On November 15, 1988, a 300-foot radio telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia suddenly collapsed.
It happened at 9:46 p.m. on a clear night with no strong winds. When the observatory staff showed up to work the next morning, they were greeted by a huge pile of wreckage. The telescope collapsed under its own weight after a key structural element called a "gusset plate" failed. This was one of four connecting plates that held the telescope's large, metal beams together. Investigators found that these gusset plates were not built to last the 26 years that this telescope had been in use. Three years later, construction began on a new telescope. The Green Bank Telescope was even bigger and more sensitive, and it began science operations in 2001.
It happened at 9:46 p.m. on a clear night with no strong winds. When the observatory staff showed up to work the next morning, they were greeted by a huge pile of wreckage. The telescope collapsed under its own weight after a key structural element called a "gusset plate" failed. This was one of four connecting plates that held the telescope's large, metal beams together. Investigators found that these gusset plates were not built to last the 26 years that this telescope had been in use. Three years later, construction began on a new telescope. The Green Bank Telescope was even bigger and more sensitive, and it began science operations in 2001.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00 On this day in space.
00:03 On November 15th, 1988, a 300-foot radio telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia suddenly collapsed.
00:10 It happened at about 10 o'clock on a clear night with no strong winds.
00:14 When the observatory staff showed up to work the next morning, they were greeted by a huge pile of wreckage.
00:19 The telescope collapsed under its own weight after a key structural element called a gusset plate failed.
00:25 This was one of four connecting plates that held the telescope's large metal beams together.
00:30 Investigators found that these gusset plates were not built to last the 26 years that this telescope had been in use.
00:36 Three years later, construction began on a new telescope.
00:40 The Green Bank Telescope was even bigger and more sensitive, and it began science operations in 2001.
00:46 And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:49 Music.