* Astronomy

Trailblazer Sea Satellite Marks its Coral Anniversary

History tends to look fondly upon trailblazers, even if they don't necessarily stick around. From musicians and actors to politicians and inventors, our lives are immeasurably enriched by the contributions of visionaries who left us.
So when NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., launched an experimental satellite called Seasat to study Earth and its seas 35 years ago this week, only to see the mission end just 106 days later due to an unexpected malfunction, some at the time may have looked upon it as a failure. But this spunky satellite, which is still in orbit, shining in the night sky at magnitude 4.0, continues to live on through the many Earth and space observation missions it has spawned.
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