In August Gust, a separate auxiliary cable was torn from the dish of the Arecibo Observatory. Last week, another cable failed.
Inspector Inspector
By Daniel Cleary
The already scattered Are Resibo Observatory suffered another setback on November 7 when one of its 12 main support cables broke and tore from the main dish of the radio telescope. This incident is just 3 months after the failure of the second cable. Researchers have expressed concern that increasing stress on the remaining cables could lead to cascading failure and the collapse of the suspended antenna platform over the dish.
“It’s not a beautiful picture,” says Joanna Rankin, a radio astronomer at the University of Vermont. “This is very serious.” Now the worst accident involving the observatory in its long history is “without a doubt”, now says Donald Campbell, former director of Cornell University.
The nearly 60-year-old telescope, built in despair in the mountains of Puerto Rico, is still valuable by researchers. Its huge 300-meter dish – the world’s largest dish until it was overtaken by China’s five-hundred-meter aperture circular radio telescope in 2001 – makes it very sensitive. And it’s just one of the few telescopes that not only receives radio waves, but emits them, in the form of radar beams – which help researchers track nearby asteroids that could threaten Earth.
Variety was damaged when Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico in 2017. While repairs were underway in August, a 13-centimeter-thick supporting cable, one of six between three support towers and a suspended antenna platform, was detached from its socket on the platform. Auxiliary cables were added in 1994 to cope with the extra weight of the new antenna added to the upgrade. Last month, the University of Central Florida (UCF), which leads the consortium operating the observatory, applied for emergency repairs to the owners of Arecibo, the National Science Foundation (NSF) for 10 10.5 million.
Friday evening at 7:39 pm local time – the latest break was one of the 9 centimeter-thick main support cables. Four such cables run from each of the support towers to a 900-ton platform. Both failed cables were connected to the same tower, so the remaining cables are under considerable additional stress. “Forces become scary,” says Robert Kerr, a former Arecibo director.
The NSF said in a statement: “We are monitoring the situation and considering all possible options to accelerate the stability of the structure. Our top priority is the health and safety of Arecibo staff. The UCF-led consortium took over the operation of the observatory as part of the NSF’s efforts to find new partners to cover some of the costs and reduce its funding to older facilities. Still under construction needed savings to pay for the operation of new facilities. The NSFA has not yet said whether it will pay for the repairs requested by the UCF – or by the latest cable break that incurs additional costs. But Campbell says the general impression is that the NSF is “very supportive after the first cable break.”
Kerr says a lot of finger pointing and suggestions have been made that managers did not have to maintain the old age facility. They say the equipment added in 1994 created additional stress that the structure was not originally designed. He says, “We took a lot of steps where we are now.
Arecibo is crucial for many areas, and would be a “big loss” if it is not repaired, Rankin says. “Its sensitivity is much higher than any other tool and it is much more flexible,” he says. Campbell says he has an amazing range of abilities, “visually” far from the remnants of the universe. It is very embarrassing if it is lost. ”
