Thefirstmiddle-frequencydishoftheSquareKilometerArrayradiotelescope,theworld'sbiggestastronomynetwork,hasbeguntobeassembledinShijiazhuang,capitalofHebeiprovince.Thefirstmiddle-frequencydishoftheSquareKilometerArrayradiotelescope,theworld'sbiggestastronomynetwork,hasbeguntobeassembledinShijiazhuang,capitalofHebeiprovince.TheSquareKilometerArrayisanambitiousscientificprojectinvolvingseveralnationsincludingChina,theUnitedKingdomandAustralia.Itisnotasingleradiotelescope,butacollectionofvarioustypesofantennaecalledanarray.Itisspreadoverlongdistancesthatcombinetocoveratotalsurfaceareaof1squarekilometer.AtabriefceremonyinShijiazhuangonWednesdaymorning,themainreflectorofthefirstSquareKilometerArraymiddle-frequencydish,officiallyabbreviatedasSKA-Mid,wasliftedbyaheavy-dutycraneandthenplacedonthedish'spedestal.Afterthat,engineersspentseveralhoursconnectingthetwocolossalcomponents.Mostpartsonthedish,includingthemainreflector,servodevicesandsupportarm,weredesignedandbuiltbythe54thResearchInstituteofChinaElectronicsTechnologyGroupCorp,locatedinShijiazhuang,whichisthemajorChinesecontractorintheSKAproject.DuBiao,theinstitute'schiefdesignerofthedish'sstructure,toldChinaDailyinanexclusiveinterviewaftertheceremonythatinthenextseveraldays,engineerswillmounttheremainingpartsonthedish,includingthesubreflector.Theywillthenstartfine-tuningtheentiredishtoensureitsoperationalstabilityandaccuracy.Productionofthefirstbatchof64SKA-Middishes,includingtheoneinvolvedatWednesday'sceremony,hasbegunattheShijiazhuanginstitute.TheywilllaterbedeliveredtotheSKAObservatory,anintergovernmentalorganizationbasedinManchester,England,andtheninstalledintheKarooregionofSouthAfrica.AnothersectionoftheSKAproject,thelowfrequencydishes,orSKA-Low,willbelocatedintheremoteMurchisonareaofWesternAustralia.Bothsiteswerechosenforscientificandtechnicalreasons,includingtheirradioquietness.Uponitsscheduledcompletioninabout2028,theSKAwillbethelargestandmostadvancedastronomyequipmentintheworldandisexpectedtogivescientistsdetailedinsightsintothehistoryoftheuniverse.Itwillalsoenablescientiststobetterunderstandthenatureofgravity,exploretheoriginsoflifeandcosmicmagneticfields,aswellassearchforextraterrestrialcivilizations.Thesupernetwork'sultralargecollectingareawillgiveit50timesthesensitivityand10,000timesthesurveyspeedofthebestcurrent-daytelescopes—theKarlG.JanskyVeryLargeArraylocatedinNewMexico,UnitedStates.Thefullarraywillproducedataataratemorethan100timestheglobalinternettraffic,accordingtoChinesescientistsinvolvedintheprogram.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.