure design elements and prepare it ready for the SKA's Critical Design Review process. In other words, IN-SKA has supported the work needed to develop design concepts to construction readiness, by preparing a series of documents (presented as deliverables in IN-SKA) which have been reviewed by an external panel in mid 2018 to ensure that the infrastructure of SKA is ready to move to procurement.
The design teams in both South Africa and Australia have been supported by IN-SKA in their work and the project has concluded with the completion of a large number of detailed design documents, extending to thousands of pages of reports, engineering drawings and evaluation studies for design options. Since submission of the deliverables, the CDR process has been completed successfully, and the finalisation of the design process is now underway, overseen by the SKA Organisation. This would not have been possible without the support of the IN-SKA project.
The societal benefits from the SKA overall are enormous, ranging from direct scientific impact in a range of fields, to already-evident non science benefits through training, skills development and technological innovation. In the area of infrastructure, the demands made of the project by operating in a highly-demanding remote, radio quiet environment, has forced innovative thinking around in building design, construction procedures, and even in such 'mundane' areas such as highly stable and reliable building foundations. European actors, through the membership arrangements of the SKA project, and also the overall IP strategy which permits broad access to the innovation from the project means that European and other national industries are in leading positions to benefit directly from implementation of the SKA in 2020.
The objective of the IN-SKA proposal was to support the implementation of the SKA, enabling the start of construction from around 2020, and delivery of first science in the mid 2020's. The overall goal has been to develop the documentation needed to deliver all of the critical infrastructure design elements and prepare it ready for the SKA's Critical Design Review process. In other words, IN-SKA has supported the work needed to develop design concepts to construction readiness, by preparing a series of documents (presented as deliverables in IN-SKA) which have been reviewed by an external panel in mid 2018 to ensure that the infrastructure of SKA is ready to move to procurement.
The design teams in both South Africa and Australia have been supported by IN-SKA in their work and the project has concluded with the completion of a large number of detailed design documents, extending to thousands of pages of reports, engineering drawings and evaluation studies for design options. Since submission of the deliverables, the CDR process has been completed successfully, and the finalisation of the design process is now underway, overseen by the SKA Organisation. This would not have been possible without the support of the IN-SKA project.
The societal benefits from the SKA overall are enormous, ranging from direct scientific impact in a range of fields, to already-evident non science benefits through training, skills development and technological innovation. In the area of infrastructure, the demands made of the project by operating in a highly-demanding remote, radio quiet environment, has forced innovative thinking around in building design, construction procedures, and even in such 'mundane' areas such as highly stable and reliable building foundations. European actors, through the membership arrangements of the SKA project, and also the overall IP strategy which permits broad access to the innovation from the project means that European and other national industries are in leading positions to benefit directly from implementation of the SKA in 2020.
As an overview, IN-SKA was broken into three workpackages:
WP1: Management (led by SKAO): To cover the management of IN-SKA with the aim of ensuring achievement of the project, aligning activities to the broader SKA project and design activities, and encouraging engagement with other project aims such as preparation for procurement and encouraging transfer of innovation.
WP2: INFRA South Africa Detailed Design (led by NRF): WP2 covered the work to developing the SKA1-MID Infrastructure and Power Element design reports and cost estimates in South Africa sufficient for the Critical Design Review and use in the procurement process thereafter. The deliverables were designed to include the wide range of drawings needed to describe the design assumptions, design solution, maintenance plans, overall specifications, legislative requirements, analysis of technical risks and proposed mitigation measures, analysis of costs and alternatives considered for each sub-element.
WP3: INFRA Australia Stage 2 Detailed Design (led by CSIRO)
WP3 provided the parallel activities to support the design of the infrastructure systems for the Australian SKA-LOW telescope system. As with WP2, the deliverables were designed to include the full range of basic design elements for buildings, sanitation, water provision and other essential components for the hosting of the SKA-LOW telescope, suitable for the Critical Design Review documentation.
WP3 was delivered by a consortium involving CSIRO, current responsible for construction and operation of various existing astronomical facilities at the Murchison Radio Observatory in Western Australia, and Aurecon, a major industrial partner with whom the SKA project has worked in various capacities previously.
WP1: Management (led by SKAO): To cover the management of IN-SKA with the aim of ensuring achievement of the project, aligning activities to the broader SKA project and design activities, and encouraging engagement with other project aims such as preparation for procurement and encouraging transfer of innovation.
WP2: INFRA South Africa Detailed Design (led by NRF): WP2 covered the work to developing the SKA1-MID Infrastructure and Power Element design reports and cost estimates in South Africa sufficient for the Critical Design Review and use in the procurement process thereafter. The deliverables were designed to include the wide range of drawings needed to describe the design assumptions, design solution, maintenance plans, overall specifications, legislative requirements, analysis of technical risks and proposed mitigation measures, analysis of costs and alternatives considered for each sub-element.
WP3: INFRA Australia Stage 2 Detailed Design (led by CSIRO)
WP3 provided the parallel activities to support the design of the infrastructure systems for the Australian SKA-LOW telescope system. As with WP2, the deliverables were designed to include the full range of basic design elements for buildings, sanitation, water provision and other essential components for the hosting of the SKA-LOW telescope, suitable for the Critical Design Review documentation.
WP3 was delivered by a consortium involving CSIRO, current responsible for construction and operation of various existing astronomical facilities at the Murchison Radio Observatory in Western Australia, and Aurecon, a major industrial partner with whom the SKA project has worked in various capacities previously.
IN-SKA has supported critical work towards the realisation of the SKA. SKA is a project that encompasses many challenges; scientific, technical, political and social. The project was designed to facilitate the detailed design work needed to construct the SKA on the ground. The infrastructure requirements for the observatory are hugely demanding, requiring novel technologies and advanced design. IN-SKA's work sat within a much broader global technical programme, where the infrastructure was required to be designed alongside novel receiver systems (also being designed in parallel) and to enable the deliver of vast datasets from remote locations to the science community around the world. It has enabled that successfully by providing essentially all the critical inputs to the SKA's infrastructure design review process.
In terms of socio-economic impact, one can view IN-SKA in two ways.
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, it has assisted with the realisation of the SKA itself. Without the infrastructure work completed through the project, the SKA's deployment would be compromised, if not impossible. SKA's expected impacts lie in a range of areas. In science, it will sit as one of a small set of global research infrastructures, and one of an even smaller set of astronomy megafacilities. Its requirements set new challenges to be met in engineering, IT, communications technologies and basic electronics. New standards are being set for performance in all of these areas that are already starting to spread into other domains. In the IT area, the vast complexity and volume of the SKA's data production demands novel electronics and techniques. Many major industry partners are already engaged, partly because of the inherent interest, and partly because SKA is a real-world challenge in which they can push the envelope of their products. Products that will be in the open market in times to come. People and expertise are both needed to support such work - again, driven and inspired to come and work with the SKA, but in the longer term taking their experience and knowledge into other areas.
The more specific impact from IN-SKA is in the project itself. The participants have enabled work on novel construction techniques and approaches, with impact on construction and design of infrastructure in challenging environments and locations. Being able to design cost-effective, but stable building and construction foundations in harsh environments is one obvious outcome. More broadly though, the involvement of a team of people, working with local staff in country produces a series of benefits that are difficult to quantify, but are present. SKA will be build in locations where there are indigenous communities. The project and through the contractors involved, industry, has worked hard to place the work in a broader picture of engagement: a picture that shows that a major research infrastructure can offer opportunities for local people, enabling them to be trained in new skills, taking those skills elsewhere in some cases, and perhaps in others, becoming part of a broader ecosystem of employment focused around the infrastructure.
In terms of socio-economic impact, one can view IN-SKA in two ways.
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, it has assisted with the realisation of the SKA itself. Without the infrastructure work completed through the project, the SKA's deployment would be compromised, if not impossible. SKA's expected impacts lie in a range of areas. In science, it will sit as one of a small set of global research infrastructures, and one of an even smaller set of astronomy megafacilities. Its requirements set new challenges to be met in engineering, IT, communications technologies and basic electronics. New standards are being set for performance in all of these areas that are already starting to spread into other domains. In the IT area, the vast complexity and volume of the SKA's data production demands novel electronics and techniques. Many major industry partners are already engaged, partly because of the inherent interest, and partly because SKA is a real-world challenge in which they can push the envelope of their products. Products that will be in the open market in times to come. People and expertise are both needed to support such work - again, driven and inspired to come and work with the SKA, but in the longer term taking their experience and knowledge into other areas.
The more specific impact from IN-SKA is in the project itself. The participants have enabled work on novel construction techniques and approaches, with impact on construction and design of infrastructure in challenging environments and locations. Being able to design cost-effective, but stable building and construction foundations in harsh environments is one obvious outcome. More broadly though, the involvement of a team of people, working with local staff in country produces a series of benefits that are difficult to quantify, but are present. SKA will be build in locations where there are indigenous communities. The project and through the contractors involved, industry, has worked hard to place the work in a broader picture of engagement: a picture that shows that a major research infrastructure can offer opportunities for local people, enabling them to be trained in new skills, taking those skills elsewhere in some cases, and perhaps in others, becoming part of a broader ecosystem of employment focused around the infrastructure.