After decades of partnership with the U.S. government, American colleges are facing new doubts about the future of their federal funding.

This satellite image provided by 2020 Maxar Technologies shows the damaged radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2020. (Satellite image 2020 Maxar Technologies via AP)SAN JUAN – A huge, already damaged radio telescope in Puerto Rico that has played a key role in astronomical discoveries for more than half a century completely collapsed on Tuesday. The U.S. National Science Foundation had earlier announced that it would close the radio telescope. The collapse stunned many scientists who had relied on what was until recently the largest radio telescope in the world. “It's a huge loss,” said Carmen Pantoja, an astronomer and professor at the University of Puerto Rico who used the telescope for her doctorate.