The Square Kilometer Array SKA Observatory has announced that the first 15-meter diameter telescope antenna of its South African portion of the SKA-Mid array has been assembled in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape Province. This milestone marks a new stage in the construction of the world's largest radio telescope array. The SKA consists of SKA-Mid in South Africa and SKA-Low in Australia, which cover different frequency bands and jointly build unprecedented observation capabilities.

The antenna was installed by a joint team of SKAO, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory SARAO and China's CETC54 Company, which also led the multinational antenna design. SKA-Mid will deploy four antennas for testing in the first phase, covering the 350 MHz to 24 GHz frequency band. Currently, two dish structures have been installed on site and are ready for further assembly.

South African company EMSS Antennas is responsible for the manufacture of SKA-Mid's receivers, demonstrating South Africa's strength in precision receiver technology. Other components are produced in many locations around the world, demonstrating the extensive participation of international cooperation.

Ben Lewis, senior project manager of SKA-Mid, said that the installation of the first antenna is the result of many years of hard work, and he thanked the professionalism of the partners. He revealed that the four-antenna array is planned to be completed early next year, and then construction will be accelerated in 2025.

At the same time, Australia's SKA-Low project is also advancing, with more than 1,000 small antennas deployed, with a total planned scale of 131,072, covering the 50 MHz to 350 MHz frequency band.

Luca Stringhetti, acting project director of SKAO, emphasized that despite the challenges, global cooperation and team efforts ensured the smooth progress of the project. The successful installation of the first antenna is an important step towards the delivery of the telescope, heralding unlimited possibilities for future astronomical research.Editor/Cheng Ting