Samsung equips world's largest

Samsung equips world's largest radio telescope

South Korea's electronics giant Samsung is to provide the world's largest radio telescope with a state-of-the-art computing system, beating US rivals to the deal.

The company's computing system will be installed at the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope, which is currently under construction in South Africa and Australia.

Samsung said it will provide the SKA with its own computing system, dubbed the "Samsung High-Performance Computing System", which will allow scientists to process vast amounts of data from the telescope.

The SKA is expected to be one of the world's most powerful scientific instruments, capable of observing the universe in unprecedented detail.

"The SKA is a major scientific project that will help us understand the universe in ways we never thought possible," said Dr. Catherine Cesarsky, the director-general of the European Southern Observatory.

Samsung's computing system will be deployed at the SKA's South African site, where it will be used to process data from the telescope's 3,000 antennae.

The company said its system will be capable of processing 20 petabytes of data per day, which is equivalent to about 100 million DVDs.

Samsung was selected for the deal after beating US rivals, including IBM and Hewlett-Packard, in a competitive tendering process.

"We are proud to have been selected for this major project, which is a testament to our company's capabilities in high-performance computing," said a Samsung spokesperson.

However, the deal has raised concerns among some scientists who have expressed worries about the company's role in the project.

"We are not sure what Samsung's motivations are for getting involved in this project," said Dr. David Kaplan, a scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"But we do know that the company has a history of using its technology for military and other purposes, which could be a concern for some scientists."

"The SKA is a major scientific project that will help us understand the universe in ways we never thought possible." Dr. Catherine Cesarsky, director-general of the European Southern Observatory

Author's note: Samsung's involvement in the SKA project raises concerns about the company's motivations and potential impact on the scientific community. While the deal has the potential to advance our understanding of the universe, it also highlights the increasing role of corporations in large-scale scientific projects.

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MyJoyOnline MyJoyOnline — 2025-11-28

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