The Arecibo Telescope Has Suffered a Fatal Collapse, Smashing It Into Pieces - ScienceAlert

The celebrated Arecibo Observatory telescope in Puerto Rico, which once starred in a James Bond film, collapsed Tuesday when its 900-ton receiver platform plunged 450 feet (140 meters) onto the radio dish below.

Abel Mendez, director of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, said the platform fell sometime before 8:00 am (1200 GMT), describing it as "a total disaster".

"Many students are trained in astronomy in the observatory, they are inspired like me to do a career in science and astronomy," he said.

"The loss of the Arecibo telescope is a big loss for the world, but it is more of a loss for Puerto Rico.

The observatory's website said the telescope was "a world-leading radio astronomy, solar system radar and atmospheric physics facility, contributing highly relevant data to support discovery, innovation and the advancement of science."