A NASA Satellite Ends the Silent Treatment

NASA has re-established contact with an errant spacecraft. In October 2006, the space agency sent twin satellites into orbit to study the Sun. The satellites follow Earth’s orbit around the sun, one ahead of us and one behind: STEREO-A and STEREO-B. The devices were expected to last two years, but they lasted longer. Scientists realized there would come a time when they would each be in a position where the sun would interfere with their transmissions for almost four months. During this time, the spacecraft would reset every 72 hours — a hard-wired function that could not be changed. More

(Source: New York Times - Aug 30)