Cuts threaten world's largest telescope
Cuts threaten world's largest telescope
By DANICA COTO, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 31, 8:46 PM ET
ARECIBO, Puerto Rico (AP) - Engineers will travel to this Puerto Rican coastal town in coming weeks to study whether to shut down the world's largest radio telescope, which was featured in the movie "Contact" but now faces steep budget cuts, observatory officials said Thursday.
Opened in 1963, the
But fears that it could face extinction began late last year, when a panel commissioned by the National Science Foundation, a
Observatory officials said Thursday the impending study does not mean the complex will close entirely — at least not immediately.
"That's not our desire. But we are looking at this for planning purposes," said Richard Barvainis, program manager of the National Astronomy and
The
The telescope's budget will plummet from $10.5 million this year to $4 million by 2010, Barvainis said, with the savings going to construct a telescope 20 times more powerful, perhaps in
Owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by
Officials said that regardless of what happens with the possible budget cuts, the telescope's visitor center, which draws about 120,000 people a year, would remain open.
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