Artist impressions of the SKA-Mid (Karoo, South Africa) and SKA-Low (Murchison, Western Australia) telescopes. Credit: SKA Organisation
Dear Friends and Colleagues, This, the 5th edition of the SKA magazine Contact, provides a fascinating range of stories from across the SKA universe, reporting on the exciting things that are happening. I particularly draw your attention to the article on the ventilator development by our colleagues from the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, a particularly impressive and timely application of engineering skills diverted from radio astronomy. We also have an article remembering our colleague from India, Govind Swarup, who sadly passed away a few days ago at the age of 91; he will be sorely missed.
On a final note, it is concerning that we are seeing an increase in coronavirus infections in European countries, and that the virus is still causing major problems in other partner countries. It is clear that the world has many more months of disruption caused by the pandemic. I sincerely hope that you, your families, friends and colleagues remain safe in these difficult times. Prof. Philip Diamond, SKA Director-General
Just a few days ago, on 4th September, we submitted to the SKA Organisation Board two key documents. These were, as I mentioned in Contact #4, the Construction Proposal and its sibling, the Observatory Establishment and Delivery Plan. These detailed documents, exceeding 500 pages, contain the case for the approval of the funding of SKA Phase 1 construction and the first 10 years of operational activities. They are the culmination of years of work by the worldwide SKA partnership and I could not be more proud of the whole team for the effort and professionalism shown in preparing these documents. The intent is that the Board, which has overseen this process since the establishment of SKA Organisation, will endorse the documents and pass them on to the SKA Observatory Council, once it has been formed, for approval and funding.
3
