What Day 1 On The International Space Station Was Like For The Astronauts Astronaut Jerry Ross during one of three December 1998 spacewalks to get the space station ready for human habitation. Reflected in his helmet is NASA astronaut James Newman. Behind is one of the solar arrays for the Russian Zarya module. There wasn’t a lot of elbow room when six people from the Endeavour shuttle floated into the baby International Space Station on Dec. 10, 1998, but the cramped quarters resonated with possibility in STS-88 commander Bob Cabana’s mind. “It’s hard to believe 15 years ago we put those first modules together, and we have this facility today that’s the size of a football field,” said Cabana in an interview today (Nov. 20) with Universe Today. Cabana, who is now the director of the Kennedy Space Center, oversaw a complex mission that included joining the Russian Zarya and U.S. “That was a very special day, when we went into Unity and Zarya for the first time. A space station is born. Today (Nov. 20) marks the 15th anniversary of Zarya’s launch into orbit.
55 Years of NASA 55 Years of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Credit: NASA. Today is NASA’s 55th birthday. Unfortunately, the celebration is muted due to the government shutdown, forcing much of NASA to shut down as well for the time being (see our overview of what’s still running at NASA and what’s not). Before having to close the door (temporarily) today, NASA put together this nice graphic of the highlights of their accomplishments of the past 55 years, as well as what the hopes and plans are for the future. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration began operating on October 1, 1958, managing the US’s burgeoning space exploration program. Now, NASA is in the midst of expanding commercial access to the International Space Station with the rendezvous of Orbital Science’s Cygnus capsule this week. Our advice to you?
Why do we have eyebrows Eyebrows are a very significant aspect of our appearance. They are one of the most distinctive features that make up our faces, and we pay a lot of attention to them. We think of some types of eyebrows as attractive and some as unattractive, and many people spend as much time preening their eyebrows as they do applying makeup to their eyelashes or lips. Eyebrows are also one of our most expressive facial features. One of the clearest ways to tell somebody what you're thinking is to simply move your eyebrows up or down -- we all know what different eyebrow positions mean. So, eyebrows obviously serve a lot of functions in our culture today -- beauty, nonverbal communication, distinctive appearance. Scientists aren't entirely sure why we kept this hair, but they have a pretty good guess.
Sopwith Camel Design and development[edit] Operational history[edit] Western front[edit] Replica of Camel F.I flown by Lt. George A. The type entered squadron service in June 1917 with No. 4 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service, near Dunkirk. The Camel proved to have a good margin of superiority over the Albatros D.III and D.V and offered heavier armament and better performance than the Pup and Triplane. Agility in combat made the Camel one of the best-remembered Allied aircraft of the First World War. Major William Barker's Sopwith Camel (serial no. Home defence and night fighting[edit] An important role for the Camel was home defence. Ground attack[edit] By mid-1918, the Camel was becoming limited, especially as a day fighter, by its slow speed and comparatively poor performance at altitudes over 12,000 ft (3,650 m). In summer 1918, a 2F.1 Camel (N6814) was used in trials as a parasite fighter under Airship R23 Variants[edit] Camels were powered by several rotary engines. Engine variants[edit] Australia
Inside the Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, here delivering the space shuttle Discovery to the Smithsonian, is due to make its final flight this week. Photo: Jon Brack This week, when the space shuttle Endeavour flies from Kennedy Space Center to Los Angeles and its new home at the California Science Center, it also means the retirement of the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) that has been responsible for transporting all the space shuttles for over 35 years. Edwards Air Force Base in California has had both the responsibility and honor of being the home of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft since the earliest days of the shuttle program. Driving through the entrance of Edwards is like entering another world. Dryden Flight Research Center sits at the northern end of the base and has an immediate familiarity to it, exactly what you’d expect a test flight facility to look like. The plane itself is vintage, older than the orbiters it was responsible for transporting.
5 Big Changes in Space Travel Since Yuri Gagarin’s First Flight A little over 50 years ago, no one on Earth knew what would happen when a human being was launched into space. That all changed on this day in 1961, when Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet military pilot and cosmonaut, hurtled into orbit aboard Vostok 1. He circled the Earth once, reporting that he was feeling "excellent" and could see "rivers and folds in the terrain" and different kinds of clouds. "Beautiful" was his simple description of the view. Weightlessness, he said, felt "pleasant." In the decades since Gagarin became the first person in space, what began as a politically fraught competition has yielded men on the moon, space walks, and visions of putting people on Mars. Politics Gagarin's flight represented a triumph for the Soviet Union during the heat of the Cold War, from which both the U.S. and Russian space programs were born. Nowadays the U.S. and Russia collaborate regularly, with cross-training and joint flights to the International Space Station (ISS). Escaping Earth Space Medicine
15 Most Charismatic Frontmen Of All Time » Page 15 of 15 There’s a simple reason why Freddie features at the top of this list: because he is unreservedly the most charismatic frontman of all time. No one has been able to entertain and allure massive crowds quite like the Queen frontman. Freddie had a presence like no other, and when he entered a room he had the control of everyone’s gaze. He had an unprecedented 4 octave range to which he danced around and which was often overdubbed in the studio so that the ‘vocal wall’ we hear in tracks like Killer Queen and Bohemian Rhapsody became an incredible Mercury choir. And Freddie on stage was an animated, vivacious character who had the ability to shout blasts of “ehhhh oh” into a packed stadium and have it sung directly back with equal enthusiasm. The flamboyant Zanzibar-born frontman went through an array of looks – from the long-haired, glam rock ballet-inspired costumes to the slick haired, half microphone-stand and vest clad star who stole the show at Live Aid.
10 Phenomenal Guitarists That Deserve Your Attention In 2013 » Page 11 of 11 Who else could take a top-spot in any guitar list than the immovable object of unstoppable force, Professor Satchifunkilus himself; Joe Satriani? Having tutored the likes of the phenomenal Steve Vai, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Testament’s Alex Skolnick among many others, Satch has an all-encompassing style and flair that is all his own, built from the ground up to incorporate every single technique known to a string-wielding man. From fretboard-spanning two handed passages to incredibly complex sweep-picking sections on the likes of The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing (probably the best song title ever), to his collaborative work with supergroup Chickenfoot, his ability to either let an entire shelter full of cats out the bag or reign in his eccentricities to compliment other musicians is unsurpassed. No doubt with each subsequent click of the ‘Next’ button you’ve either been thoroughly satiated or instead built up a rage-filled eruption “WHY WASNT X INCLUDED?!”
David Remnick: A Scandal at the Bolshoi Ballet Sergei Yurevich Filin, a man of early middle age and improbable beauty, sat behind the wheel of his car on a winter night driving toward home. It was 10 degrees Fahrenheit in the center of Moscow, a light snow in the air, snow on the rooftops, snow piled up in the lanes. Traffic was thick but brisk. Nearby, spotlights illuminated the Kremlin towers. Laughing skaters sliced along a vast rink set up for the season on Red Square. An immense white inflatable dome encased Lenin’s Tomb, sealing it off for structural repairs. When Filin was in his twenties and thirties, he had been a principal dancer for the Bolshoi Ballet. Filin drove a black Mercedes S.U.V. It had been an unusual evening. After the event, Filin walked back to the parking lot at the Bolshoi and got in his car. At around eleven, Filin, feeling tired and eager to see his wife, steered the Mercedes into a parking lot outside his building and headed for his door. Filin turned and saw a man in front of him. Filin was in agony.