Solar sail ships seen as best bet now to get us to interstellar space - NBC News.com - Nightly
Two astronauts quickly replaced a bad backup computer box and took on an extra task at the International Space Station on Wednesday during one of NASA's shortest spacewalks. Within an hour, NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio and Steve Swanson removed the old box, which failed to respond to commands on April 11, and installed a spare. Ground controllers reported that the new box, known as a multiplexer-demultiplexer or MDM, was working fine. Mastracchio tucked the old box into an equipment bag and told Mission Control that he had "one MDM, slightly used." "Nice and clean," Mission Control communicator Jeremy Hansen told the spacewalkers. Most spacewalks run for five or six hours, but this one lasted only an hour and 36 minutes — arguably making it NASA's shortest glitch-free operation outside the space station. Routine but critical task Replacing the box is considered one of the space station's "Big 12" routine maintenance tasks. Busy day for station's crew
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, or (French: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen) of August 1789 is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights.[1] It defines the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal. Influenced by the doctrine of "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid at all times and in every place, pertaining to human nature itself. It became the basis for a nation of free individuals protected equally by law. It is included in the preamble of the constitutions of both the Fourth French Republic (1946) and Fifth Republic (1958) and is still current. History[edit] Philosophical and theoretical context[edit] At the time of writing, the rights contained in the declaration were only awarded to men.
Charles IV of Spain
Charles IV (Spanish: Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno Jose Januario Serafin Diego; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain from 14 December 1788, until his abdication on 19 March 1808. Early life[edit] Charles was the second son of Charles III and his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. He was born in Naples (11 November 1748), while his father was King of the Two Sicilies. His elder brother Don Felipe was passed over for both thrones, because he had learning disabilities and was epileptic. Reign[edit] Charles IV of Spain In 1788, Charles III died and Charles IV succeeded to the throne. Godoy continued Aranda's policy of neutrality towards France, but after Spain protested against the execution of the deposed king in 1793, France declared war on Spain. Spain remained an ally of France and supported the Continental Blockade until the British naval victory at Trafalgar. Abdication[edit] Later life and death[edit] Character[edit] Marriage and children[edit]
World's Largest Solar Sail to Launch in November 2014 | Sunjammer Mission | Space.com - Nightly
A huge solar sail designed to demonstrate the viability and value of propellant-free propulsion is slated to blast into space in November 2014, mission officials say. NASA's Sunjammer spacecraft — whose 13,000-square-foot (1,208 square meters) sail will allow it to cruise through the heavens like a boat through the ocean — is scheduled to lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral late next year. Sunjammer will be a secondary payload on the Falcon 9, whose main task is launching the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) toward a gravitationally stable location called the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1, which lies about 900,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from our planet. An early prototype of L’Garde solar sail is evaluated in a vacuum chamber at the NASA Glenn Research Center’s Plum Brook Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Sunjammer will likely separate from the Falcon 9 shortly after DSCOVR does.
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a system for structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. Although derived from the Latin word feodum or feudum (fief),[1] then in use, the term feudalism and the system it describes were not conceived of as a formal political system by the people living in the medieval period. In its classic definition, by François-Louis Ganshof (1944),[2] feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs.[2] There is also a broader definition, as described by Marc Bloch (1939), that includes not only warrior nobility but all three estates of the realm: the nobility, the clerics and the peasantry bonds of manorialism; this is sometimes referred to as a "feudal society". Definition
Charles IV of Spain and His Family
New gold rush hits California - USATODAY.com - Nightly
By William M. Welch, USA TODAY ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. — Eyeing a flash of bright yellow at the bottom of the wet sluice box, Mike DeMello knew his rugged morning hike to this spot had been worth it. He had found gold, if only a speck. "This is the only way to work," he grinned. "This is like working for yourself." More than 150 years after the great Gold Rush that propelled California's development, the prospect of striking it rich prospecting for gold remains very much alive. Panners are appearing at streambeds due to the price of gold, the poor economy, and a 10.5% statewide unemployment rate that leaves a lot of people with time on their hands, officials say. "There's quite a bit of new activity," says Mark Springer, a geologist with the U.S. Gold, which is selling for more than $900 an ounce, has been found all over California, from near the Oregon border to the Mother Lode near Yosemite to the deserts of Arizona and Mexico. Claims on the rise Labor-intensive work
Serfdom
"Serf" redirects here. For the saint, see Saint Serf. For the type of magnetometer, see SERF. Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism. Serfs who occupied a plot of land were required to work for the Lord of the Manor who owned that land, and in return were entitled to protection, justice and the right to exploit certain fields within the manor to maintain their own subsistence. The decline of serfdom in Western Europe has sometimes been attributed to the Black Death, which reached Europe in 1347,[1] although the decline had begun before that date. In Eastern Europe the institution persisted until the mid-19th century. According to Joseph R. United Nations 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery also prohibits serfdom as a form of slavery. Etymology Costumes of slaves or serfs, from the sixth to the twelfth centuries, collected by H. de Vielcastel from original documents in European libraries. Dependency and the lower orders
Illness and experiments
