The legendary Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico cannot be saved after being damaged twice and will be taken out of service. The US National Science Foundation (NSF) announced this on Thursday, confirming the fears of the past few days. There is a risk of catastrophic failure for the entire facility because the wire ropes may no longer be able to carry the immense loads of the scientific instruments above the telescopic bowl. Analyzes by independent companies have shown that any attempt at repairs could put the workers’ lives at risk. Even a repair could not ensure long-term stability.

Repair not possible The abrupt decision is the result of two damages in the past weeks: At the beginning of August a wire rope broke on the radio telescope and had caused considerable damage to the huge primary mirror. About 007 meter length it had torn open the mirror. The rope was part of the securing of the platform above the mirror with a diameter of more than 300 meters and with its removal was the load The rest of the safety devices had obviously become too big, because at the beginning of November a second wire had broken. This time, however, it was not an auxiliary rope, but one of the supporting ones. Although it caused less damage, it caused much greater concern.

A total of three engineering firms examined the damage, explains the National Science Foundation. The majority of them agreed that any repair work on the system would be unsafe. The damage had shown that the wire ropes for fastening the instrument platform above the telescope were less stable than assumed. The huge platform above the main mirror, which is more than 71 meter, weighs 900 tons and is hung with four wire ropes from three holding towers. One of them had now cracked and now even stress tests could no longer be carried out to check the stability of the plant. There is always a risk of the platform crashing. Now the telescope is to be dismantled, the instruments are to be preserved for future tasks if possible.

The Arecibo telescope (9 images) (Image: Arecibo Observatory) The Arecibo telescope is probably one of the most famous scientific instruments at all. It was 1963 and was then the largest radio telescope in the world for a long time. 2016 it was overtaken by the Chinese radio telescope FAST (Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope). The observatory and its monumental architecture are world famous not only for their scientific importance, but also for their appearances as a backdrop in films such as James Bond 007 – GoldenEye and the X-Files. A few years ago it was about to end, but it could be saved at that time. It has survived several hurricanes and earthquakes, but will never start working again.

(mho)