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NASA Discovers Space Spies From the 60's
Saeed al-Sahaf writes "In a room forgotten for more than thirty years at NASA's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, NASA recently found suits for space spies. Originally thought to be Gemini suits, the manufacturer determined that they were suits from a short-lived Cold War-era military program to put a manned reconnaissance station in space. Begun in 1964, the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program was an Air Force initiative that would have sent Air Force astronauts to a space station in a Gemini capsule. After spending a few weeks in orbit, the crew would undock and return to Earth. An interesting blast from the past."
Uh, we found some stuff that was from a project that is public knowledge. The fact that the suits still exist is not news either; it is not like they throw those kinds of things out. I don't think they are biodegradable.
Also, how about adding some better links for contect? It took about 2 seconds to find this: http://www.deepcold.com/deepcold/dyna_main.html
Humor from a Genetically Molested Mind
The reason the suits looked like Gemini era suits was because the MOL program was based on Gemini technology.
A Titan IIIC booster with a 'Blue Gemini' atop would launch with the space station afixed, they would do their observation, then the Gemini would detach and land. Later missions could dock with the existing observation platform when feasible.
The launches would have taken place from Vandenburg Air Force Base in California. This is needed to efficiently put spacecraft into polar orbit without overflying populated land during boost.
A launch site was created at Vandenburg to handle manned spacecraft launches, but the program was cancelled as the article says. What it doesn't say is that the same complex was refurbished in the 1980s as part of the effort to launch the Space Shuttle into polar orbit for military missions. That program was cancelled as well (following the Challenger destruction).
For people interested in MOL, go check out the X-20 Dynasoar. It was a related program that would have had a reusable spaceplane 15 years before the shuttle.
...which was a new branch of the military that was spun off from the Air Force, and continues to operate in secret to this day. Their first operational mission was to take care and control of the Ark of the Covenant, which remains in orbit to this day.
There was also "one flown shuttle main landing tire" in there, so that had to have been placed there after STS-1 in 1981. But, it's also a designated museum room, so all the stuff in it had been put there on purpose and is hopefully only suitable as museum artifacts.
HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets
Articles like this make me look forward to the 1960's.. They were really advanced..
:-)
There is some truth to this. The US developed *amazing* levels of space technology in the 1960s. Take a look:
8,000,000 tons from ground zero to anywhere in the Solar System
Plenty of power for regular Moon trips
Jets with unlimited range (Okay, the actual design of this one was a little scary. Still, the principles are sound.)
Complete Space Station in one launch
118 metric tons to orbit
Now all of it has been buried and forgotten. Advancement? We've buried our collective heads in the sand. That's why Bush's CEV program actually makes sense. He must have listened to his NASA engineers for a change, because the CEV is a staged program that is predicated on using existing technology to build a space infrastructure. No waiting for someone to invent the Starship Enterprise, we're going NOW. And to do it, we're pulling out many of the bits of technology that we forgot. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm excited about this program.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
And yes.. I do remember seeing some ruling or other from a judge in the US that men were no longer allowed to marry women. Sorry to hear about that.
Unless there was another incident, I believe you are referring to the fact that the city of Portland, Oregon, stopped issuing marriage licenses to heterosexual couples last year until the legal status of same sex marriage was clarified with respect to the state constitution. The constitution offered equal protection under the law, and didn't legally define marriage, so offering marriage licenses to some and not others was possibly illegal discrimination. Portland awaited the ruling of the State Supreme Court. Sadly, a constitutional amendment was passed denying the right of marriage to same sex couples.
After all, I am strangely colored.
If not for the forces he needed in the West to counter the Allies, Hitler most likely would have taken Moscow. So much, then for the Soviet army. In other words, no American presence in the war, no Soviet presence. Hitler wins.
While I despise the current trend of attempting to downplay the US's role in World War II, you really should take another look at a timeline of the War in Europe. The German advance on Moscow was halted in mid 1941, and the decisive battle of Stalingrad, which all but ended the German offensive, took place well before the invasion of Italy or the D-Day landings.
Khrushchev didn't bang his shoe while yelling, "We will bury you!" Those were two separate incidents. Since you're so keen for others to educate themselves, maybe you could read up on what really happened.
Certainly Krushchev was an aggressive leader. But today the U.S.'s stated aim is to not only maintain military supremacy, but to build up so much military strength that no other nation can even consider trying to compete. If you don't live in America, that sounds a lot like a plan to rule the world, too.
I should buy some cement.
Been there. Chiapas, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama. That's why I said on the whole. I've also been to Europe, Japan, sub-Saharan Africa, and elsewhere. I stand by my statement.
But I suppose your're one of those people who's decided that if US policy isn't altruistic and perfect 100% of the time, then the US is an evil empire (but looking the other way while China, for example, bribes Robert Mugabe with free construction and gifts).
If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.