Satellite Doubles as Future ‘Message in a Bottle’

Astronauts launched an earthquake research satellite from the shuttle Columbia on Friday as NASA officials revealed that the small Italian probe is doubling as a message in a bottle.

The 900-pound Laser Geodynamics Satellite, or LAGEOS, built by the Italian Space Agency, is designed to help measure continental drift in regions of the globe that are prone to ground tremors.

From the shuttle’s cockpit, astronaut Tamara Jernigan pushed a button and popped the spinning satellite out of a clamshell-like holder in the cargo bay.

“We have a good deploy,” she reported to Mission Control in Houston, as the satellite was set adrift in space.

The shuttle was orbiting 184 miles above Earth, but within two hours the satellite reached its final orbit of about 3,600 miles. An Italian-made rocket was ignited to carry the satellite to its final, working altitude.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced Friday that the $4-million satellite also carries a message for future explorers from Carl Sagan, the American cosmologist.

“Two identical messages have been sealed inside the satellite sphere in the event that one day it should be discovered by beings other than earthlings,” flight commentator James Hartsfield said as the shuttle’s mission entered its second day.

The messages are etched on stainless-steel plates. They depict the satellite, list the numbers 1 through 10 in binary code, and show sketches of Earth--featuring the continents as they looked 268 million years ago, as the land masses appear now and as scientists believe they will look 8.5 million years in the future. That is how long NASA predicts the satellite will stay in orbit.

“Other beings or the future inhabitants of Earth may appreciate this greeting card from 20th-Century human explorers,” Hartsfield said.

Scientists will use the satellite and an identical unit that has been in orbit since 1976 as targets for laser beams. By calculating tiny differences in how long it takes light to travel back and forth, scientists plan to measure slippage in the Earth’s crust, which sometimes results in earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. Their ultimate goal is to learn how to predict earthquakes.

After releasing the satellite, the crew of five Americans and one Canadian turned its attention to various experiments. Much of the scientific work will involve making crystals of metal alloys that cannot be produced in the presence of gravity.

The mission for the nation’s oldest shuttle is scheduled to end Nov. 1, with landing scheduled at the space center.