Mopra telescope - bushfire update (11:20 am Friday 18 January)

Yesterday a structural engineer assessed the integrity of the walls and the roof over the screened room (also known as the equipment room). These were judged to be in good shape. There was no visible evidence of heat or other problems inside the screened room, and we expect equipment there is probably functional. The main damage is to the power infrastructure and to the accommodation.

The antenna structure was also assessed to be undamaged, although any minor damage to the quality of the surface cannot yet be evaluated.

Until electricity is restored it will not be possible to evaluate the state of the Mopra equipment further. There is currently no estimate for when this will occur.

Added by Douglas Bock, Assistant Director - Operations on 2013-01-18