![]() Even stress tests to determine the strength of the remaining cables could trigger a catastrophic collapse. 10, an auxiliary cable pulled free from a support tower and crashed onto the dish below, tearing a 100-foot-long gash.Īn engineering firm hired by the University of Central Florida to assess the structure concluded it would be unsafe to proceed with repairs. ![]() Inspections of other cables showed fresh wire breaks and slippage in several auxiliary cable sockets that were added to the structure in the 1990s. Operated by the National Science Foundation through the University of Central Florida, the iconic observatory is made up of a fixed 1,000-foot-wide dish antenna built into a bowl-like depression that reflects radio waves from space to a 900-ton instrument platform suspended 450 feet above by cables stretching from three support towers.Įngineers were developing repair plans when one of the main 3-inch-wide cables attached to the same tower unexpectedly snapped on November 6, causing the instrument platform to tilt and putting additional stress on the remaining cables.Īn analysis showed the cable failed in calm weather at about 60% of of its minimum breaking strength. "We know that a delay in decision making leaves the entire facility at risk of an uncontrolled collapse, unnecessarily jeopardizing people and also the additional facilities." The 1,000-foot-wide Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, one of the largest single-dish radio telescopes in the world, is set for demolition after cable failures that left its 900-ton instrument platform in danger of an uncontrolled collapse. "After reviewing the engineering assessment, we have found no path forward that would allow us to do so safely," said Sean Jones, assistant director for the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate at the National Science Foundation. Arecibo radio telescope goes dark after mysterious destruction 03:05Īfter withstanding hurricanes and earthquakes, playing central roles in movies like "GoldenEye" and "Contact," Puerto Rico's famed Arecibo Observatory, once the largest radio telescope in the world, will be demolished because of cable failures that left its huge detector platform too unstable to attempt repairs.
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