Spin Doctoring: The Fate of Link Satellite Raises Questions About Space Age Pragmatism The recent malfunction of the Link satellite, intended to rescue NASA's $500 million Swift gamma ray observatory, has sparked a mix of technical analysis and hand wringing about the risks of space exploration.
The engineers' efforts to save the Link satellite are admirable, but the incident highlights a more profound issue: our collective willingness to sacrifice practicality for grandeur in space missions.
The malfunction raises questions about the reliability of the reaction wheels and cold gas thrusters used for attitude control.