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NSF Shutting Down Arecibo Observatory Update: Now Collapsed

Zorba

Zorba

Lifer
The Arecibo is going to be demolished after there have been a couple of cable failures in recent months.

www.nsf.gov

NSF begins planning for decommissioning of Arecibo Observatory’s 305-meter telescope due to safety concerns

NSF's mission is to advance the progress of science, a mission accomplished by funding proposals for research and education made by scientists, engineers, and educators from across the country.
www.nsf.gov www.nsf.gov

I do think engineers can be ultra conservative when reviewing other people's structures. Of course the main engineering company is the same firm that completely screwed up the design of a parking garage.

Thornton-Tomasetti Is Cleared In Indiana Library Defect Suit

In the latest twist in a long controversy, an Indiana circuit court jury on April 15 cleared structural engineer Thornton-Tomasetti Inc., New York City, of fraud charges brought by the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, related to the troubled renovation and expansion of the city’s...
www.enr.com www.enr.com

I, obviously, haven't seen the analysis, but at least one firm and the Corp seem like they think it could be salvaged. I have feeling this truly the result of NSF not having the funds to fix it now and afraid it'll collapse if they wait.
 
My first thought is "Of course it CAN be fixed".
But I also imagine it is beyond their budget to do so.
Given its age, it may yield a better result to build a new one.
 
Jaskalas said:
My first thought is "Of course it CAN be fixed".
But I also imagine it is beyond their budget to do so.
Given its age, it may yield a better result to build a new one.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think it is truly a lack of budget to fix it. Apparently they've been having budget problems for years.

I seriously doubt a new one will be built any time soon.

I wish we cared as much about scientific research as buying F-35s.
 
Arecibo has been the target of NSF cuts for many years, IIRC. So much so that it was even part of the plot of Contact.

If a suitable location could be located in red state America we could probably build a new bigger one.
 
Zorba said:
That'd be awesome, but not likely any time soon.
Click to expand...

If we could figure out a way to spread the spending out over more R states we could get some cool shit. The National Radio Telescope Laboratory of...say Casper, WY has a certain ring to it.
 
K1052 said:
If we could figure out a way to spread the spending out over more R states we could get some cool shit. The National Radio Telescope Laboratory of...say Casper, WY has a certain ring to it.
Click to expand...

Propose it to Foxconn, they can finally use that site in Wisconsin for something useful
 
Posted this in the DC thread about Arecibo

uallas5 said:
Took my wife to see it when we were in Puerto Rico on vacation about 20 years ago. She humored me even though it was almost a 2 hour drive each way (it helped that the countryside around it is absolutely gorgeous) but even she was impressed when she saw it. I can still remember the sorta weird background noise when were walking around the observation area at edge of the dish. I think I might even have the t-shirt I bought at the gift shop shoved in a drawer somewhere.
Click to expand...

Arecibo goes silent

For the seti folks who don't know yet: Arecibo
forums.anandtech.com forums.anandtech.com
 
Not specifically on topic, just reminiscing how I once had four rigs dedicated to the SETI Project until my son decided he wanted in-house lan parties to entertain his friends during summer breaks, spring breaks, XMAS/ New Year's breaks, weekends, Jewish holidays, national holidays, you get the picture.
 
I wonder if the latest tech out there at the moment renders Arecibos' basic design parameters obsolete. If not, I hope another takes its place with all of the latest tech built in.
 
Zorba said:
And then count the years until there is a fatal failure that can't be repaired.
Click to expand...

To be fair, Hubble is still operational 30 years later.

JWST was originally scheduled for 2007 with a budget of $500 million. It is now scheduled for a late 2021 launch with a budget of $10 billion. It's taking the Star Citizen development trajectory.
 
Roger Wilco said:
To be fair, Hubble is still operational 30 years later.

JWST was originally scheduled for 2007 with a budget of $500 million. It is now scheduled for a late 2021 launch with a budget of $10 billion. It's taking the Star Citizen development trajectory.
Click to expand...
Hubble was repaired 5 times on orbit. That won't be an option for JWST.

I think the fact that it can't be repaired is one thing driving the cost way up. Would've been better to just launch a functional but not perfect one, then build another to launch when the first failed.
 
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