Arecibo observatory’s iconic radio telescope collapses after cable break

A huge radio telescope in Puerto Rico that has long played a key role in astronomical discoveries collapsed on Tuesday, officials said. the Arecibo Observatory, made famous as the backdrop for a pivotal scene from the James Bond film “GoldenEye” and other Hollywood hits, had been closed since August after an auxiliary cable broke and caused a 100 foot notch on the reflector plate.

Then a main cable broke in early November, leading the National Science Foundation to declare a few weeks later that it planned to shut down the radio telescope because the damage was too severe.

Many scientists and Puerto Ricans mourned the news, some heartbreaking during interviews. Puerto Rico meteorologist Deborah Martorell tweeted Tuesday morning: “My friends, it is with deep regret to inform you that the Arecibo Observatory platform has just collapsed.”

It was the second largest radio telescope in the world and had been in operation for over half a century.

Operated by the National Science Foundation through the University of Central Florida, the iconic observatory consisted of a 1,000-foot-wide fixed satellite dish embedded in a bowl-shaped depression that reflected radio waves from the space to a suspended 900 ton instrument platform. 450 feet above by cables extending three support towers.

For 57 years, the observatory has played a leading role in observing deep space targets, solar system bodies and, using powerful lasers, the composition and behavior of the high terrestrial atmosphere.

Before its collapse, the observatory withstood hurricanes and earthquakes, and played a central role in films like “GoldenEye” and “Contact”.

Bill Harwood contributed to this report.