GordonD Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 The Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico has been destroyed after one of the towers supporting the receiver platform sheared off, dumping the platform onto the dish. It had already been decided to decommission the telescope as two support cables had snapped and could not be replaced safely. However today's accident has brought an immediate end to operations. Fortunately there are no reports of any injuries. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/01/arecibo-radio-telescope-collapses-puerto-rico 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfgred1 Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 This is very sad. Hope they decide to re-build it using the latest and greatest advances in radio-telescope technologies. Having said this, in the back of my mind there is this little voice that is telling me that nothing will happen...... When I saw the picture, came to my mind the Bad Company Battleground game... in one of the scenarios there is the dish in ruins with Science Platform crashed and the pillars that held that platform surrounding it. Don't think is the Arecibo one, but heck, the looks of the destroyed game one and the pictures of the real collapsed one are eerily similar... Anyway, as said above, hope that they do rebuild it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 Footage of the actual collapse! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigpen Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 Crikey - do they have a Health and Safety Executive in Puerto Rico? If so someone's in for an interview without coffee and biscuits.... I think I read China has built something similar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 I doubt it will be rebuilt. The installation has been starved of funds for over a decade - hence lack of maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted December 4, 2020 Author Share Posted December 4, 2020 9 hours ago, Pigpen said: I think I read China has built something similar? Yep, completed in 2016 but went into service this year. One of the reasons Arecibo was allowed to decline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escaflowne Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 Hi, Thanks for this information, a very bad news no hope to have a new telescope at this place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kushan_Farsight Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 does anyone know if there are any 3d models of this out there? i think it would be nice to create in 1/144 or perhaps even ship scales, as a reminder. This was always a recognizable icon, be it from Contact, the 007 Goldeneye movie, or Battlefield 4, i always found it an impressive sculpture. Its representation in BF4 lead to what i think counts as one of the all time great 'how the hell did he figure that would work' Multiplayer kills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndon Posted December 12, 2020 Share Posted December 12, 2020 On 12/4/2020 at 8:51 AM, GordonD said: Yep, completed in 2016 but went into service this year. One of the reasons Arecibo was allowed to decline. One big difference is that Arecibo was a radar telescope rather than a radio telescope with rather different capabilities that the new Chinese telescope cannot replace... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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