Tag: Planetary Radar Project

A Second Cable Fails at NSF’s Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico

News 0
The UCF-managed Arecibo Observatory in the spring of 2019. (Credit: University of Central Florida)

Engineers are reviewing the new damage and assessing how to best stabilize the facility.

by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala
University of Central Florida News

A main cable that supports the Arecibo Observatory broke Friday at 7:39 p.m. Puerto Rico time.

Unlike the auxiliary cable that failed at the same facility on Aug. 10, this main cable did not slip out of its socket. It broke and fell onto the reflector dish below, causing additional damage to the dish and other nearby cables. Both cables were connected to the same support tower. No one was hurt, and engineers are already working to determine the best way to stabilize the structure.

(more…)

Broken Cable Damages Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico

News 0
The main collecting dish is among the world’s largest single-dish radio telescopes. The reflective dish is 1,000 feet in diameter, 167 feet deep, and covers an area of about 20 acres. (Credit: UCF)

ARECIBO, PR (University of Central Florida PR) — One of the auxiliary cables that helps support a metal platform in place above the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, broke on Monday (Aug. 10) causing a 100-foot-long gash on the telescope’s reflector dish. Operations at the UCF-managed observatory are stopped until repairs can be made.

(more…)