Previous issues

Number 15 - September/October 2011

• SKA South Africa shines at the SKA Forum 2011
• Road to final site decision
• MeerKAT passes Preliminary Design Review
• More industry contracts for SKA South Africa
• PAPER array extended to 64 dishes
• Agreements boost SA's bid
• Crucial cold receivers installed on KAT-7
• Progress with KAT-7 commissioning
• On-site UPS for KAT-7
• Control and monitoring upgrades for KAT-7
• KAT-7 digital back-end acceptance test procedure
• Realistic MeerKAT movie
• SKA SA bursar wins top UCT research award
• SA promotes the African SKA bid abroad
• SKA SA presentations in London - Youth Day 2011
• Outreach programme wins international award
• Mission MeerKAT - the adventure continues

Number 14 - June/July 2011 special edition

• Location, location, location - South Africa's SKA site is best of both worlds
• Making the most of MeerKAT
• It doesn't get much quieter than this
• Karoo infrastructure ready for the SKA
• PAPER demonstrates suitability of SA site
• C-BASS eye on the southern sky
• Moore for less
• Top astronomy talent lights up African SKA bid
• Researcher response to MeerKAT demonstrates SKA potential
• A new generation of astronomers emerges in Africa
• Karoo workshop boosts astronomy capacity in Africa
• VLBI network to be deployed across Africa

Number 13 - May/June 2011

• SA's science minister welcomes new commitment towards building the SKA
• African astronomy strides ahead at MEARIM II gathering
• African Telescope Array on the cards
• New radio telescope planned for Mozambique
• MeerKAT science takes off
• Successful ThunderKAT kick-off
• IAU Global Office of Astronomy for Development launched in SA
• New Research Chairs give extra momentum to skills development for SKA South Africa
• More international science experiments blossoming in the Karoo
• Cutting-edge MeerKAT control room now operational
• Reader's Cambridge sabbatical links to SKA phase 1
• Focus on women in physics
• Blog along with the barefoot astronomer

Number 12 - February 2011

• First HartRAO-KAT-7 VLBI fringes signal new capability
• MeerKAT engineers launch new ROACH board
• MeerKAT Science - the Large Survey Projects
• More power and connectivity milestones for Karoo astronomy reserve
• SKA South Africa and NRAO to deepen collaboration in 2011
• MeerKAT Karoo Express - flying to the MeerKAT site
• Postdoctoral opportunities at SKA South Africa
• MeerKAT advances cutting-edge expertise
• Students star at SA SKA postgraduate conference
• Technician team deployed at KAT-7 in Karoo
• Review of Karoo reserve infrastructure
• Virtual sky display in MeerKAT control room
• SKA online - useful websites

Number 11 - October 2010

• Innovative new design for SA's MeerKAT
• New measurements of radio frequency interference at the proposed South African and Australian SKA sites
• Africa unites behind continent's SKA bid
• IAU Astronomy Development Office will be in South Africa
• Global partnerships to meet SKA demands
• Developing skills for the future
• SKA Africa boosts maths and science at nearby schools
• Northern Cape communities gear up to support Africa's SKA bid
• HartRAO 26m radio telescope recommissioned
• Houwteq Anechoic Room Facility
• Updated branding for SKA Africa
• New home for SKA Africa in Cape Town

Number 10 - June 2009

• New leaders and local communities confirm their support for SKA South Africa
• Exciting progress at MeerKAT site and support base
• KAT-7 (prototype) system engineering update
• C-BASS dish installed at MeerKAT support base
• SKA South Africa celebrates the arrival of RFI-shielded containers

Number 9 - April 2009

• Focus on SKA challenges and opportunities in the beautiful Cape
• SKA Science and Engineering Committee (SSEC) meeting
• SA audiences love Longair's cosmology
• Shepherd shows what astronomy outreach is all about
• Mission MeerKAT 2 launched

Number 8 - May 2008

• African support for SKA South Africa
• Progress with the antenna prototype: dish, RF and back-end systems
• Update on infrastructure developments for MeerKAT
• The RF Front End for the KAT XDM
• The KAT-7 feed: A prime-focus corrugated horn
• PED Fringes
• Working with WITS
• CONRAD collaboration to end
• Top EU delegation visits HartRAO for historic e-VLBI experiment

Number 7 - September/October 2007

• KAT-7 and the path to MeerKAT
• Astronomy Geographic Advantage Bill: One step closer
• Progress update on the MeerKAT XDM Antenna Structure
• Further test on MeerKAT prototype
• MeerKAT prototype computing subsystem update
• MeerKAT-Berkeley collaboration bearing fruit
• Jocelyn Bell-Burnell in South Africa
• Attracting and nurturing top students via MeerKAT
• New astronomy hub in Johannesburg
• Astronomy Career Weekend
• Outreach to the Carnarvon Community

Number 6 - April/May 2007

• MeerKAT prototype antenna installed at HartRAO
• Feeding the meerKAT prototype
• SKA champions in South Africa
• CONRAD reaches second milestone
• Major European award for Southern African astronomy project
• PED dish first light
• Exciting C-BASS science now at HartRAO
• MeerKAT meeting in Amsterdam
• Sharing science with South Africans

Number 5 - January/February 2007

• SA Science minister opens site for construction of KAT prototype
• Students excel at first SKA/KAT Bursars Conference
• SKA Calibration and Imaging Workshop 2006
• Prototype feed horn design update
• CONRAD Milestone 1 for the SKA SA
• Minister Mangena visits KAT office
• KAT prototype update
• Protecting the integrity of the KAT site
• New KAT project manager for Cape Town office
• Carnavon community outreach
• SKA online gets facelift

Number 4 - October/November 2006

• South Africa shortlisted to host the SKA
• KAT antenna structure passes critical design review with flying colours
• KAT launch preview
• World class logistics for a world class radio telescope
• Students getting to know KAT
• SKA and KAT exhibits at major science show
• KAT visit voted tops by physics students on tour
• Two Postdoc radio astronomy opportunities
• Bursaries for 2007 - apply now!
• Radio astronomy campaign on SA radio

Number 3 - September 2006

• KAT prototype kicks off at HartRAO
• KAT team releases powerful new array configuration tool
• KAT testbed takes shape in Cape Town
• HartRAO dishes up exciting science for Minister Mangena's visit
• Building SA's high-tech astronomy skills
• KAT team reports back from Down Under
• SKA and KAT on stage at INSITE
• Tomorrow's telescope engineers
• Looking for postgraduate supervisors
• Bigger and better telescopes on the cards in Prague

Number 2 - August 2006

• Evolution of the KAT Science Case
• Building skills and networks for future astronomy
• KAT fact finding mission to the US
• Convergent Radio Astronomy Demonstrator launched
• JIVE Next Generation Correlator Workshop
• Survivor astronomy style
• KAT Systems Engineering Update

Number 1 - July 2006 - launch issue

• SA Minister of Science and Technology visits proposed astronomy reserve
• KAT funding and astronomy reserve on track
• How the KAT is taking shape
• Digital back-end for the KAT XDM
• KAT software, computing and feed systems update
• "Little Blue" computing cluster for KAT's Cape Town office
• SA steps up EU participation
• SA joins All-Sky Survey
• Four competing countries to present their SKA site bids
• Prominent Swedish Astronomer joins radio astronomy in South Africa
• SKA South Africa in the media
• SKA South Africa on display