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Apparently, the Arecibo Telescope has received so much damage that it will close forever.
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One of astronomy’s most renowned telescopes — the 305-metre-wide radio telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico — is permanently closing. Engineers cannot find a safe way to repair it after two cables supporting the structure suddenly and catastrophically broke, one in August and one in early November.
It is the end of one of the most iconic and scientifically productive telescopes in the history of astronomy — and scientists are mourning its loss.
“I don’t know what to say,” says Robert Kerr, a former director of the observatory. “It’s just unbelievable.”
“I am totally devastated,” says Abel Mendéz, an astrobiologist at the University of Puerto Rico in Arecibo who uses the observatory.
On a positive note, if UFO sightings in Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands/Dominican Republic decrease considerably, we have to wonder what exactly were the scientist doing when the telescope was in working order. Hmm...
Also the James Bond movie in 95, GoldenEye. Sad that it was left in this state. Nice tourist attraction as well.
I think it can still be an attraction. Instead of a working satellite, now its a ruin of a satellite. Plus everything is intact except the parts of the satellite affected by the broken cables. It is the largest satellite in Central America & the Caribbean. That doesn't change simply because its not a working satellite anymore.
I think it can still be an attraction. Instead of a working satellite, now its a ruin of a satellite. Plus everything is intact except the parts of the satellite affected by the broken cables. It is the largest satellite in Central America & the Caribbean. That doesn't change simply because its not a working satellite anymore.
Think due to liability they would fence it off. Seems like they are going to let it collapse onto itself or carefully demolish it.
Read conflicting articles about this.
So perhaps after it's collapsed/ demolished there might be visits.....but what would be there? Besides a big hole?
Think due to liability they would fence it off. Seems like they are going to let it collapse onto itself or carefully demolish it.
Read conflicting articles about this.
So perhaps after it's collapsed/ demolished there might be visits.....but what would be there? Besides a big hole?
If it was to collapse, they could leave the pieces exactly where they fall. A site like that would still be historical and an attraction. People will need some imagination and that is helped by thousands of photos and videos that were taken of the satellite. Have you ever been to the Roman Forum in Rome? There is really nothing there except a few broken pieces that with a little imagination visitors can recreate it in their minds. The most glaring difference between the Roman Forum and the Arecibo Satellite would be age, one was completed thousands of years ago while the satellite is a 20th century marvel of engineering. Due to the times, there are no photos of what the Roman Forum was like, but there are of the Arecibo Satellite. That makes a big difference in the minds of visitors.
...Or they could put more money into space research and build another one at the same spot. I mean we cannot let the opportunity for great position go to waste by having it JUST be a tourist attraction showing what we HAD, why not rebuild it with the latest technology and keep it going. Also, we dont know what part it plays in the ongoing space development program.
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The telescope was built in the 1960s with money from the Defense Department amid a push to develop anti-ballistic missile defenses. In its 57 years of operation, it endured hurricanes, endless humidity and a recent string of strong earthquakes.
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Quote:
Officials suspect a potential manufacturing error is to blame for the auxiliary cable that snapped after a socket holding it failed, but say they are surprised that a main cable broke about three months later given that it was supporting only about 60% of its capacity. Engineers had assessed the situation after the first cable broke, noting that about 12 of the roughly 160 wires of the second cable that eventually broke had already snapped, said Ashley Zauderer, program officer for Arecibo Observatory at NSF.
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Quote:
The closure is a blow for many of the more than 250 scientists that have used a telescope that is also considered one of Puerto Rico’s main tourist attractions, drawing some 90,000 visitors a year. It also has long served as a training ground for hundreds of graduate students.
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