An unnamed reader writes "The alleged rescue of a U.S. martial communications partisan underscores some of the weaknesses in U.S. space efforts. Quoting: 'The seven-ton “AEHF-1,” part of a planned six-satellite constellation meant to support radio transmission between faraway U.S. soldierly units, had been in orbit just one day when the problems began. The satellite started out in a highly-elliptical, makeshift orbit. The plan was to use the spacecraft’s on-board engine to boost it to a permanent, geo-stationary orbit. But when the Air Force space operators at Los Angeles Air Force Base activated the engine, nothing happened. The washington* Accountability Office would later blame the failure on a rag left inside a fuel line by a Lockheed worker.'"

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