Snapped Cable Damages Arecibo observatory radio telescope:

[Archibald]

"by the way, it's 2020"

 

[martinbayer]

I think as a large infrastructure project in the public interest it is actually an excellent candidate to build back better.

 

[Grey Havoc]

I think as a large infrastructure project in the public interest it is actually an excellent candidate to build back better.

Alas, in the current era though...

Here are a couple more interesting videos:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzVvnn1agVQ

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3AASKr_iHc

 

[Flyaway]

Here’s an update on rebuilding

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1341166030694080516

View: https://twitter.com/FYIscipolicy/status/1341166030694080516

 

[FighterJock]

Here’s an update on rebuilding

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1341166030694080516

View: https://twitter.com/FYIscipolicy/status/1341166030694080516

I should think so too, if it was not for the years of no (or little) funding from the NSF we would not be in this mess.

 

[sferrin]

Massimo on Twitter: "NASA recently gave out a new round of grants for its favourite up and coming innovative space projects. One of which is a plan to fit a 1 km radio telescope inside a crater on the far side of the Moon, the largest radio telescope in the Solar System https://t.co/3NEsqpwoER https://t.co/MXrqZy8xOO" / Twitter

 

[dan_inbox]

If it is not somehow proofed against meteorites, what will be the life expectancy of a 1km-wide structure?

 

[Flyaway]

View: https://youtu.be/uY7hpdc8Xso

 

[Orionblamblam]

If it is not somehow proofed against meteorites, what will be the life expectancy of a 1km-wide structure?

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.

 

[Hobbes]

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.

 

[Orionblamblam]

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.

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.

 

[TomcatViP]

A comprehensive narrative of the events focused on engineering challenges:

How the famed Arecibo telescope fell—and how it might rise again

Engineering failures and a harsh climate conspired in telescope’s sudden collapse

www.sciencemag.org