You need to think big to find answers to the fundamental questions of the universe. How about building a 1000 foot diameter radio telescope into a natural sinkhole, with cryogenically cooled receivers suspended 492 feet above by bridge cables. That was the Aricebo Radio Telescope.

Completed in 1963, it was the world's largest singleaperture telescope for 53 years, only surpassed in July 2016 by the Fivehundredmeter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in China. Following two breaks in cables supporting the receiver platform in mid2020, the National Science Foundation decommissioned the telescope. A full collapse of the telescope occurred on December 1, 2020, before either repairs or controlled demolition could be conducted.

Dr. Harold Craft Jr. had a 45 year involvement with the Aricebo Observatory, first as a graduate student, then as a site director and facilities manager. In this presentation Hal gives us his unique insight into the history of this important scientific instrument.

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