Remember That Battlefield 4 Map? They Will Dismantle That Telescope
If you've played Battlefield 4's multiplayer, you probably know the map called Rogue Transmission. It's based on the Arecibo Observatory. A few days ago, the National Science Foundation announced that due to its poor condition, the facility will be decommissioned.
In a nutshell:
- The US National Science Foundation has announced that the Arecibo Observatory will be closed down;
- The decision to decomission the facility is due to its poor technical condition;
- The radio telescope has become part of pop culture and has inspired, among other things, the creators of Battlefield 4 to create a map called Rogue Transmission.
In 2013, Battlefield 4, the fourth installment of the popular first-person shootout series launched. Undeniably the strongest side of the game was the multiplayer mode. One of the maps available in online gameplay is called Rogue Transmission and takes players to the south of China, near a big radio telescope. This map is based on the actual location - Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. It is one of the most recognizable scientific objects. However, its history is coming to an end, because, as it turns out, this object is to be decomissioned.
The Arecibo Observatory is a radio telescope with a single bowl with a diameter of 305 meters, belonging to the American National Science Foundation (NSF). Launched in 1963, it was the largest object in its category until 2016. During its 57 years of operation, it has contributed to many scientific discoveries, including the determination of Mercury's real time of rotation around the Sun. With its help, there have also been attempts to establish contact with aliens - in 1974, a message was sent into space containing the most important information about humanity.
The decision to dismantle the radio telescope was dictated by its deteriorating technical condition. During the last year two cables broke, their job being holding the structure, which caused part of the dome of the object to be damajed. According to specialists, its repair would be too risky and cannot be done safely.
The decomissioning of the observatory caused a stir in the scientific circles. After the decision on the fate of the object was announced, a special tag #WhatAreciboMeansToMe appeared on Twitter, in which people share their memories related to this place.
The Arecibo radio telescope has also become a permanent part of pop culture. The object appeared not only in the aforementioned Battlefield 4. We can also find it in the Bond movie Golden Eye (as well as in its video game adaptation) or one of the episodes of X-Files.
