Iconic alien-hunting Arecibo telescope that featured in Bond film GoldenEye will be permanently shut down after 57 years due to snapped cables putting it at risk of 'catastrophic failure'
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1,000-foot diameter space telescope is being decommissioned after damage
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The telescope was featured in a critical scene in the 1995 Bond film GoldenEye
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Arecibo has detected whirling pulsars and helped discover the asteroid Bennu
The 1,000-foot diameter space telescope that featured in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye is to be shut down after 57 years of service.
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico in the Caribbean is in danger of 'catastrophic failure' according to owners, the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
Cables that supported the structure broke this year, meaning it's no longer capable of carrying the loads it was designed to support.
Iconic alien-hunting Arecibo telescope that featured in Bond film GoldenEye will be permanently shut down after 57 years due to snapped cables putting it at risk of 'catastrophic failure'
1,000-foot diameter space telescope is being decommissioned after damage
The telescope was featured in a critical scene in the 1995 Bond film GoldenEye
Arecibo has detected whirling pulsars and helped discover the asteroid Bennu
By Jonathan Chadwick For Mailonline
Published: 05:48 EST, 20 November 2020 | Updated: 08:26 EST, 20 November 2020
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The 1,000-foot diameter space telescope that featured in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye is to be shut down after 57 years of service.
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico in the Caribbean is in danger of 'catastrophic failure' according to owners, the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
Cables that supported the structure broke this year, meaning it's no longer capable of carrying the loads it was designed to support.
Damage to Arecibo Observatory cannot be addressed without endangering the lives and safety of crew and staff, the NSF said.
Over nearly six decades of service, Arecibo detected whirling pulsars, captured geologic features of Mars and helped discover the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
'NSF has concluded that this recent damage to the 305-meter telescope cannot be addressed without risking the lives and safety of work crews and staff,' said Sean Jones, assistant director of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate at NSF.
'NSF has decided to begin the process of planning for a controlled decommissioning of the 305-meter telescope.'
The decision has been taken following a recommendation from an engineering firm hired by the University of Central Florida, which manages the observatory under a five-year $20 million agreement with NSF.
Citing safety concerns, the firm ruled out efforts to repair the observatory and recommended a controlled demolition.
Operations at the observatory were halted in August when one of its supportive cables slipped loose from its socket, falling and gashing a 100-foot-long (30 metre) hole in its 1,000-foot wide reflector dish. 'NSF has concluded that this recent damage to the 305-meter telescope cannot be addressed without risking the lives and safety of work crews and staff,' said Sean Jones, assistant director of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate at NSF.
'NSF has decided to begin the process of planning for a controlled decommissioning of the 305-meter telescope.'
The decision has been taken following a recommendation from an engineering firm hired by the University of Central Florida, which manages the observatory under a five-year $20 million agreement with NSF.
Citing safety concerns, the firm ruled out efforts to repair the observatory and recommended a controlled demolition.
Operations at the observatory were halted in August when one of its supportive cables slipped loose from its socket, falling and gashing a 100-foot-long (30 metre) hole in its 1,000-foot wide reflector dish.
While the observatory was awaiting delivery of two replacement auxiliary cables, as well as two temporary cables, another main cable broke on the same tower on November 6.
This tore a new hole in the dish and damaged nearby cables, leading officials to warn that the entire structure could collapse.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8969455/GoldenEye-space-telescope-decommissioned.html
=57 YEARS AGO=
In the final fight scene Bond discovers a DS underground base operating under the Arecibo dish … which was damaged, if you recall, (by DEW? ) a few weeks ago.
I just watched this movie on a lark a few weeks ago. what a coincidence.