(BIVN) – A significant milestone has been reached in the decommissioning of Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, as the CSO telescope dome and other buildings have been removed from the summit of Maunakea.

“Due to high winds and stormy weather in early May, we had to temporarily pause work and secure the site at various times, but we completed removal of the telescope dome and other buildings on May 30, 2024,” said Caltech physics professor and CSO Director Sunil Golwala in a CSO decommissioning update.

From the CSO news release issued on Friday, May 31:

With the buildings now removed from the site, the next steps will be to remove the concrete foundations, pavement, underground utilities, and cesspool. The restoration phase will proceed following the completion of that work. The land will be restored consistent with the permits guiding the decommissioning. Cultural, construction, and archeological monitors will continue to be present at all appropriate phases.

The decommissioning is expected to be completed by the end of year. Once finished, Caltech will monitor the site for three years to document repopulation by flora and fauna.

The cost of deconstruction and site restoration is expected to exceed $4 million and is primarily funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the California Institute of Technology. The removal of the telescope for reuse is supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation.

The plan is to ship the telescope to the Atacama Desert in Chile, where Caltech says it will be reassembled and renamed the Leighton Chajnantor Telescope. “The name honors both the inventor of the telescope, the late Caltech professor Robert B. Leighton”, Caltech says, “and the planned site for the observatory on the high Chajnantor Plateau.”