[Paper Review] From SKA to SKAO: Early Progress in the SKAO Construction

J. D. Santander-Vela, Marco Bartolini+3 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Oct 26, 2021

Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology2 references4 citations

TL;DR

This paper summarizes the early construction progress of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), highlighting the transition from the SKA Organisation to the intergovernmental SKAO, the start of construction on July 1, 2021, and the critical role of agile software development and open-source collaboration—particularly the TANGO-based control system—in enabling scalable, containerized, and orchestrated deployment of complex telescope software systems.

ABSTRACT

The Square Kilometre Array telescopes have recently started their construction phase, after years of pre-construction effort. The new SKA Observatory (SKAO) intergovernmental organisation has been created, and the start of construction ($\mathrm{T_0}$) has already happened. In this talk, we summarise the construction progress of our facility, and the role that agile software development and open-source collaboration, and in particular the development of our TANGO-based control system, is playing.

Motivation & Objective

• To document the transition from the SKA Organisation to the newly established intergovernmental SKAO and the official start of construction (T₀) on July 1, 2021.
• To highlight the role of agile software development and open-source collaboration in managing the complexity of the SKA's large-scale software infrastructure.
• To detail the adoption of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and Helm for orchestrating the deployment and scaling of SKA software components.
• To address challenges in software team scaling, dependency management, and integration with project milestones through improved roadmap alignment and funding frameworks.
• To outline future steps toward stable software delivery, including supplier qualification and enhanced release and contribution management processes.

Proposed method

• Utilized a TANGO-based control system as the core software framework for managing telescope subsystems, with SKAO contributing 50% of development time to the TANGO kernel.
• Implemented containerization using Open Container Initiative (OCI) standards, initially with Docker and later migrating to Kubernetes (K8s) and Helm for orchestration and packaging.
• Mapped TANGO Device Servers (DS) to individual containers and devices to maintain fine-grained control and modularity, though exploring co-location to reduce overhead.
• Established a 1:1 mapping between DSs and TANGO Devices to ensure reliability and traceability during early development and integration.
• Integrated the Integrated Product Schedule (IPS) with software roadmaps via PI planning and dedicated alignment workshops to synchronize milestones and dependencies.
• Developed standardized contribution and release management rules to improve collaboration across distributed teams and ensure traceability of software releases.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can a large-scale, multi-national radio telescope project like the SKA achieve a smooth transition from pre-construction to active construction while maintaining software development momentum?
• RQ2 What role does open-source, TANGO-based software architecture play in enabling scalable, modular, and interoperable control systems for next-generation observatories?
• RQ3 How can containerization and orchestration tools like Kubernetes and Helm be effectively applied to manage the deployment and lifecycle of complex, distributed telescope software systems?
• RQ4 What challenges arise in aligning software development timelines with high-level project milestones in large infrastructure projects, and how can they be mitigated?
• RQ5 How can funding and team structures be reorganized to support long-term software sustainability and integration during the construction phase?

Key findings

• The SKAO intergovernmental organization officially entered into force on January 15, 2021, following treaty ratification by the UK, Australia, South Africa, and two additional countries.
• Construction officially began on July 1, 2021 (T₀), following approval of the SKA1 Construction Proposal and the Observatory Establishment and Delivery Plan by the SKAO Council.
• The SKAO has successfully transitioned from the SKA Organisation via TUPE transfer, with all assets and staff transferred by May 1, 2021.
• The TANGO-based control system is now the backbone of the SKA software stack, with SKAO contributing 50% of development time to the TANGO kernel and actively supporting the TANGO Collaboration.
• Containerization using Docker and Kubernetes has been adopted to enable scalable, reproducible, and orchestrated deployment of software components, with Helm used for packaging and sequencing.
• Despite challenges in team scaling and dependency management in Helm charts, the project is progressing toward stable software delivery through improved roadmap alignment, supplier qualification, and structured contribution and release processes.