Deep Impact eta Kosmos 1

Egun batzuren buruan batak loria eta besteak porrota. Egia esan aukeran eman izan balidate Deep Impacten eta Kosmos 1en artean aukeratzeko jakinaren gainean egonda batek bakarrik izango zuela arrakasta, hain segur, Kosmos 1 aukeratuko nukeen. Zergatik? Ez dakit oso ondo esplikatzen; akaso, erromantizismo-puntua da, baina baliabide txikirekin balentria ederra egin behar zuen Kosmos 1ek; bazuen abentura-kutsua ere; gogora ekartzen zuen zientziaren alde erromantikoa Verneren eleberrietan aurki daitekeenna.
Esaera zaharrak dio 'txikerrak handia bentzi leidi; asmoz eta jakitez'. Asmoa eta jakitea izan dute Planetary Societykoek, patuak makur jo ditu ordea.
Segidan Louis Friedmann-ek elkarteko kideoi bidali digun gutuna transkibatzen dizuet interesgarria delakoan.

Dear Members,

We, here at The Planetary Society, are absolutely
energized. The surging support for our solar sail
project from people around the world left us gratified
and so far exceeded our expectations that there is no
way we can call the Cosmos 1 mission a failure.

Still, we can't help but feel profound disappointment
that we never got the chance to test our spacecraft.
The Russian Volna rocket failed in its first stage,
and while we have some tracking data indicating that
our spacecraft may have made it into orbit and even
worked briefly, it would have been a badly wrong orbit,
one that would have caused the spacecraft to re-enter
quickly.

Even as I write this, scientists and engineers in both
the United States and Russia are looking at that tracking
data to establish the fate of Cosmos 1. In Russia, a
commission is being formed to investigate the launch
failure. As we learn the results of these investigations,
we will keep you posted.

Now is not the time to think about what might have been.
We still have a list of accomplishments to be proud of.
We built the first solar-sail spacecraft, one that may
have reached orbit in working condition and ready for its
mission. We conducted the first space mission by a privately
funded space-interest group. With very limited resources,
we created an international partnership of experienced
scientists and engineers who worked together toward an
extraordinary goal. We built a private partnership with a
science-based entertainment company, Cosmos Studios,
based on a shared vision of the value of exploration. We
engaged national space agencies - notably NASA - and won
their respect, then spurred on their programs in solar sailing.
And we certainly captured the public's imagination and
passion for exploring space.

I am proud of our Planetary Society team, Cosmos Studios,
and the spacecraft manufacturers the Lavochkin Association
and the Space Research Institute.

Right now, I want to take a moment to thank each and
every member of The Planetary Society - you made it happen.
I am deeply impressed with the depth of support our members
gave Cosmos 1. It buoyed my spirits when I had to confront
the loss; and it should lift all of us - in The Planetary
Society and everywhere on Earth - to think about what we
can still accomplish, and to set our sights on our next
goal in space.

Together, we make a difference. The exploration of space
becomes not just a symbol of the reach of human endeavor,
but a motivation to create a positive future -
here and on other worlds - for humankind.

Thank you,

Louis Friedman
Project Director, Cosmos 1,
and Executive Director, The Planetary Society