Nadia Drake
The Arecibo Observatory’s suspended equipment platform collapsed just before 8 a.m. local time on December 1, falling more than 450 feet and crashing through the telescope’s massive radio dish—a catastrophic ending that scientists and engineers feared was imminent after multiple cables supporting the platform unexpectedly broke in recent months. No one was hurt when the 900-ton platform lost its battle with gravity, according to staff at the observatory in Puerto Rico
VICTIM OF CLIMATE CHANGE
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© Photograph by Ricardo Arduengo, Getty Images
This aerial view shows the damage to the Arecibo Observatory after its 900-ton equipment platform broke loose, swung into a nearby rock face, and smashed onto the radio dish below.
The telescope itself has been destroyed, although the full extent of the damage to surrounding facilities hasn’t yet been determined. Aerial photos show that the platform likely made a pendulous swing into a nearby rock face. Parts of it, including a large dome housing a complex reflector system, shattered near the dish’s center. Photos from the ground reveal that the tops of the three towers supporting the platform also broke off. People nearby reported that as the platform came down, it sounded like an avalanche, a train, or an earthquake.
“We can confirm the platform fell and that we have reports of no injuries. We will release additional details as they are confirmed,” says Robert Margutta of the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is in charge of the facility.
The iconic telescope has been in a precarious state since August, when an auxiliary cable supporting the equipment platform broke and fell through the radio dish, leaving a 100-foot-long gash in its reflective panels. The situation became more dire in early November, when one of the main cables supporting the equipment platform also snapped, leaving the telescope on the brink of a catastrophic collapse. Inspections revealed that other cables were showing signs of weakening and degradation, and over the last couple of weeks, engineers spotted ruptured strands and other signs of impending danger.
On November 19, NSF announced that it had decided to decommission the telescope and pursue options for a controlled demolition of the dangerous structure. That decision came after engineering firms evaluated the structure and predicted that the platform would collapse in the near future if it were not repaired.
With the risk of imminent collapse, authorities determined that it was too risky to send workers up on the platform or the towers to attempt repairs.
“If we’re worried about it falling, nobody should go up there or be there when it happens,” former observatory director Michael Nolan, now at the University of Arizona, told National Geographic at the time.
“As someone who was inspired as a child by the observatory to reach for the stars, this is devastating and heartbreaking. I’ve seen how the observatory to this day continues to inspire my island,” planetary scientist Edgard Rivera-Valentin of the Lunar and Planetary Institute said at the time. Rivera-Valentin tweeted today that they are "heart broken, sad, in mourning, and crying," following the observatory's collapse.
The NSF’s decision to decommission the telescope didn’t stop scientists and Puerto Ricans, for whom the telescope holds cultural as well as scientific value, to rally in support of the observatory. For decades, the facility has been a source of pride and inspiration for the island, and it has served as a crucial resource for local communities during natural disasters. Now, the crumpled telescope leaves a large, dangerous mess to clean up—and, perhaps, a site upon which to rebuild.
Anne Virkki, who leads the planetary radar team at the observatory, writes in an email: “We’ll need to start campaigning for rebuilding from today.”
This aerial view shows the damage to the Arecibo Observatory after its 900-ton equipment platform broke loose, swung into a nearby rock face, and smashed onto the radio dish below.
The telescope itself has been destroyed, although the full extent of the damage to surrounding facilities hasn’t yet been determined. Aerial photos show that the platform likely made a pendulous swing into a nearby rock face. Parts of it, including a large dome housing a complex reflector system, shattered near the dish’s center. Photos from the ground reveal that the tops of the three towers supporting the platform also broke off. People nearby reported that as the platform came down, it sounded like an avalanche, a train, or an earthquake.
“We can confirm the platform fell and that we have reports of no injuries. We will release additional details as they are confirmed,” says Robert Margutta of the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is in charge of the facility.
The iconic telescope has been in a precarious state since August, when an auxiliary cable supporting the equipment platform broke and fell through the radio dish, leaving a 100-foot-long gash in its reflective panels. The situation became more dire in early November, when one of the main cables supporting the equipment platform also snapped, leaving the telescope on the brink of a catastrophic collapse. Inspections revealed that other cables were showing signs of weakening and degradation, and over the last couple of weeks, engineers spotted ruptured strands and other signs of impending danger.
On November 19, NSF announced that it had decided to decommission the telescope and pursue options for a controlled demolition of the dangerous structure. That decision came after engineering firms evaluated the structure and predicted that the platform would collapse in the near future if it were not repaired.
With the risk of imminent collapse, authorities determined that it was too risky to send workers up on the platform or the towers to attempt repairs.
“If we’re worried about it falling, nobody should go up there or be there when it happens,” former observatory director Michael Nolan, now at the University of Arizona, told National Geographic at the time.
“As someone who was inspired as a child by the observatory to reach for the stars, this is devastating and heartbreaking. I’ve seen how the observatory to this day continues to inspire my island,” planetary scientist Edgard Rivera-Valentin of the Lunar and Planetary Institute said at the time. Rivera-Valentin tweeted today that they are "heart broken, sad, in mourning, and crying," following the observatory's collapse.
The NSF’s decision to decommission the telescope didn’t stop scientists and Puerto Ricans, for whom the telescope holds cultural as well as scientific value, to rally in support of the observatory. For decades, the facility has been a source of pride and inspiration for the island, and it has served as a crucial resource for local communities during natural disasters. Now, the crumpled telescope leaves a large, dangerous mess to clean up—and, perhaps, a site upon which to rebuild.
Anne Virkki, who leads the planetary radar team at the observatory, writes in an email: “We’ll need to start campaigning for rebuilding from today.”
Iconic dome at Arecibo Observatory collapses
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the most powerful single-dish radio telescope in the world, was damaged August 10 when an auxiliary cable that supports the suspended platform broke. On Tuesday, the entire dome collapsed. File Photo courtesy of University of Central Florida
ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The iconic Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Puerto Rico, the most powerful in the world, was destroyed Tuesday morning in an uncontrolled collapse.
The 57-year-old facility had hosted Nobel Prize-winning scientists and blockbuster Hollywood movies alike over the years. But the dome containing instruments that weighed over 1 million pounds crashed into the dish below at 6:55 a.m. EST, said Ray Lugo, director of the Florida Space Institute.
One of three skyscraper-tall towers that supported the dome broke about halfway up. The collapse came just two weeks after the National Science Foundation announced it would decommission the facility due to damage incurred by cable breaks in August and early November.
"The tops of the towers sheared off and the azimuth and dome sheared off the platform," said Lugo, who led a coalition managing the facility for the University of Central Florida in Orlando. "No one was injured. [We are] performing our assessment now."
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A statement from the foundation on Twitter said, "NSF is saddened by this development. 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 collapse first was reported by journalist Deborah Martorell with El Nuevo Dia, Puerto Rico's largest newspaper. She posted photos on social media showing the valley in the rural interior of the island where the dome had hung for decades, absent the iconic structure.
"Friends, it is with deep regret to inform you that the Arecibo Observatory platform has just collapsed," Martorell posted in Spanish on Twitter.
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The damage from cable breaks had left the radar dish and surrounding structures unsafe and subject to further collapse at any time, foundation officials had warned.
Ancillary facilities at Arecibo that also conduct astronomical observations may be salvaged.
The visitors and learning center, however, "sustained significant damage from falling cables," the foundation reported about 7 hours after the collapse.
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"Engineers arrived on-site today. Working with the University of Central Florida, which manages the observatory, NSF expects to have environmental assessment workers on-site as early as tomorrow," a statement from the foundation said.
The foundation would continue to pay staff members at the facility and seek to restart smaller related facilities nearby, according to the statement. But safety assessments for the remaining structures were the first priority.
Two scientists using data from the dish have won Nobel Prizes. It was also the scene of popular movies such as 1995's GoldenEye and Species, and 1997's Contact.
The university had submitted a request to the foundation for $10.5 million to begin repairs on the August damage. That work would include at least six massive cables, which range in thickness from 3 inches to 6 inches.
But that work hadn't begun when a second larger cable broke.
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