Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 21:58:46 -0500 (EST)
From: "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at keithlynch.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Last night's meeting
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

"Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net> wrote:
> Today is also the 40th anniversary of an important event.
> Lets see who gets it first.

"lee gilliland" <leeandalexis at hotmail.com> wrote:
> John Glenn and Freedom 7 - 1st American in space?

Right.  Or rather, first American in orbit.  Before him were the
Alan Shepard and Gus Grisson suborbital missions.

Forty years.  Space exploration has a somewhat lengthy history now.

It's interesting to think of human artifacts on other planets, or just
loose in space.  While Freedom 7 returned to earth after just three
orbits, and is now in the nearby Air & Space Museum, Pioneer 6, which
was launched 37 years ago, is still in solar orbit, and is still
working just fine.

When Arthur C. Clarke proposed synchronous satellites, in 1945, he
intended them to be manned.  He never imagined electronic equipment
that could operate for decades without maintenance.
--
Keith F. Lynch - kfl at keithlynch.net - http://keithlynch.net/
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