08-06-2019, 04:11 PM
"who's on the hook for the clean up if the corp.s don't follow thru?"
My understanding is the decommissioning costs for each observatory have already been put aside or are in escrow. For example, the money for UKIRT decommissioning was given to UH by the UK government and put into escrow when the observatory was handed over to the UH.
ETA: The MK Observatories are funded by major international agencies. In my mind it is inconceivable they would renege on their obligation to decommission the observatories that they agreed to in their subleases. Perhaps you are too used to the state not standing behind their words? I think it's unfair to project that onto the observatories' funding agencies.
My understanding is the decommissioning costs for each observatory have already been put aside or are in escrow. For example, the money for UKIRT decommissioning was given to UH by the UK government and put into escrow when the observatory was handed over to the UH.
ETA: The MK Observatories are funded by major international agencies. In my mind it is inconceivable they would renege on their obligation to decommission the observatories that they agreed to in their subleases. Perhaps you are too used to the state not standing behind their words? I think it's unfair to project that onto the observatories' funding agencies.