The Path of the Satellite

New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 950, 25 October 1957, Page 10

The Path of the Satellite

HE launching of Russia’s man-made satellite is_ still being ‘discussed avidly. Indeed only now, as the early excitement fades, can we begin to see what profound effects the event will have in human affairs. Many people, especially younger ones, see it as the prelude to a great adventure, and look without fear across the threshold of space. Older people are less certain what to think: their reactions range from the stubborn rejection of the Astronomer Royal ("Would you like to be in that thing?") to the uneasiness of those who suspect that man is going too far and too fast, and that no good can come of it. They are quite happy to be earth-bound, and are unprepared for new and grandiose conceptions of human destiny. The world may be only a speck in the universe, but it has always seemed a large enough home; and no matter how widely the race may spread, the individual must die in the end, like his fathers. Meanwhile the implications of physical change afe unsettling. It has often been said of people that their "whole world was collapsing around them." There was nothing more comprehensive than this metaphor: the world enclosed us, and was the total scene of our existence. But what is to be said of a world which presently may be seen as a platform, a landing ground and a starting point, and ultimately a mother-world for colonies in outer darkness? It is of course absurd to range so far beyond the satellite which has been circling the earth in what Jet Morgan would describe as "free orbit." Scientists are saying that space travel is in sight, and Russia’s success will undoubtedly give a strong impetus to research and experiment, The competitive spirit and the pride of nations, which seem unlikely to disappear outside the earth’s atmosphere, will ensure that the work goes forward. But these experiments are very costly. Onlv.two nations can offord them, and it is doubtful if Russia and the United States will

want to divert money and effort at the risk of unbalanced economies. The obvious course would be for space travel to become an enterprise for the whole human race; and there have already been signs that some sort of international control will come under discussion. If this is done, we may begin cautiously to hope that a new approach may be found to an old and stubborn problem. The launching of the satellite was made by the development of rockets for use in war. These weapons are now becoming so deadly that war could mean the extermination of life on earth. In spite of the common danger, no progress has been made towards disarmament; and perhaps it is unrealistic to suppose that scientific motives can succeed where conscience and goodwill have failed. Yet the satellite has brought home to us more vividly than any other event the essential unity of mankind. The ordinary man has been impressed by Russia’s achievement, but most of all he has seen the satellite as a projection of human power into regions where no men _ have travelled. What the Russians have done today, the Americans can do tomorrow: the really significant fact is that something manufactured on earth has been hurtling in orbit like a small star at 18,000 miles an hour. To some, no doubt, it has brought a new constriction, a feeling that the path of the "red moon" is an unwelcome extension into space of man’s dominion. Wherever they go, men must rule; and even the heavens, which through the ages have offered peace and the symbols of eternitv, will now throw back man’s reflected images. Yet the thing has happened, and we must await the outcome. The biggest and hardest task is not to build platforms in space, or to send rockets inquiringly to the moon, but to make men fit for the journey. And so far not even the hvdrogen bomb has been able to

do that.

M.H.

H.