Posted on 11/19/2020 2:22:50 PM PST by BenLurkin
The world-famous Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, known for helping scientists peer into deep space and listen for distant radio waves, is set to be decommissioned and demolished after engineers concluded that the facility’s structure is at risk of a collapse. While teams will try to salvage some parts of the observatory, the decommission will bring an end to the popular 57-year-old telescope, which has been featured in numerous films and television shows.
The decision comes after two major cables failed at the facility within the last few months, causing significant damage to the observatory. The National Science Foundation (NSF), which oversees Arecibo, assessed the impact of the cable breaks and found that the facility’s other cables could also fail soon. If some of the remaining cables break, engineers fear that the 900-ton suspended platform above the facility could come crashing down on Arecibo’s iconic 1,000-foot-wide dish. It’s also possible that three surrounding towers, which stand at more than 300 feet tall, could topple over in any direction, potentially hitting the visitor’s center or other important nearby buildings.
The agency’s engineers have evacuated the facility and set up a safety exclusion zone around the spaces where people could be in danger if there was a collapse. Meanwhile, engineers are now working on a plan for how to take the facility apart safely, which could involve the use of helicopters and maybe even explosive demolitions
(Excerpt) Read more at theverge.com ...
ping
How about put a fence around it and say keep out I seen life after people it will be all but gone in a generation of two
I’m sorry to hear about this. I got to visit Arecibo many years ago and it was amazing to see how large the structure is. Not to mention how many times it’s been featured in movies.
Image of the VLA
The Very Large Array, one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories, consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. Each antenna is 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter. The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 36 km (22 miles) across, with the equivalent sensitivity of a dish 130 meters (422 feet) in diameter.
The VLA is where most of the radio work is now done.
I have visited the VLA, and that is an amazing facility.
Sorry but am not proficient at reproducing images on FR.
Here’s the link if you’d like to view it:
Well, it served well.
I’ve always wondered if you can just drive through the area the VLA covers, or at least close enough to get a good look, or if it’s closed off to the public.
Yes. There is a really cool little visitor center and self guided tour. And you can walk out there and stand right beside those big dishes.
Looks like maybe you can. But it also looks kind of remote.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plains_of_San_Agustin
I drove out there about ten years ago.
It was very cool. A “nerd” type of wonder of the world.
They’re all afraid of lawsuits.
There are thousands of people who would be happy to go out on the gondola and bail out dead weight.
No reason at all to demolish it.
There is a visitors’ center there.
I’m guessing regular maintenance has been a bit substandard.
“...even explosive demolitions...” I recommend husha-boom so as not to scare the nearby wildlife. It can be found at B&N supply.
The VLA is set in some of the most beautiful scenery in New Mexico, and that’s saying something.
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