Quite true Martin, I have seen many presentation for the South African bid and they are quite well presented. Both nations have similar projects underway and the amount of costs injected into the system I feel it is going to be quite tight.
I think it would be in the best interest to go multinational on this one as the ultimate goal is Long Base Interferometry and you can image the length of the system if both South Africa and Australia/New Zealand would combine to produce. The other advantage of a combined system is the curvature of the earth and the ability to point separated systems in opposite direction at the same time.
Would even be nice if somewhere in South America would be involved but I don't know the circumstances why they did not put in the bid.
Whatever happens we will know soon.
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Originally Posted by MLyons
Hmmmm....some interesting opinions on South Africa.
Don't believe everything you read in the papers or get fed by your local TV news service........or even the hearsay from expats' brothers' nephews' aunt..........
Fact is that we already have Meerkat, a scaled down version of SKA which is a significant project in its own right.
This was implemented as a direct indicator of our ability and commitment.
Believe it or not, if you consult the "futurist" intellectuals and academics, their outlook is that the African political and economical workings are a known quantity and can be forecast with some certainty (so one can plan and work around the challenges) whereas the forecast on the Australian stability both economic and political cannot be forecast with any certainty as, believe it or not, they consider it on the brink of a turnaround of sorts due to the influence of the Eastern block. (I was gobsmacked when it was explained to me by a group of very highly regarded futurists)
These "futurists" are an integral part of the selection process because their field of expertise and study can provide significant insight into the perceived long term stability and sustainability of such a project.
Anyways, the conditions here in South Africa, while different, is nowhere near as bad as some would have you believe.
May the best team win.
Martin
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