Following a review of engineering assessments, the U.S. National Science Foundation today announced it will begin planning the controlled decommissioning of the 1,000-foot-wide telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
The observatory, which UCF manages for NSF under a cooperative agreement, has for 57 years served as a world-class resource for radio astronomy and planetary, solar system and geospace research. But a main cable break on Nov. 6 caused the structural integrity of the telescope to come into question.
Three engineering firms, which had been previously hired to address an auxiliary cable break at the facility in August, assessed the telescope and submitted their reports to NSF. The engineer of record, Thornton Tomasetti, recommended decommissioning of the telescope because it found the telescope structure is in danger of a catastrophic failure. NSF had two other groups review the assessments, and they concurred that pursuing repairs posed a risk to human life.
“Our team has worked tirelessly with the NSF looking for ways to stabilize the telescope with minimal risk,” says UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright. “While this outcome is not what we had been working towards, and we are disheartened to see such an important scientific resource decommissioned, safety is our top priority. At a time when public interest and scientific curiosity about space and the skies has re-intensified, there remains much to understand about the data that has been acquired by Arecibo. Despite this disappointing setback, we remain committed to the scientific mission in Arecibo and to the local community.”
UCF will work with NSF to implement the safety plans and authorizations needed to begin the decommissioning process. The work is not expected to begin for several weeks. The goal is to bring down the telescope, which includes the platform and Gregorian Dome and keep as many other parts of the facility intact for future use.
NSF says it intends to restore the LIDAR facility, which is used in geospatial research at Arecibo as well as the visitor center and the offside Culebra research substation, which analyzes cloud cover and precipitation data.
“NSF prioritizes the safety of workers and Arecibo Observatory’s staff and visitors, which makes this decision necessary, although unfortunate,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. “For nearly six decades, the Arecibo Observatory has served as a beacon for breakthrough science and what a partnership with a community can look like. While this is a profound change, we will be looking for ways to assist the scientific community and maintain that strong relationship with the people of Puerto Rico.”
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Originally Posted by Swift
That installation was a national treasure. It certainly ranks as an major astronomy icon as much as the Hubble. Moreover, this will probably result a blind spot in tracking near earth asteroids.
