La Paz de Los Ricos wrote:It's official. The old girl will be decommissioned and subsequently demolished after it has been deemed too risky for workers to try and repair the damage.
From the NSF (website): https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301674
From the NSF (Twitter announcement): https://twitter.com/NSF/status/13294626 ... gr%5Etweet
From Space.com: https://www.space.com/arecibo-observato ... -destroyed
When I made the Arecibo damage thread back in August, initially the damage caused to the dish by the wire seemed to have been fixable. Now, it appears that damage from María and the recent earthquakes has led to the decision being called for the telescope's demolition. The visitor center, to my knowledge, will remain standing, but the dish itself, and the support towers, must come down.
RIP Arecibo