A massive radio telescope located in Crimea, which historically supported missions to Mars and Venus and engaged in attempts to contact extraterrestrial civilizations, has reportedly been destroyed in a drone attack.
Ukrainian defense forces have disabled a 230-foot (70-meter) antenna dish, identified as the RT-70 radio telescope, to prevent its use by Russian forces for guiding attacks on Ukrainian territory. The substantial 5,000-metric-ton structure had been under Russian control since the 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula. According to reports from Defense Express, Russia had carried out significant upgrades to the telescope, repurposing it for military communications.
The RT-70 radio antenna, reportedly a telescope, served as a crucial component for Russia’s GLONASS satellite navigation system, which functions as the nation’s alternative to the American GPS. Its integration is said to have substantially improved GLONASS’s precision, boosting its accuracy by an estimated 30 percent.
A drone reportedly struck a 50-year-old radio telescope in late August, with footage of the impact subsequently emerging. According to Defense Express, the unmanned aerial vehicle deliberately targeted the telescope’s central 200-kilowatt radio receiver. This crucial component, custom-manufactured in Moscow in 2011 during the instrument’s last major upgrade, will be exceptionally challenging to replace. Defense Express indicates this difficulty will likely prevent Russia from repairing the damaged antenna in the near future.
The RT-70 radio telescope, now destroyed, stood as one of three such installations constructed across the former USSR during the mid-1970s to establish the Soviet Deep Space Network. Situated near the Black Sea city of Yevpatoria, this particular antenna was instrumental for Soviet satellite controllers. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, it provided crucial communication links with multiple missions of the Venera program, which focused on the exploration of Venus.
Throughout the 2000s, a specific telescope emerged as a pivotal tool in ambitious efforts to establish contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. During this period, four separate messaging campaigns saw over 20 distinct message packages beamed from the observatory. These transmissions were directed towards potentially habitable planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system. While most of these interstellar communications are still in transit, the earliest projected arrival is slated for 2029. That year, a message package is expected to reach an Earth-like planet orbiting Gliese 581, located approximately 20.5 light-years from our home world.
The Yevpatoria RT-70 radio antenna played a significant role in astronomical research, successfully detecting signals from planets, asteroids, and distant galactic centers. In the 2000s, this telescope provided critical support for two key European Space Agency missions: Mars Express, destined for Mars, and Rosetta, which journeyed to Comet 67/P.
The RT-70 radio telescope was one of several astronomical facilities that came under Russian control following the annexation of Crimea. Historically a popular holiday destination in the former USSR, celebrated for its sunny climate and sandy beaches, the peninsula also earned its reputation as a significant hub for astronomy, thanks to its consistently clear skies and mountainous terrain.
The Russian Academy of Sciences has reportedly assumed control over Ukraine’s largest optical sky-watching instrument, the Shain mirror telescope, which features a 7.8-foot (2.6-meter) mirror. This acquisition also includes the optical telescopes, radio telescope, and laser rangefinders situated at the Simez Observatory on Crimea’s southernmost tip, according to Orbital Today.
The Giant Ukrainian Radio Telescope in Kharkiv suffered extensive damage in 2022 during the period of Russian occupation. According to reports from Orbital Today, Russian forces not only looted instruments and computers from the observatory but also reportedly planted landmines across the sprawling 1.6 million square foot (150,000 square meter) complex, which houses more than 2,000 dipole radio antennas.
A 2024 UNESCO assessment reveals that the Russian conflict has inflicted an estimated $1.26 billion in damage upon Ukraine’s scientific infrastructure.
