SKA-Mid Radio Telescope Array

The Square Kilometre Array Mid-frequency telescope (SKA-Mid) is being built in South Africa's Karoo region, forming one half of the world's largest radio telescope (the other half, SKA-Low, is in Australia). When complete, SKA-Mid will deploy 197 dish antennas, each 15 meters in diameter, achieving sensitivity 50 times greater than any existing radio telescope. In 2025, SKA-Mid achieved 'first fringes' — successfully correlating signals between two dishes, a critical construction milestone.

South Africa was selected to host SKA-Mid because the Karoo offers some of the world's quietest radio spectrum — far from urban electromagnetic interference. The country invested heavily in the precursor MeerKAT telescope (64 dishes, operational since 2018), which has already produced world-class science including the discovery of giant radio galaxies and detailed maps of the galactic center. MeerKAT's dishes will be integrated into SKA-Mid.

The project's significance for Africa extends beyond astronomy. SKA is driving development of Africa's scientific and engineering capacity — data processing for SKA will require some of the world's most advanced computing infrastructure, located in Africa. South African universities are training a generation of radio astronomers, data scientists, and engineers. The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) has become a center of excellence in high-performance signal processing, data management, and precision engineering.