The continent’s forays into unlocking the secrets of the universe are expanding, writes Paul Boateng.
Information on a scale and of a type never seen before calls for a new kind of analysis and research.
Governments put several millions into projects such as the Square Kilometre Array and they expect "the same coming back to their national industries".
The Square Kilometre Array Organisation is confident it will gain new member countries to fund the €2bn radio telescope.
The giant radio telescope will attempt to answer some of humanity’s most enigmatic questions.
Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor says that a backup system has been developed so that the site can manage for three days without power.
The Square Kilometre Array will contribute to huge surveys that seek to answer questions like: Is there life out there and how do galaxies form.
Scientists and engineers are trying to determine the technological cost of predicting what the world will look like in 2020.
The first phase of the mammoth scientific project is tipped to cost almost €2bn, but experts say this figure is an extreme worst-case scenario.
Astrophysicist Bernie Fanaroff was chosen to head the SKA project; with his experience and political credentials he led the company in its mission.
Fanaroff will retire at the end of next year, but will be acting as strategic advisor on the project from January 1 2016 until December 2017.
Six dishes were expected by next month, but only one exists so far as a result of a metalworkers’ strike and logistical problems.
While the SKA project’s organisers say they are disappointed, they do not believe Germany’s pulling out reflects on the radio telescope’s progress.
Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor is pleased Germany’s withdrawal is not due to lack of confidence in the Square Kilometre Array project.
Africa’s challenge is to get itself ready to host the SKA telescope, Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom has told African heads of state.
South Africa’s scientists and engineers have changed the sometimes negative perception of the country.
South Africa has joined the race to find the very first stars, but radio signals keep getting in the way.
The SKA telescope being built in South Africa is a huge honour for its scientific community, but will it benefit our developing economy?
Government has launched science and maths programmes in Carnarvon – the town nearest to the SKA site – where poor matric results have become the norm.
The Square Kilometre Array Organisation has announced the consortia that will be designing the giant telescope.
The Square Kilometre Array, the biggest scientific endeavour in the world, is under construction in SA. We went to see the ground-breaking project.
Everything is in place for the Square Kilometre Array project, which will add to discussions about gravity and the Big Bang.
Australia’s SKA precursor, the Murchison Widefield Array, will give scientists "an unprecedented view into the first billion years of the universe".
The Square Kilometre Array radio telescope will be looking for signs of life on other planets, says project director Bernie Fanaroff.
The man who led the Square Kilometre Array telescope bid is delighted that this global scientific project will be based in Africa.
South African institutions are keen to capitalise on the widespread interest the telescope has created, writes Andile Nayika.
A major partner in the SKA project has already pulled out and the costs of the project are set to balloon. Lisa Steyn reports.
Some of the biggest computers ever seen are going to help decipher data from the world’s largest telescope as it explores the origins of the universe.
As SA presses its suit for the coveted Square Kilometre Array telescope, the science ministry has vowed not to let fracking get in the way of the bid.
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/ 22 November 2007
A final decision on which country will host the giant Square Kilometre Array radio telescope is now expected in 2011, the Cabinet announced on Thursday. South Africa was confident it would win the bid, government communications head Themba Maseko told a media briefing at Parliament on Thursday, following the Cabinet’s fortnightly meeting the day before.