NEAR PENTICTON — It was supposed to be a celebration of an ambitious scientific project, but it fell flat on its face.
A 195 square metre telescope reflector, which looks like a massive satellite dish, traveled from Okanagan Falls to the White Lake Observatory via helicopter.
But nearing the end of its journey, a strong wind lifted the 3-tonne dish into the supporting cables.
It appears that it is now badly dented and cracked.
It was a part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, which hopes to be the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope.
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Engineers are hopeful it can be repaired on site.
Gordon Lacy, the chief engineer for the project, estimates that the carbon fibre dish is worth $300,000.
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