A giant radio telescope in Puerto Rico collapsed weeks after it closed down due to previous damage.
The telescope’s 900-ton receiver platform crashed onto the reflector dish more than 400 feet below on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. No one was hurt during the collapse.
Less than two weeks ago, the U.S. National Science Foundation announced that the telescope, which had played key roles in astronomical discoveries for more than half a century, would close after an auxiliary cable broke in August, resulting in a 100-foot hole in the selector dish. In early November, another cable snapped, causing additional damage.
“The instrument platform of the 305m telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico fell overnight,” the NSF announced on social media Tuesday morning. “No injuries were reported. NSF is working with stakeholders to assess the situation. Our top priority is maintaining safety. NSF will release more details when they are confirmed.”
“NSF is saddened by this development,” they added. “As we move forward, we will be looking for ways to assist the scientific community and maintain our strong relationship with the people of Puerto Rico.”
The Defense Department funded the building of the telescope in the 1960s as a part of a larger push to develop anti-ballistic missile defense systems. The telescope was used to track asteroids, and in 1974, Russell Hulse and Joseph Taylor Jr. were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics after using it to conduct research. Before it went out of commission, it drew about 90,000 visitors annually.
“I am one of those students who visited it when young and got inspired,” said Abel Mendez, a physics and astrobiology professor at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo who has used the telescope for research. “The world without the observatory loses, but Puerto Rico loses even more.”
