President Akufo-Addo yesterday inaugurated the Ghana Astronomy Radio Observatory at Kuntunse in the Greater Accra Region,
The president described the development as the beginning of a new era in the country’s quest to harness the potential of space science and technology for accelerated national development.
He said, this would not only witness the deepening of knowledge and skills development in electronics and information and communications technology (ICT) for Ghanaian scientists but also enhance their capacity to contribute to the world body of knowledge in the ever expanding field of astronomy and space science.
By the launch of the observatory, Ghana becomes the first partner country of the African Very Long Baseline Interferometer Network (AVN) to complete the conversion of the 32-metre Intelsat Telecommunications Satellite Earth Station at Kuntunse into a functioning radio telescope.
Memorandum of Understanding
Prior to the inauguration, Ghana and eight other African countries involved in an international project to build the world’s largest radio telescope signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate for the successful implementation of the project.
The eight countries are South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia.
As part of the project, the participating countries have also initiated the network, AVN, which will be a new African network of telescopes to be integrated with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
The AVN project aims at establishing a network of self-sufficient radio telescopes in Africa through the conversion of redundant telecommunication antennas into radio telescopes.
Bold decision
The President recounted how, in 2007, Ghana under the leadership of President John Agyekum Kufuor, took the bold decision to sign up to the African SKA partnership agreement, headed by South Africa.
That decision, he explained, was made at a time when Ghana did not have any programme in astronomy, saying it was an example of the bold and visionary leadership of the time, its purpose being to propel the country to the enviable league of countries pursuing space science.
President Nana Akufo-Addo expressed the hope that the “integration of this radio telescope into the AVN, in preparation for the second phase of the construction of the SKA across the African continent, will be successful”.
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