An auxiliary cable broke in August and tore a 30-metre hole in the reflector dish and damaged the dome above it. The telescope was built in the 1960s with money from the U.S. Defence Department amid a push to develop anti-ballistic missile defences. Hollywood cameosThe telescope boasts a 305-metre-wide dish featured in the Jodie Foster film Contact and the James Bond movie GoldenEye. (Arecibo Observatory/ The Associated Press)Alex Wolszczan, a Polish-born astronomer and professor at Pennsylvania State University who helped discover the first extrasolar and pulsar planets, told The Associated Press that while the news wasn't surprising, it was disappointing. The telescope was built in the 1960s with money from the Defence Department amid a push to develop anti-ballistic missile defences.

Source: CBC News November 19, 2020 19:11 UTC