Operations at the Arecibo Observatory (pictured here in the spring of 2019) are stopped as engineers assess the damage from a cable that broke in November 2020.

(University of Central Florida)

At a Glance

Operations at one of the world's largest radio telescopes are on hold.The facility tracks asteroids close to Earth.Located in Puerto Rico, it's been battered by hurricanes and earthquakes.

Operations at a giant telescope that tracks asteroids close to Earth and is famous for sending a message to aliens have been paused after two cables that helped support the structure failed in recent months.

The most recent cable break at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico happened Friday, following a similar incident in August. Both caused damage to the telescope's , which covers about 20 acres of land, according to a news release from the University of Central Florida.

"This is certainly not what we wanted to see, but the important thing is that no one got hurt," Francisco Cordova, the director of the observatory, said in the release.

UCF is part of a consortium that manages the facility, built in the 1960s.

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Battered for decades by hurricanes, storms and earthquakes, the cable breaks are the latest blow to one of the world's most powerful radio telescopes. It was closed for several months , according to space.com. And earlier this year, the telescope in January and part of February due to a series of earthquakes that hit Puerto Rico.

Repairs from the August cable break were supposed to start this week.

"Now this," Cordova said. "There is much uncertainty until we can stabilize the structure. It has our full attention. We are evaluating the situation with our experts and hope to have more to share soon."

Arecibo is used for scientific research and to track asteroids close to Earth. But it's probably best known for a message to the far reaches of the Milky Way in 1974 as part of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, or SETI, program.

The cause of the cable breaks remains under investigation, but officials think the second one broke due to the extra load on it after the first one failed, according to UCF. The cables and the platform they support have been closely monitored since August, and there were known broken wires on the main cable that failed Friday.

Meanwhile, a safety zone is in place around the dish and the only people allowed on site are those responding to the incident.

Cordova said the telescope will return to its mission, but it's not known how long repairs might take.

"This is not good, but we remain committed to getting the facility back online," he said. "It’s just too important of a tool for the advancement of science."

A cable break in August damaged the massive reflector dish at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. A second break caused further damage in November.

(University of Central Florida)

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