"Matthew" <Iamacatslave@proudtoserve.com> wrote in news:471e4735$0$20650
$4c368faf@roadrunner.com:

I envy you.  I have always been a big fan of space flight/exploration.  
The bellow was written some years ago and should only be read by other
total nerds but someone may enjoy it.

Man.  Standing on two legs for the first time.  Pointing up at specks of
light with no possibility of ever understanding what they were.  The cold
bright disc almost near enough to touch.  Powerless to explain he invents
stories.  In time, against all odds, he does begin to understand.  
Reaching out with mind, knowledge and logic the disc and the specs become
knowable.  Today we reach out with our machines, remote worker bees
dancing across the surface of other planets, specs first men may not have
even noticed against the brighter lights.  Through our distant proxies we
touch, view, magnify and pry into these remote surfaces until perhaps one
day we satisfy that most basic human urge to stand upon these distant
worlds on our own two legs.

As we celebrate the Mars Rovers, our most recent technical wonder, let us
not forget what I still consider one of our most remarkable technical
achievements.  Think back to the state of computer technology in the
early 70s.  Remember our Voyager spacecraft?  They're still out there!  
We still talk to them and hear back.  26 years in the vacuum of space and
they are still running and running well.

Voyager one is, now, the most distant man-made object.  It take over 12
hours to get a signal to it or from it.  It is often required to gang up
multiple 70 meter dish antennas running 10s of thousands of watts each to
speak to that old 1970 solid state microwave (S band) radio which is over
13 billion kilometers away but we still talk to it and we still hear back
(talk about PHONE HOME!).

Voyager one and two are no longer mentioned on the evening news but they
are collecting data about interstellar conditions available no where
else.  I don't remember what these two craft cost but I think we have
gotten our money's worth!  
The radioisotope power sources (which are decaying in strength slower
than predicted) are expected to be unusable by any single experiment on
board the craft around the year 2020 at which point the Voyager mission
will be considered at an end.  If the crafts last that long they will be
over 40 years old and the current state of technology can only be
imagined.  Whatever technology exists in that year, however, it is not
likely it will be able to overshadow the achievement of these two devices
and what data they may have collected.

Even in their "death" these two craft may yet perform one last duty.  
Both Voyagers carry our message of  friendship (or at least "we are
here") to whoever they may run across in the far distant future.  I hope
I am still around when these craft send their last message earthward.  I
hope people are still interested enough in science exploration that some
mention is made of the event.  Consider me a slobbering fool but I will
shed a tear on that day as we bid farewell to our most distant wandering
children

   Can't compare with what we see on TV, can it?  How I miss the "real"
thing.  As you know, I lived in Cape Canaveral (the *city*) for 13 years
and  could see it quite clearly from home, especially at night when we'd
trek down to the beach to watch -- what a sight!!  Then I worked at the
Chem Lab on the Cape for 11 years and really *was* in their back yard.
(Actually, they are launched from Merritt Island).  Saw them all,
including the tragic Challenger - absolutely unforgettable day (another
story).  Could hardly wait  the two years until the next launch.  

Being there has a special feeling, an electricity in the air, an
excitement all its own, anticipation, a big "hurrah" as they went
overhead, a feeling of pride that we played some part in it.  Ah, the good
old days!!

   Jeanne