Journalists showed a UTR-2 radio telescope in the Kharkiv region after the occupation

2 April, 2023 UTR-2 radio telescope, Kharkiv region, April 2023. Photo credits: Stas Kozlyuk Journalists demonstrated the condition of the Ukrainian UTR-2 T-shaped radio telescope in the second modification, located in the Kharkiv region.

Stas Kozlyuk published the photo of the system on his Twitter page. He also shared about the condition of the territory and the system itself after the liberation of the Kharkiv region from the Russian invaders. The Ukrainian UTR-2 T-shaped radio telescope in the second modification has three groups of 900 meters antennas (North, West, and South).

The total area of the system is 150,000 square meters. One branch of the antennas is located in the South-North direction and has a length of 1800 m. The other is directed to the West and has a length of 900 m.

The main building of the UTR-2 radio telescope, Kharkiv region, April 2023.

Photo credits: Stas Kozlyuk

Barracks set up by the Russian military in the main building of the UTR-2 radio telescope, Kharkiv region, April 2023. Photo credits: Stas Kozlyuk

The main building of the radio telescope destroyed by shelling, Kharkiv region, April 2023. Photo credits: Stas Kozlyuk

The invaders dismantled and stole the equipment used by scientists.

Kharkiv region, April 2023. Photo credits: Stas Kozlyuk

The central building of the system suffered during the shelling, and almost everything in it was destroyed. "As the watchman Anatoliy, who guided us there, told us, the Russians first appeared at the UTR-2 sometime on February 26.

They finally occupied the territory by the end of May. They set up barracks in the central building, where the equipment was located," Stas Kozlyuk shared. The invaders also dug caponiers for equipment near the building.

The ammunition warehouse was built a kilometer away from the building where the UTR-2 repair boxes were located. "The Russians stole all the computers that were there. They also stole all the electronic equipment responsible for operating the radio telescope.

In the basement, where there was also some equipment, a mountain of mattresses, dirty clothes, and MRE bags is located. The Director of the Institute of Radio Astronomy shared that in the Northern Collector, the Russians arranged a shooting range for themselves. And now, it is difficult to say whether the equipment that can be found in these collectors is intact," the journalist added.

The Russian military equipped an ammunition warehouse in the repair boxes, Kharkiv region, April 2023.

Photo credits: Stas Kozlyuk

The Russian military equipped an ammunition warehouse in the repair boxes, Kharkiv region, April 2023. Photo credits: Stas Kozlyuk

The invaders set up a shooting range in the basement. Kharkiv region, April 2023.

Photo credits: Stas Kozlyuk

The condition of the underground collectors, where the equipment is located, is unknown. The area might be mined. Kharkiv region, April 2023.

Photo credits: Stas Kozlyuk

Most likely, collectors with equipment were mined - the Ukrainian military found booby traps there. It is also unclear what condition the antennas of the system are in - there are 2040 of them, and there could also be explosives in the grass between them.

There may also be explosives among the antennas of the system, Kharkiv region, April 2023. Photo credits: Stas Kozlyuk

No restoration work is being discussed until the territory is cleared.

The scale of damage and the cost of possible recovery work cannot be estimated at this time. UTR-2 is the world's largest low-frequency radio telescope. It belongs to the Radio Astronomy Institute of NAS of Ukraine.

The radio telescope is a large phased antenna array designed for observations in the range between 8 and 33 MHz. The radio telescope was built in 1970. From that moment on, it was constantly modernized and updated.

UTR-2 radio telescope, Kharkiv region, April 2023.

Photo credits: Stas Kozlyuk

Equipment modernization for further research was planned before the start of a full-scale invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Radio Astronomy Institute scientists are also known to have used UTR-2 to assist NASA's Juno mission to study Jupiter.