SKA
The Square Kilometer Array project is an international effort aimed at building a next-generation radio imaging array with ~100 times better sensitivity than existing instruments. The name derives from the consequent requirement for a total collecting area in the 1 square kilometer range. The total cost of the array is projected to be of order 1 billion dollars, and completion is targeted for late in the next decade. A phased development is planned, with a smaller but still formidable path finder instrument of about 10% scope to be built on a shorter timescale.
The Haystack staff have been involved in various aspects of the SKA project since ~2000, both through the US SKA consortium, and through committees and task forces of the international project. Primary contributions focus on signal processing architectures and techniques, system design issues, array performance simulation, and science goals. Haystack staff were involved in establishment of some of the key concepts underlying the current SKA reference design, including the benefits and advantages of a "large-N" design.
781.981.5407 
