SETI Observatory Wrecked After Cable Mysteriously Breaks – Recently received $19M to find asteroids

There is a kick-ass conspiracy in this story somewhere.

A broken cable at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory has torn a gaping 100-foot hole in the dish of one of the largest radio telescopes in the world, taking the instrument offline until repairs can be made.

Arecibo’s massive reflector dish, which is built inside a sink hole in northern Puerto Rico, was damaged when a 3″ diameter support cable unexpectedly snapped before dawn on Monday, according to the University of Central Florida, which manages the observatory.

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/12/901920638/puerto-ricos-arecibo-radio-telescope-damaged-by-falling-cable

August 25, 2019
Arecibo Observatory Gets $19 Million NASA Grant to Help Protect Earth from Asteroids
https://www.ucf.edu/news/arecibo-observatory-gets-19-million-nasa-grant-to-help-protect-earth-from-asteroids/

August 6, 2020
Arecibo Observatory Returns from Tropical Storm Isaias Lockdown to Track Asteroid for NASA
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1421/arecibo-observatory-returns-from-tropical-storm-isaias-lockdown-to-track-asteroid-for-nasa/

h/t AggregateThreat