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Milestones
- Thread starter admihoek
- Start date
Hugin&Munin
Presenter Of Images
On Saturday, Rachel Blackmoore, born in County Tipparary, won the Grand National, which has been held since 1836, for the first time a female jockey.
15 out of 40 horses made it to the finish line. A horse had to be euthanized after a broken leg.
15 out of 40 horses made it to the finish line. A horse had to be euthanized after a broken leg.
Loxuru
Graf von Kreuzigung
By this flight, Gagarin rose to worldwide stardom, to that extent, that the Soviets were reluctant to put him into space again, afraid to loose him. Particularly after Komarov’s deadly accident on Soyuz 1 in 1967, and since Gagarin had expressed concerns about the safety of that flight. Gagarin then even got grounded for piloting aircraft, and he had to struggle to get his flying status back. Finally, he was granted to fly again, but he had to pass a training program. During one such training flights, on March 27th 1968, he died in a crash.
To the day twenty years later, on April 12th 1981 (hence, already 40 years ago!), NASA launched its first space shuttle, Columbia, with John Young and Bob Crippen as crew. Despite serious concerns about thermal tiles having detached during launch, risking to compromise the shuttle's integrity during return, Columbia landed safely, two days later.
It was not the case twenty two years later, when damage to the heat shield made Columbia desintegrate during descent, killing all crew members (February 1st 2003).
Meanwhile, the space shuttle fleet has been retired already ten years ago.
Looking back; one may wonder whether the space shuttle was such a good idea? The initial concept, of a reusable (and hence cheap) spacecraft, to be serviced in two weeks for a next flight, turned out to be much more complicated. The start of the program was delayed by technical problems, and its development got immense cost overruns. Instead of a quick and cheap turn around - say : refueling, changing oil, putting the tires hard again and emptying the garbage cans - it took at least two months to prepare a shuttle for a next launch. Two fatal accidents indicated that the technology was not that safe after all.
On may wonder, how far US manned space travel would have stood now, if NASA had continued with reliable and established Saturn V technology instead?
windar
Teller of Tales
Space-X has achieved 27 day turnaround and believes they can reach single digits by the end of this year.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket cuts Space Shuttle turnaround record in half
SpaceX has successfully kicked off the first of two Starlink launches scheduled in the same 28-hour period and reused a Falcon 9 booster faster than ever before, cutting a 35-year-old NASA Space Shuttle record in half. As previously discussed on Teslarati, SpaceX unexpectedly revealed that...
www.teslarati.com
Naraku
Draconarius
After 45 years, the cause of Gagarin's death was finally made public, thanks to one of his fellow cosmonauts:
Details in Death of Yuri Gagarin, 1st Man in Space, Revealed 45 Years Later
The death of the first man in space Yuri Gagarin in a 1968 jet crash have been clouded in mystery for 45 years. But cosmonaut Alexei Leonov has new details.
www.space.com
Loxuru
Graf von Kreuzigung
On April 18th 1951, seventy years ago, six European countries : the three Benelux countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands), France, Germany and Italy, signed the Treaty of Paris, that founded the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Regulation of the production of coal and steel, two assets that had been crucial in the competition between those countries, was delegated to a supranational body (the first one ever created), the High Authority. The purpose was to set up a common market for steel and coal, hence reducing the risks of war between the member states. The treaty also foresaw a Council of national ministers, an assembly of parliamentaries and a court of justice.
In 1957, the same six countries signed the Treaty of Rome, founding the European Economic Union. Gradually, the ECSC was integrated into the Union, which adopted the four institutions of the ECSC as a blueprint for its own organisation.
The treaty became effective on July 23th 1952 and expired 50 years later, on July 23th 2002.
In 1957, the same six countries signed the Treaty of Rome, founding the European Economic Union. Gradually, the ECSC was integrated into the Union, which adopted the four institutions of the ECSC as a blueprint for its own organisation.
The treaty became effective on July 23th 1952 and expired 50 years later, on July 23th 2002.
Marcius
Tribune
One hundred and forty years ago, on 19 April 1881, a moribund British lord whispered: 'I had rather live but I am not afraid to die'. In a few hours he breathed his last.
The Great Dizzy has shown that a middle-class Jew could wield the royal carrot and the imperial stick just as good (and hard) as any duke or earl, identity be damned.
Benjamin Disraeli died the first Earl of Beaconsfield anyway.
Fifty years ago today, on 19 April 1971, the Soviet Union launched the first space station, Salyut 1.
Boy did the Soviet orbital luck run out with that success...
The Great Dizzy has shown that a middle-class Jew could wield the royal carrot and the imperial stick just as good (and hard) as any duke or earl, identity be damned.
Benjamin Disraeli died the first Earl of Beaconsfield anyway.
Fifty years ago today, on 19 April 1971, the Soviet Union launched the first space station, Salyut 1.
Boy did the Soviet orbital luck run out with that success...
Loxuru
Graf von Kreuzigung
There was indeed the tragic end of Salyut's first crew, two months later. But after the Apollo project, the Soviets became the undisputable rulers of the orbital realm during the seventies. While NASA was struggling with glueing expensive thermal tiles on their cost exceeding space shuttles, the Soviets would launch larger and larger space stations, and multiple crews to man them, breaking duration record after duration record.
Marcius
Tribune
True, but it all came after the most unlucky reign of Mishin. The very first Salyut's crew didn't even get inside due to docking troubles, the first which did... well, I hope to tell the sad story come June. Then there was the roubles-devouring N1 lunar rocket -- which ended up destroying Mishin's career for good.
The Soviet space shuttle was a costly and senseless detour as well, but that was done in the spirit of superpower competition (and Glushko's autocratic tendencies
).
Cran
Governor
Reading about it on Wikipedia, the crew are the only people to have died above the Kármán line.
Marcius
Tribune
Right, and long may they remain so.
We've been thinking about libraries lately (on Passings and Odds and Ends) -
this is a very tragic event today, the Cape Town University Library destroyed,
with some irreplaceable records of the indigenous peoples and languages -
whether stock held in reserve has been saved by the automatic fire-doors is not yet known.
this is a very tragic event today, the Cape Town University Library destroyed,
with some irreplaceable records of the indigenous peoples and languages -
whether stock held in reserve has been saved by the automatic fire-doors is not yet known.
Cape Town fire: Residents evacuated on city's outskirts
University buildings and a historic windmill have been destroyed in the blaze.
www.bbc.co.uk
LittleSiss
Sorceress
That was a triumph and of course a curse!
The karmann ghia was truly a girls car of the time.
I still have a '66 Mustang (in pieces) in the garage. Barb had nothing to do with its state of disrepair!
The Mustang might still be alive if it were a Karmann Ghia!!!That was a triumph and of course a curse!
The karmann ghia was truly a girls car of the time.