Fund should secure telescope future

Details of a funding programme which "should secure the future" of the Jodrell Bank telescope have been released.

The Government will contribute towards the running costs of the radio astronomy centre in Cheshire, but more cash will be needed to guarantee its survival.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) said they would work with the University of Manchester and other stakeholders to find a "viable way in which e-Merlin operations can be supported on a shared cost basis."

The STFC added: "This should secure the future for the famous Jodrell Bank Observatory."

The e-Merlin project comprises two telescopes at Jodrell Bank, as well as dishes at Pickmere and Darnhall in Cheshire, Knockin in Shropshire, Defford in Worcestershire and one in Cambridge.

An £8 million upgrade of the network, connecting all the dishes with fibre optic cables as well as improving electronics and software is due to be completed next year.

In previous years Jodrell Bank received around £2.5 million a year of government funding, and any reduction could jeopardise its involvement in the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project - whose headquarters are meant to be situated at the site.

A spokesman for the STFC said the level of funding for Jodrell Bank had yet to be finalised.

He said: "We realise the importance of Jodrell Bank in future projects like SKA, and we want to come to a good conclusion."

He added: "We have a very broad science portfolio to fund and we have to do that with a limited budget. It would be irresponsible of this organisation to overspend. We have to live within our means."

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