West Australian Science and Innovation Minister John Day today announced Fremantle-based company, Poseidon Scientific Instruments had been awarded a $1.3million contract to help deliver a key radio astronomy project which will gain international recognition.
Mr Day said this was a great example of a local company recognising the opportunities available to participate in important science and innovation projects in Western Australia.
"Poseidon's initial work to design, prototype and integrate the complex electronics central to the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) has culminated in the company winning the contract to build the electronics for the telescope's full scale construction," he said.
"Local industry participation is not limited to the resources sector - there are also exciting developments and opportunities in many other key areas of the economy.
"Poseidon's innovative technical solution demonstrates the capacity and capability of the State's local businesses to solve highly complex problems for leading edge projects.
"Through Poseidon's involvement in the MWA, the company has diversified and grown its business and will be well placed to tender for future contracts in this area."
The MWA is a radically new type of radio telescope that will be used to undertake astrophysical studies of celestial objects as close as our sun and as distant as the first stars and galaxies formed 13 billion years ago.
The Minister said WA was becoming known as a hub for excellence in radio astronomy research and the success of the MWA, the Australian SKA Pathfinder and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) would continue to build on this reputation.
Fact File
- MWA being developed by ICRAR and currently being built at Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in the State's Mid-West
- Collaboration between institutions from Australia, the USA, New Zealand and India
- The array is an important precursor telescope to the SKA; will help to shape its development and make important discoveries