Manchester signs AASL for SKA network system design
1 min read
UK-based start up Adaptive Array Systems (AASL) has been awarded a contract by the University of Manchester to provide design concepts for optical network termination and transmission equipment for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope.
The company, based in Cheadle, will be responsible for mapping the telescope system requirements to potential technical solutions, and subsequently generating high level concept architectures for the telescope data networks and interfaces.
The network will primarily use optical fibre cable and will ultimately represent the largest network system in the scientific community.
Commenting on the agreement, AASL founder and ceo Chris Shenton, said: "We are very excited to be involved with such a prestigious international project.
"The government has demonstrated its commitment to the SKA and we feel privileged to be contributing to such a significant scientific advancement."
Construction of the SKA is scheduled to begin in 2018 for initial observations by 2020 and full operation by 2025.
With a budget of around €1.5billion, the telescope will provide continuous frequency coverage from 50MHz up to 30GHz, making it 50 times more sensitive than any other radio instrument.
