SKA Telescope Model

Library for retrieving or generating SKA Telescope Model information. This is a key component of the SKA architecture, centralising knowledge required to reason about the telescope as a whole. Requirement SKAO-SYS_REQ-2645 defines the telescope model as follows:

“A dynamic computational model of the Telescope […] used to answer all queries about the state of the Telescope. The telescope model shall consist of configuration information, numerical models, empirical parameters, and conventions”.

The particular “queries” we are concerned with here are where SKA sub-systems need to agree with one another about information - such as:

• all sub-systems agreeing about the make-up and location of receptors (i.e. dishes or stations), or

• Central Signal Processor (CSP) and Telescope Manager Control (TMC) agreeing about the make-up of the correlator and its connections to links, or

• Observation Planning (OPT) agreeing with the Science Data Processor (SDP) about the correct format for control system messages.

This sort of information evolves relatively slowly and is in many cases too voluminous to be exchanged between systems in real time. On the other hand, especially for information characterising knowledge about the telescope, we will need to evolve it independently of the software development lifecycle.

For this purpose, this library provides:

• Means to access telescope model data

• Schemas to check whether telescope model data is valid

• Ways for interpret and transform telescope model information

Installation

Install using pip from the SKAO central artefact repository:

pip install -i https://artefact.skao.int/repository/pypi-internal/simple ska-telmodel

Overview

• SKA Telescope Model
• Usage Guide
• Command Line Usage
• Change Log

Telescope Model

• Development
• Telescope Model Public API
• Telescope Model Internals

Schemas

• Low MCCS schemas
• Central Signal Processor schemas
• Science Data Processor schemas
• Telescope Manager Control schemas
• Telescope Layout schemas