Facing collapse, the famed Arecibo Observatory will be demolished

The failure of two main cables sealed the observatory’s fate

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.

*Damage caused by the failure of the first auxiliary cable in August*
Image: UCF

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….READ FULL ARTICLE

Review

Why even good Antennas need good Coax Cable

January 14, 2017 No comments

By Dennis Walter “Nothing’s going on shortwave anymore!” Really? Many ham radio operators and SWLs keep telling me that nothing is going on on shortwa... Read more

Anytone AT-D578 vs TYT MD-9600 | DMR Mobile Radio Comparison

February 21, 2020 No comments

Icom IC-705, WiFI, Bluetooth And GPS Functionality, VS-3 Bluetooth Headset

July 14, 2020 No comments

Chameleon Emmcom III Base Review

September 13, 2019 No comments

NX-3000 Series lightbar and custom voice prompts | Kenwood Comms

August 15, 2019 No comments

The lightbar and custom voice prompts are shown in operation on the NX-3000 series heandheld walkie talkie radio, these features are a big advantage f... Read more

Equipment

Ultra-compact transceiver Lab599 Discovery TX-500

July 07, 2019 No comments

The Lab599 Discovery covers 160-6 meters, all modes, with a maximum power output of 10 W. It comes with true desktop-radio features, like auto-notch,... Read more

Hi-Z Antennas Shack Switch 2 SS2

March 01, 2020 No comments

Hi-Z Antennas Shack Switch 2 is a modern array direction selection console with an easy to use, large manually operated knob with a continuous rotatio... Read more

Yaesu SP-9000 Speakers

October 01, 2015 No comments

Speaker Type:Base station Speaker Impedance:8 ohms RF Shielding:Yes Speaker Audio Filters:Yes Subwoofer Included:No Volume Control:No Tone... Read more

ANAN-7000DLE 100W HF & 6M Transceiver

July 16, 2017 No comments

The ANAN-7000DLE HF & 6M 100W SDR Transceiver offers top of the line performance is a compact rugged package, it is based on the work of the OpenH... Read more

Ailunce HS2 HF VHF UHF SDR Transceiver

May 05, 2020 No comments

HS2 is an ultra-portable full-frequency full-mode SDR radio. Receive frequency coverage 300K~1.6GHZ. The built-in network port can realize remote oper... Read more

Antenna

Antenna Testing Using WSPR by K7AGE

March 18, 2015 No comments

Center Loading the Wolf River Silver Bullet 1000

November 28, 2019 No comments

“Wold River Coils has a new accessory for Silver Bullet 500 & 1000 coils called the UAFI or You Asked For It kit. The UAFI is a pair of exte... Read more

Do You Really Need a Tower? [ ARRL PODCAST ]

November 01, 2018 No comments

BOLPA-10 A Super Wide Band, High Performance Log Periodic Dipole Array (LPDA) – 14MHz to 30MHz Optimised for all Ham Bands Just 7.7m long

November 06, 2016 No comments

Hockley Essex, United Kingdom – InnovAntennas Limited, The premier supplier of sophisticated and Innovative directional antenna systems announces toda... Read more