NRF Annual Report 2018

PART B: PERFORMANCE
MeerKAT
The highlight of the 2017/18 financial year was the
successful delivery of the MeerKAT radio telescope at
the end of March 2018. Located 90km from Carnarvon in
the Northern Cape, the 64-dish array has dish diameters
of 13.5 metres, and is distributed across a span of 8
kilometres. The ‘Off-set Gregorian’ optical layout ensures
excellent optical performance, sensitivity and image
quality. Cryogenic coolers, receivers, digitiser, and other
electronics support each antenna. MeerKAT First Light in
2016, was a survey done with Array Release 1 i.e. the first
16 dishes. The MeerKAT First Light image shows more
than 1300 galaxies in the distant Universe, compared to
70 known in this location prior to MeerKAT.
Now that 64 dishes are on site and operational, it is
expected that MeerKAT science will be nothing short of
revolutionary. Given the telescopes, densely packed core,
which boosts sensitivity and the dispersed, arms, that
provide the baseline for improved resolution, MeerKAT
is ideal for mapping hydrogen, which is the fuel of stars
and galaxy formation. One of the allocated Large Survey
Projects is called LADUMA and looks at the distant
Universe through an ultra-deep survey of neutral hydrogen
gas in the early Universe. Other Large Survey projects,
which have been allocated include, Radio Pulsar Timing,
the results of which will be used to test Einstein’s theory
of gravity.
But, it’s not just about the science, the project has committed
to the translation of its innovation and development activities
into economic benefits through a commercialisation and
localisation strategy. The MeerKAT antenna have a local
content of 75%, which is the value traced to a local source
and not the resale of imported goods. The 200km optic
fibre network completed in 2014 was predominantly local.
The Digital Back End (DBE) is core technology and is a key
sub-system, which was designed and developed in South
Africa. The digitizers have been an in-house production
project with the exception of the masers, required for
timing distribution.
The correlator technology was initially a part of the
CASPER collaboration with the University of California
at Berkeley, subsequent design and development of the
MeerKAT correlator are now an initiative and product of
local project team. This is the same for the control and
monitoring software for the telescope.
MeerKAT has been a project based on the ideal of Mission
Driven Innovation and it has not only yielded the scientific
benefits for the global community but, through the human
capacity development , commercialisation and localisation
programmes, the telescope will continue to benefit the
local community and the South African economy.
NRF Annual Report 2017/18 115