The National Sci­ence Foundation (NSF)  announced its decision to decomission Arecibo Observatory's 305-meter telescope, which served as  as a world-class resource for radio astronomy, planetary, solar system and geospace research for 57 years. 

The NSF made its decision after reviewing multiple engineering assessments that concluded that repairing the damage to the Arecibo Observatory poses risk to contruction workers and staff at the facility.

Based on its evaluation of the engineering assessments, the Arecibo telescope structure is in danger of a catastrophic failure and its cables may no longer be capable of carrying the loads they were designed to support." Any attempts to repair the structure could endanger the lives of workers.

Over the years the Arecibo Observatory has been hit by hurricanes and earthquakes. 

In August, one of the cables supporting the Arecibo telescope was detached. Since then engineers have been examining the situation.

The giant single-dish is suspended by six 8 centimeter-wide auxiliary steel cables which were added, as a 1990 upgrade. 

On November 6,  one of the suspension cables failed which left the elaborate telescope destabilized and unsafe. The University of Central Florida (UCF) reported that two of the remaining wire support cables appear to have cracks.

The NSF, UCF,  the Universidad Ana G Méndez, and Yang Enterprises are jointly managing the Arecibo Observatory. The organizations agreed to decomission the  Arecibo telescope. The ever-increasing like­lihood of the tower platform collapsing and destroying the telescope prompted their decision.

In a statement, NSF director Sethuraman Panchanathan explained that their priority is the safety of workers, Arecibo Observatory’s staff and visitors, which makes this decision necessary, although unfor­tunate.” 

He added, "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."

Ralph Gaume, director of NSF’s Division of Astronomical Sciences, also stated, “Until these assessments came in, our question was not if the observatory should be repaired but how. But in the end, a preponderance of data showed that we simply could not do this safely. And that is a line we cannot cross.”

Scientists made major discoveries using the Arecibo telescope

The Arecibo telescope is the second largest in the world. It has a radio reflector dish measuring 1,000-foot (305-meter) in diameter. The reflector dish consists of 40,000, 3 foot by 6-foot aluminum panels.

The Puerto Rico-based Arecibo Observatory with its giant space telescope has been the scene of some major discoveries since it was built in 1963. It is a well-known tourist attraction in the Caribbean where it’s located.

The asteroid Bennu was first discovered by this powerful telescope. In 1974, Arecibo sent out a Search for Extraterrestrial Life (SETI) message aimed at a star cluster 21,000 light-years away. The binary code broadcast described humans, DNA, and our solar system. It is expected to reach its target in 25 millennia.

The Arecibo telescope is also famous for it’s featured appearance in some Hollywood movies.

Several famous movies were filmed at the Arecibo Observatory

Since its construction, the Arecibo Observatory has been the film location for a number of movies. In the 1995 James Bond thriller “Goldeneye” starring Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent, Bond fought off spies throughout the observatory.

In the 1997 adaptation of Carl Sagan’s novel “Contact” starring Jodie Foster, the space telescope was the main setting. Images from the observatory along with a myriad of computer-generated effects were also used in the opening scene.

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