Management Change for Arecibo Observatory

(Courtesy Arecibo Observatory)

Nature.com reports that Cornell University has lost its management contract for the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The world's largest radiotelescope has been managed by Cornell since it opened in 1963, and has occasionally been used for amateur radio projects, including a moonbounce operation last year. The new managers will be a consortium of groups including SRI International, the Universities Space Research Association in Washington DC; and the Metropolitan University in Puerto Rico. It is not known how the new management will regard the amateur radio operations at the observatory.