Why is the China-Argentina Radio Telescope not operational yet?
What's the story
The China-Argentina Radio Telescope (CART), a state-of-the-art facility developed through a long-standing collaboration between China and Argentina, is facing major delays. The delay comes amid the political tensions between Beijing and Washington. The telescope, which is to be located on a mountain top, will be the largest single dish telescope in Latin America once operational. It was expected to start operations in a few months but construction has been delayed since June due to an unrenewed international agreement.
Agreement impact
Components shipped from China held up by Argentine customs
The lapse of an international agreement has resulted in components shipped from China being held up by Argentine customs. Marcelo Segura, the Project Manager of CART at the National Science and Technical Research Council (CONICET), told South China Morning Post that their council had stopped supporting the project. He said this has led to problems accessing cargo retained by Argentine customs since September 3.
Project concerns
Political influences behind delays
Segura further expressed his worries about the project's status, saying "everything is hanging by a thread." He also revealed that they haven't received any official communication regarding this matter. The electric engineer, who has been working on the CART project since 2015, hinted at political influences behind these delays. He said there seems to be a national government alignment with the US against such projects, involving Chinese facilities in Argentina.