Searching the outer limits of space
The Square Kilometre array could detect signs of extraterrestrial life
The team working on the world’s largest radio telescope – The Square Kilometre Array – have called upon the skills of a County Durham firm to design and test components for the £1.26bn project.
Newton Aycliffe-based Durham Precision Engineering (DPE) has been working with engineers and scientists from Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at Manchester University on designs for an insulation box to contain some of the noise created by the equipment within the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope.
The SKA telescope, which will be built in either Southern Africa or Australia, will be so powerful it will be capable of detecting signs of extra terrestrial life as well as revealing details of the history of the universe from the Big Bang onwards.
Initial construction on the internationally collaborative project will begin in 2016 and will feature around 3,000 dishes spread over one square kilometre, making the SKA the largest and most sensitive radio telescope ever built.
Engineers from DPE worked with the team at Jodrell Bank on a solution to the electrostatic noise which was contaminating the information being received from its antennas.
Geoff Mason, DPE’s business development manager, said: “We were looking to diversify and the SKA project offered an ideal opportunity to do that.
“Some businesses may be put off by the high tech nature of the space industry but the work we’re doing is not much different to what we do normally – making parts for clients such as Land Rover, Nissan and Jaguar.
“The build phase for the SKA will require millions of parts which will create some jobs but will also protect the jobs within the company.
“A lot of people are scared to dip their toe in the space sector water because they think it’s beyond their remit, but it isn’t because they’re looking for the skills and techniques in the North East that have been around for years. It’s not rocket science. It’s just doing what we do best.”
DPE hopes to win more work within the space industry as a result and is urging other businesses to attend Spacetech, a major conference on the new developments and opportunities in the sector at NETPark (the North East Technology Park) Sedgefield on February 9.
Mr Mason said the work on the SKA project came as a result of attending a previous event at NETPark to explore opportunities in the space industry three years ago.
Stewart Watkins, managing director of the County Durham Development Company, the business arm of Durham County Council, which has organised Spacetech said: “Traditional skills such as welding and electronics are in demand within the space industry and its exactly the kind of field businesses in the North East can excel in if they take the leap.”
Businesses interested in attending the conference can find out more at www.northeasttechnologypark.com/spacetech or by calling CDDC on (0191) 370 8680.
www.durham-precision-engineering.co.uk
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