Name and Location
MeerKAT telescope project, Karoo, Northern Cape, South Africa.

Client
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) South Africa is the agency that is driving South Africa’s bid to host the €1.5-billion international SKA radio telescope and the MeerKAT programme.

Project Description
South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope array is intended to be a precursor to the international SKA radio telescope. The MeerKAT evolved from the original idea of a Karoo Array Telescope (KAT).

The reference design specification for the full MeerKAT is 64 offset dishes, each with a diameter of 13.5 m, with single-pixel wideband feeds covering the 500 MHz to 2.5 GHz frequency range.

The full MeerKAT will have a central core, but some dishes are almost 10 km apart, thus replicating the SKA on a small scale.

It will also facilitate the installation of multiple receiver systems in the primary and secondary focal areas and is the reference design for the midband SKA concept.

The MeerKAT will be delivered in three phases.

The first phase – the MeerKAT Precursor Array, known as KAT-7 and which comprises seven 12-m-diameter composite parabolic dishes at the Karoo site – was completed in 2010.

This prototype interferometer array serves as an engineering test-bed for technologies and systems and as an operational radio telescope. The MeerKAT will form the core of the SKA, which will comprise 3 000 dishes and a central aperture array.

Value
The estimated cost is R900-million.

Duration
The commissioning of MeerKAT is scheduled for 2014/15, with the array coming on line for science operations in 2016. This phase includes all antennas, but only the first receiver will be fitted and a processing bandwidth of 750 MHz will be available.

For MeerKAT Phase 2 and Phase 3, the remaining two receivers will be fitted and the processing bandwidth will be increased to at least 2 GHz, and later to 4 GHz.

Latest developments
The concrete foundation for the first of 64 dishes for South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope array was laid on August 14.

The foundation contains 9 t of steel and 78 m3 of concrete. “Designing a foundation for a high-tech telescope is complex and challenging, since it has to meet a set of stringent requirements,” explained SKA SA GM: infrastructure and site operations Tracy Cheetham.

The design of the foundations comprises eight steel-reinforced concrete piles, at depths of 5 m to 10 m (depending on the soil), with a 1.25-m-thick, 5.2 m by 5.2 m slab of concrete placed on top of them to increase stability. There are 32 preassembled holding down bolts, arranged in a circle and forming a steel ring cage into which the concrete is poured.

The foundations must ensure that each of the 19-m-high antennas, with their 13.5 m x 16 m main reflectors, will be exceptionally stable and
point accurately at distant celestial objects at wind speeds gusting up to 69 km/h, as well as survive wind speeds of up to 144 km/h.

Each antenna must also be carefully earthed to prevent damage caused by lightning.

This first foundation will be verified through a series of load tests to ensure that all specifications have been met.

The Meerkat’s construction will also inform the construction of foundations for other SKA dishes to be built in the Karoo.

The foundations are being constructed by contractor Brink & Healh Civils.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Group Five Coastal (building foundations), Schneider Electric South Africa (building management system), Stratosat Datacom and General Dynamics Satcom Technologies (design, construction, installation and commissioning of antennas) and Brink & Heath Civils (foundations).

On Budget and on Time?
The project is on schedule.

Contact Details for Project Information
MeerKAT engineering office, tel +27 21 506 7300 or fax +27 21 506 7375.
Group Five Coastal, tel +27 31 5690300 or fax +27 31 569 0420.
Schneider Electric South Africa, tel +27 11 254 6400,
fax +27 11 254 6700/6704 or email enquiries@za.schneider-electric.com.
Stratosat Datacom, tel +27 11 974 0006 or fax +27 11 974 0068.
General Dynamics Satcom, tel +1 828 464 4141, fax +1 828 464 4147 or email info@gdsatcom.com.
Brink & Heath Civils , tel +27 21 551 2640, fax +27 21 551 2977 or email admin@brinkheath.co.za.