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SpaceX Launch of "GoreSat" Planned For Today, Along With Another Landing Attempt
The New York Times reports that SpaceX will again attempt to recover a Falcon 9 launch vehicle, after the recent unsuccessful try; the company believes the lessons from the earlier launch have been learned, and today's launch will be loaded with more hydraulic fluid. This evening, the rocket is to loft the satellite nicknamed "GoreSat," after Al Gore, who envisioned it as a sort of permanent eye in space beaing back pictures of Earth from afar. The purpose of the satellite has evolved, though: Writes the Times: The observatory, abbreviated as Dscovr and pronounced “discover,” is to serve as a sentinel for solar storms: bursts of high-energy particles originating from the sun. The particles from a gargantuan solar storm could induce electrical currents that might overwhelm the world’s power grids, possibly causing continent-wide blackouts. Even a 15-minute warning could let power companies take actions to limit damage.
Hello, Europe chimes in (not the 2001 Space odyssey one):
What's this hate towards Al Gore? He ran the USA for 8 years in the background, while Bill C. was busy inserting his saxophone into the various body cavities of sexy females. Those 8 years were a period of spectacular economic and technological development for the USA, a true golden age. All other countries of the world watched in amazement, as Russia and co. struggled for survival on the ruins of recently collapsed USSR, while America skyrocketed and revolutionized modern life yet another time, with infocomms, etc..
Regrettably, most americans have never been abroad of their (admittedly vast sized) nation, so they cannot comprehend this feeling. They are remembering the dotcom-bust, while the world remembers the dotcom boom and the free GPS and a myriad of other benefits. Yankee think Albert was a red or at least a pink fellow traveller, while the world saw that he left the reds at standstill, driving America towards and into a better future.
I think people will remember al-Gore even in the distant future, not unlike Benjamin Franklin or even Charlemagne. He will have statues while the word Bush will mean nothing, but a piece of vegetation too small to be called a tree.