The Square Kilometre Array is a global project to develop the next
generation radio telescope at metre to centimetre wavelengths. It will
have a collecting area of order one million square metres, a
sensitivity 100 times higher than the extended VLA, an instantaneous
field of view (FOV) larger than the full moon, and, in some designs,
more than one FOV allowing multiple simultaneous use. It will be an
extremely powerful survey telescope with the capability to follow up
individual objects with high angular and time resolution. The SKA will
reach a point source sensitivity of 25 nano-Jy in 1 hour of
integration, and a maximum resolution of better than 1 milli-arcsecond at
20 GHz with excellent imaging over several orders of magnitude at any
given frequency. The SKA science reach will be enormous, allowing new
discoveries in astroparticle physics and cosmology, fundamental
physics, galactic and extragalactic astronomy, and solar system
science. Technological innovation, closely paralleling commercial IT
developments, is key to the design concepts under investigation and to
the cost goal of USD 1000/m2. The selection of technologies for the
SKA is scheduled in early 2008. A number of possible locations for the
telescope are under investigation with a choice scheduled in early
2006. Construction of the array will take most of the next decade.