Arecibo telescope to have new management

WASHINGTON, May 20 (UPI) -- The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico will be getting a new manager after four decades of operations under the direction of Cornell University, officials said.

The U.S. National Science Foundation will award a 5-year contract to a consortium of organizations including SRI International, the Universities Space Research Association, Universidad Metropolitana, and other institutions, to operate the largest radio telescope in the world, ScienceMag.org reported Friday.

A panel advising the NSF in 2006 recommended slashing the agency's funding of Arecibo from $10.5 million to $4 million, a move that would have forced the closure of the facility in 2011.

However, the NSF decided last year to fund it at $8.2 million a year, with another $2 million a year from NASA, from 2011 through 2016 and announced a competition to manage the facility at that funding level.

The only two bidders were a Cornell-led consortium and the SRI-led partnership.