The world's largest radio telescope causes two major accidents in just three months

The Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico is home to one of the world's largest radio telescopes, 305 meters in diameter. In November 2020, the Arecibo Observatory's radio telescope suffered an accident in which the steel auxiliary cable was cut, followed by an accident in which the main cable was cut and the radio telescope was damaged. The incident is reported by the University of Central Florida, which manages the Arecibo Observatory.

A Second Cable Fails at NSF's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico | University of Central Florida News
https://www.ucf.edu/news/a-second-cable-fails-at-nsfs-arecibo-observatory-in-puerto-rico/

The radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory, built in 1963, boasts one of the largest diameters in the world and has been active in a variety of projects, as well as being used as a setting for movies and games. In August 2020, an accident occurred in which the steel auxiliary cable that supports the secondary mirror of the radio telescope broke and collided with the reflective surface of the primary mirror as it was, causing serious damage.

The world's largest radio telescope collapsed due to an accident of unknown cause and stopped operation --GIGAZINE

Due to the accident in August, the Arecibo Observatory was forced to shut down. In addition, the broken auxiliary cable and socket were removed on September 28, and at the time of writing the article, NASA's Kennedy Space Center is investigating the cause. A spare auxiliary cable that has been cut has already been ordered and will be replaced and repaired by mid-December 2020.

However, at 19:39 local time on November 6, an accident occurred in which the main cable supporting the secondary mirror was cut. The broken main cable fell as it was, damaging the reflective surface and other cables. The University of Central Florida has not been able to identify the reason why the main cable was cut, but 'The auxiliary cable was cut in August 2020, which put an extra load on the remaining cables. I think that is related. '

The repair team in charge of cable replacement in mid-December said, 'By loosening the cable of the radio telescope and attaching reinforcing bars, we want to reduce the load distributed to the remaining cables as much as possible.' In addition, it seems that the schedule for replacement and repair work, which was scheduled to start in mid-December, is being readjusted ahead of schedule.

Francisco Cordova, director of the Arecibo Observatory, said, 'I didn't want this to happen, but the important thing is that no one was injured. Replacing and repairing a cable that broke in August. To do so, we have carefully evaluated the situation and prioritized safety. '' The radio telescope is not in good condition, but we are still working on restarting the facility. Arecibo Observatory It's too important as a tool for the advancement of science. '

The University of Central Florida is applying for a subsidy from the National Science Foundation to carry out repairs related to the accident in August. At the time of writing the article, it seems that there are no plans to increase repair costs due to this main cable disconnection accident.