"As far as the radio waves part of the spectrum, we can do these adequately from the ground because the atmosphere is basically transparent to our radio waves"
About this Quote
Nicollier’s line has the casual clarity of someone who’s spent a career watching big-budget romance collide with basic physics. It’s not poetry about the heavens; it’s a quiet corrective to the popular assumption that “space” automatically means “better.” His intent is pragmatic: in at least one crucial band of astronomy, Earth is not a handicap. The atmosphere, villainized in so many spaceflight narratives, turns out to be an ally for radio. You can stay on the ground, keep your instrument accessible, upgrade it, fix it, and still do serious science.
The subtext is about triage. Space telescopes are cultural icons and political trophies, but they’re also staggeringly expensive, slow to build, and difficult to repair (Hubble is the famous exception that proves the rule). Nicollier is drawing an invisible boundary line: put the hard-to-observe wavelengths in orbit (ultraviolet, X-ray, much of infrared), but don’t launch what you can do “adequately” from Earth. “Adequately” is the tell - an engineer’s word that resists hype. It suggests a NASA-era ethic: match the mission to the medium, don’t let spectacle drive architecture.
Context matters too. Coming from an astronaut, the statement reads almost anti-astronaut in spirit: a reminder that the most transformative discoveries often come from patient, terrestrial infrastructure, not heroic sorties. It’s a demystifying sentence that still manages to elevate the science - not by selling wonder, but by explaining where the universe conveniently meets us halfway.
The subtext is about triage. Space telescopes are cultural icons and political trophies, but they’re also staggeringly expensive, slow to build, and difficult to repair (Hubble is the famous exception that proves the rule). Nicollier is drawing an invisible boundary line: put the hard-to-observe wavelengths in orbit (ultraviolet, X-ray, much of infrared), but don’t launch what you can do “adequately” from Earth. “Adequately” is the tell - an engineer’s word that resists hype. It suggests a NASA-era ethic: match the mission to the medium, don’t let spectacle drive architecture.
Context matters too. Coming from an astronaut, the statement reads almost anti-astronaut in spirit: a reminder that the most transformative discoveries often come from patient, terrestrial infrastructure, not heroic sorties. It’s a demystifying sentence that still manages to elevate the science - not by selling wonder, but by explaining where the universe conveniently meets us halfway.
Quote Details
| Topic | Science |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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