Video: Arecibo Observatory Telescope Collapses, Ending Era Of World-Class Research - NPR

The Arecibo Observatory's mammoth telescope collapsed overnight.

The Arecibo Observatory's mammoth telescope collapsed overnight.

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has collapsed, after weeks of concern from scientists over the fate of what was once the world's largest single-dish radio telescope.

Arecibo's 900-ton equipment platform, suspended some 500 feet above the dish, fell overnight after the last of its healthy support cables failed to keep it in place.

"As we move forward, we will be looking for ways to assist the scientific community and maintain our strong relationship with the people of Puerto Rico.".

The Arecibo Observatory had been slated last month to be withdrawn from service, with the NSF citing the risk of an "uncontrolled collapse" because of failures in the cables that suspended the platform and its huge Gregorian dome above the 1,000-foot-wide reflector dish.

Ángel Vázquez, the observatory's director of telescope operations, says he was in the control room area when the equipment began to plummet to the ground.

Ángel Vázquez explains the collapse of the Arecibo Observatory @SaveTheAO.

"This whole process took 30 seconds," Vázquez said, "and an unfortunate icon in radio astronomy was done.".

The telescope's trademark dish, nestled amid thick tropical forest, was left with a huge gash in August after a cable fell and slashed through its panels.

For its neighbors in Puerto Rico and for people worldwide, it has been a literal link between the terrestrial and the extraterrestrial.

The Arecibo Observatory collapsed when its 900-ton receiver platform fell hundreds of feet, smashing through the radio dish below.

The Arecibo Observatory collapsed when its 900-ton receiver platform fell hundreds of feet, smashing through the radio dish below?

The site in Puerto Rico was chosen "to take advantage of the vicinity to the equator and of the topography of the terrain, which provided a nearly spherical valley and minimized excavation," according to a lecture by longtime Cornell astronomy professor Martha Haynes

Arecibo and Puerto Rico have withstood natural calamities in recent years, including Hurricane Maria in 2017 and a series of earthquakes this year