Adaptive Array Systems Teams up with University of Manchester on Network System Design for World’s Largest Radio Telescope

MANCHESTER, England--()--Adaptive Array Systems Limited (AASL) of Cheadle, Manchester has been awarded a contract by The University of Manchester to provide design concepts for optical network termination and transmission equipment for the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope, the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope.

Signal transport and networks will form the backbone of the SKA telescope, delivering information about the farthest reaches of the Universe from the antenna array to astronomers. The network will primarily use optical fibre cable and will ultimately represent the largest network system in science.

AASL, alongside other industry partners, will provide industrial expertise and experience to bring cost effective solutions to the project’s challenging technical requirements.

Commenting on the agreement, Chris Shenton, CEO and founder of AASL, said: “We are very pleased and excited to be involved with such a prestigious international project as the SKA; our proximity to Manchester and Jodrell Bank Observatory provides us with the opportunity to interact very closely with the project team during this phase of the design. The government has demonstrated its commitment to the SKA and we feel privileged to be contributing to such a significant scientific advancement. The selection as AASL as a partner in the project illustrates the skills and expertise we have in the company.”

The Head of the University of Manchester SKA Team, Keith Grainge, said: “With the conclusion of our competitive tender process, I am delighted to welcome AASL on board to work with us on this critical phase of the project. AASL will be helping us to generate conceptual solutions to the challenging task of transporting the vast quantities of data that will be generated by the SKA telescope. The skills they bring to the project are a very good complement to our own and I greatly look forward to working with Chris and his team.”

AASL will provide concepts and support to the University’s Signal and Data Transport group (SADT) during the concept generation phase of the SADT subsystem design. The tasks involve mapping the telescope system requirements to potential technical solutions, and subsequently generating high-level concept architectures for the telescope data networks and interfaces.

AASL’s team has domain expertise in a wide range of applications including industrial systems, radio astronomy, military systems, data communications and audio.

www.adaptivearraysystems.co.uk

ENDS

Images available from contact@johannabowler.com

About Adaptive Array Systems

AASL was formed in 2013 by Chris Shenton and Tony Palmer to bring class leading Phased Array Processing technology and Intellectual Property to the market. AASL are specialists in high performance time coherent array processing and data movement.

AASL also provides technical consultancy and design services to industry and the scientific community.

www.adaptivearraysystems.co.uk

About the SKA

www.skatelescope.org

About the University of Manchester SKA Group

www.skatelescope.org/skadesign/wp/sadt/

Contacts

Science Communication Services
Jo Bowler
contact@johannabowler.com
www.johannabowler.com
or
Adaptive Array Systems Ltd
Chris Shenton
CEO
+44 (0) 161 486 5107
chris@aasl-uk.com
www.adaptivearraysystems.co.uk

Contacts

Science Communication Services
Jo Bowler
contact@johannabowler.com
www.johannabowler.com
or
Adaptive Array Systems Ltd
Chris Shenton
CEO
+44 (0) 161 486 5107
chris@aasl-uk.com
www.adaptivearraysystems.co.uk