21 January 2025

Sweden joins SKAO – unlocking new opportunities in radio astronomy

Sweden has now signed the convention for membership in the SKAO, the organisation behind groundbreaking telescopes in Australia and South Africa —telescopes currently under construction that, once completed, will be the most powerful in the world.

The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), is an observatory with two radio astronomy telescopes under construction in Australia and South Africa. Illustration: SKAO

Sweden’s membership in SKAO

As one of the countries in SKAO, the membership allows Swedish researchers to conduct radio astronomy observations with unparalleled resolution.

The work is carried out in collaboration between Chalmers University of Technology and SKAO, and is funded by the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova.

Katarina Bjelke, Director General of the Swedish Research Council, states on their website:

“This will be a fantastic research infrastructure, which is now nearing completion. The funds invested by Sweden are providing good returns – which shows our prominent position within radio technology and digital technology. The facility will provide great opportunities in the future for Swedish researchers and research,”

The Swedish government is expected to ratify the convention in spring.

Sweden’s contribution to the SKAO construction

Sweden has already been contributing to the construction of the observatory by providing highly advanced technological components and electronics.

AAC Omnisys, a subsidiary of the AAC Clyde Space company, is delivering the Band 1 receivers for the SKA-Mid telescope dishes in South Africa, a contract which has enabled the company to build new, expanded facilities. These receivers – measuring a metre across and weighing 180 kg – are based on a prototype developed by Onsala Space Observatory.

Gothenburg-based Qamcom, a company with close ties to Chalmers University of Technology, is supplying digitisers for Bands 1, 2 and 3 of the SKA-Mid telescope. These systems will convert analogue radio signals into amplified and clean digital signals for transmission and analysis.

Sweden is also home to the first SKAO-accredited electromagnetic interference testing facility at RISE in Borås, which will allow hardware to be evaluated before shipping.