

Space Thief Or Hero? One Man's Quest To Reawaken An Old Friend - RougeFemme
http://www.npr.org/2014/03/18/289628696/space-thief-or-hero-one-mans-quest-to-reawaken-an-old-friend

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sgentle
"But at that point, Dunham says, who knows if the spacecraft would still be
alive."

Something about this line struck me. The story is about an "old satellite"; an
"old friend", and it needs "old equipment" and "old documents" to be made to
run again. That word is packed with a lot of meaning because for us it means
not just the passage of time, but maturity, senescence and, eventually, death.

But there's no reason yet to think that the capabilities of the satellite are
in any way degraded. Unless there's been some kind of accident, it could well
be in pretty similar condition to when it left. It's had a long life, for
sure, but in a sense it hasn't aged at all.

Compare that to the situation back on Earth. The equipment NASA used to
communicate with the satellite is gone. A lot of people who worked on it have
retired. Maybe we don't even have the knowledge left to operate it. If you
shift your perspective to that of our old friend the satellite returning home,
it's us who have grown old and forgetful while it remains disgustingly young.

And ultimately, this is the story of Bob Farquhar and his creation. Farquhar
is 81, the article says, and not in the best health. The satellite is his
life's work: he coined the term "halo orbit", proposed the original mission,
and came up with the idea for what that mission has now become. No wonder he
feels a personal connection to this satellite; it's essentially a part of him.

And if this plan works, who knows how long that part could keep going,
bumbling around its lab at the Sun-Earth L1, doing science just like always.
Sure, it could be damaged or destroyed, but it'll never get old. Never wonder
when the next attack's coming. Never feel a little worse than the day before.

And if we miss the timing window and the next one isn't for two hundred years?
Well, who knows if the spacecraft will still be alive? Two centuries is a long
time. Longer than we've got, at any rate.

