Drone video shows dramatic moment of Arecibo observatory collapse

A video of the recent Arecibo observatory collapse, taken from two different angles, shows the dramatic moment when a main cable broke, causing the 900-ton instrument platform to fall onto the large radio antenna located below.

The first of the two videos was taken from the control room of the Arecibo Observatory, where radio astronomers normally do their work. The camera was recently installed there to capture a collapse should it occur, Ashley Zauderer, director of the Arecibo Observatory program at the National Science Foundation, told reporters.

As the video shows, the platform did not fall. It was more of a rocking action, as a main cable snapped from one of the three support towers. The video also shows the breaking of the tops of the towers, some of which are over 60 feet long, according to John Abruzzo, managing director of Thornton Tomasetti, an engineering company hired to assess the situation following the recent failure of two cables. in the famous installation.

The collapse involved “very violent and unpredictable behavior,” Zauderer said.

The second video is so remarkable, because it was captured by an aerial drone. As it turns out, the drone was being used to inspect the top of Tower 4 when one of the three remaining main cables broke. Watching the video, you can see three cables parallel to each other. A fourth thread should have been there, but it failed earlier this month (you can actually see the frayed remnants of the thread on top). Each cable consists of 170 strands, Abruzzo said. The middle of the three remaining cables is the one that failed, causing a reaction that caused the entire structure to collapse. A fourth cable located above the trio serves as a support for the gateway and is not a main cable.

Incredibly, the drone operator was able to rotate the camera to capture an aerial view of the carnage below, including the fallen platform, azimuthal arm, gregorian dome, cables, and gateway. In the distance, the top of Tower 12 can be seen falling from the hill to the left of the operations building..

No one was injured during this Catastrophic failure, the exact cause of which is still being determined. Zauderer said all hazardous debris was in previously designated restricted areas.

On a positive note, the nearby reception center was not seriously damaged. From there, the priority remains safety, mitigating environmental issues and finding ways to support facility staff and the people of Puerto Rico, Zauderer said. Built in 1963, the radio antenna was recently planned demolition

because the repairs were deemed too dangerous.