Snapped Cable Damages Arecibo observatory radio telescope:

If it is not somehow proofed against meteorites, what will be the life expectancy of a 1km-wide structure?
 
dan_inbox said:
If it is not somehow proofed against meteorites, what will be the life expectancy of a 1km-wide structure?
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Probably a very long time. The structure would be akin to a wire mesh net; much of it's area would be open space that micrometeorites would simply pass through. The rest could be hit and torn to bits with little actual damage to the dishes functionality.
 
that depends on the frequencies you want to operate at. At 1.42 GHz (21 cm, hydrogen wavelength) the mesh can be ~ 5x5 cm. Higher frequencies need a smaller mesh.
 
Hobbes said:
that depends on the frequencies you want to operate at. At 1.42 GHz (21 cm, hydrogen wavelength) the mesh can be ~ 5x5 cm. Higher frequencies need a smaller mesh.
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Sure. But the point remains: the surface of a radio dish is going to be many orders of magnitude less fussy than an optical scope. And the lightweight, relatively fragile nature of the material, whether it's a woven net, or sheets of foil, or etched foil, actually works in your favor when dealing with a lunar environment. On earth, wind can tear a really lightweight mesh. On the moon, you can blast it 24/7 with micometeors. Each one will punch a hole not much bigger than the impactor, with little effect on the surrounding reflector material. Punch a billion microscopic holes it it, it just won't matter. The total area taken out in a century of normal bombardment would be a vanishingly small fraction of the total and would possibly not even be noticed. Shoot, you could probably have spiderbots crawling around it non-stop repairing little dings, with a one-year rotation period.
 
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A report by the National Science Foundation estimates it will cost up to $50 million to clean up the damage from the collapsed Arecibo radio telescope, but that it is still too soon to determine whether or how to rebuild the famous observatory.
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NSF added that it is planning a “community workshop” in April to discuss potential options for the site. “The development costs of potential projects coming out of this stakeholder engagement are unknown,” it stated.
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spacenews.com

NSF report estimates Arecibo cleanup cost at up to $50 million

A report by the National Science Foundation estimates it will cost up to $50 million to clean up the damage from the collapsed Arecibo radio telescope, but that it is still too soon to determine wh…
spacenews.com spacenews.com
 
Flyaway said:
A report by the National Science Foundation estimates it will cost up to $50 million to clean up the damage from the collapsed Arecibo radio telescope, but that it is still too soon to determine whether or how to rebuild the famous observatory.
Click to expand...

NSF added that it is planning a “community workshop” in April to discuss potential options for the site. “The development costs of potential projects coming out of this stakeholder engagement are unknown,” it stated.
Click to expand...

spacenews.com

NSF report estimates Arecibo cleanup cost at up to $50 million

A report by the National Science Foundation estimates it will cost up to $50 million to clean up the damage from the collapsed Arecibo radio telescope, but that it is still too soon to determine wh…
spacenews.com spacenews.com
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Fifty million dollars? Just to clean up the mess left by the Arecibo collapse, the more I read about the problems at Arecibo the more angry I get. :mad:
 
sferrin said:
uk 75 said:
In a sh te year another bit of bad news
www.nature.com

Legendary Arecibo telescope will close forever — scientists are reeling

New satellite image reveals the damage that shut down the facility, ending an era in astronomical observation.
www.nature.com www.nature.com
The loss of the Aracibo array is another blow to our modern world in the face of nature.
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China built a bigger one so it's not like the world lost capability.
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Would be interested to know a bit more about the Chinese one. This may be an area where competition between the great powers could be constructive.
 
The Chinese large fixed-dish telescope is called FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope).
Its main advantage over Arecibo is more flexible pointing. The effective collecting area is up to 300 m in diameter: at any location of the receiver array, only a section of the primary dish is in view. Unlike Arecibo, the primary dish panels are adjustable to make a more accurate parabola.

Its main disadvantage is the lack of radar. Arecibo had the most powerful planetary radar system in the world.
 
Flyaway said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1371702604057649152
View: https://twitter.com/spacewillinfo/status/1371702604057649152


#GF-2 satellite image collected on March 13 shows the cleanup of iconic #AcreciboObservatory in #PuertoRico, which collapsed last December. The cleaning up could cost 30-50 million USD, according to the National Science Foundation, USA. #infrastructuremonitoring
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So what now, if it costs 30-50 million dollars to clean up the mess left by the Arecibo collapse then there is little hope of the NSF designing and building an Arecibo 2. :mad:
 
The famous Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, once home to the world's most powerful radio telescope, has reopened to visitors more than a year after the giant facility collapsed.

The visitor center and observation deck are now open to visitors who make reservations in advance. From the outdoor deck, visitors can see the valley and remaining reflective dish -- 1,000 feet in diameter.
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www.upi.com

Arecibo Observatory reopens visitor center after telescope collapse - UPI.com

The famous Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, once home to the world's most powerful radio telescope, has reopened to visitors more than a year after the giant facility collapsed.
www.upi.com www.upi.com
 
Local media in Puerto Rico are reporting today that NSF had a last-minute virtual meeting with staff at the observatory and announced that facilities will be closed by September 30, 2023 after a “transformation” to become a science education center. They were also told there would be a meeting with details on Friday and that NSF staff would be visiting the island this month.

There are still some instruments on-site (12 meter antenna, project PRISMA, and LIDAR research), but what will happen to these has apparently not been discussed.
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Source (in Spanish) : https://teleonce.com/noticias/local...rvatorio-de-arecibo-para-septiembre-del-2023/
 
tech.slashdot.org

US Opts To Not Rebuild Renowned Puerto Rico Telescope - Slashdot

The National Science Foundation announced Thursday that it will not rebuild a renowned radio telescope in Puerto Rico, which was one of the world's largest until it collapsed nearly two years ago. The Associated Press reports: Instead, the agency issued a solicitation for the creation of a $5...
tech.slashdot.org
 
Grey Havoc said:
tech.slashdot.org

US Opts To Not Rebuild Renowned Puerto Rico Telescope - Slashdot

The National Science Foundation announced Thursday that it will not rebuild a renowned radio telescope in Puerto Rico, which was one of the world's largest until it collapsed nearly two years ago. The Associated Press reports: Instead, the agency issued a solicitation for the creation of a $5...
tech.slashdot.org
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That is well and truly sad news about the US not going to build a successor to the Arecibo radio telescope. An end of an era sadly. :(
 
Why not to make Lunar telescope using remote vehicles. Just use minimum 6 of them to deploy/drag mesh from the center of the crater and receiver on telescopic mast that could be hang in a way that TV cameras over football field works. Then vehicles will be hook points, energy suppliers and retransmit stations. Something like this:
 
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