Wallops Flight Facility became America's third space launch site in 1961 with the launch of the Explorer 9 balloon on an solid-fuel Scout rocket. Today, WFF is a part of Goddard Space Flight Center. Although the facility is still available, the Scout rocket was retired in 1994. Some 19 rockets have reached orbit from Wallops, most recently in 1985. Today, WFF conducts NASA's sounding rocket program using Super Arcas, Black Brant, Taurus-Tomahawk, Taurus-Orion and Terrier-Malemute rockets. About 30 launches are made annually. An orbital attempt was made in 1995, but the commercial Conestoga rocket failed. Virginia Space Flight Center is a commercial launch facility on the south end of Wallops Island.
There's a picture of the Starshine 3 sattelite at the AziNet site. Also, information on tracking both satellites is here at the NASA Starshine Observers page.
While I was reading the start of this article, I couldn't figure out why Alaska would be chosen as a launch site for a rocket, considering the 90% chance of weather too poor for launch. If, like the article says, it was chosen specifically for the deployment of the Starshine 3 satellite, I am very impressed with the dedication to the education of the nations (and the worlds) young people in space-science this shows. Hopefully, its projects like this that will kids interested while we gradually make our way to Mars and beyond.
Mostly because the new extended TLD's are just so damn ugly. Dot-Com, Dot-Net, Dot-Org are beautiful, aesthetically pleasing prefixes, that clearly explain what the website is about (at least, they used to till everybody and his stepson started getting them). Dot-Biz just seems too gaudy to be true, and Dot-Museum? Please! Some of these are just so ridiculous its untrue! Dot-Name? Where on earth is that going to go? Porn sites like BitchWhatsMy.name? That's about it. To be honest, the only one of the new additions I even find mildly acceptable is.info, and even thats stretching it. All in all, I'll pass on these thank you very much, and stick to the three original - and best, TLDs.
So this is the word of the head of the NSA? The same NSA whos very existance was denied until recently? The same NSA who's activities are entirely based around misleading everybody as to their objectives and secretly gathering information on members of the public? The same NSA who invented the concept "secrets and lies" as an actual corporate vision statement??? And we're expected to believe this? Come on,/.! This is what those in the business call "misinformation"!
Ok point taken, I just assumed you were one of those stupid Americans who have this off-the-wall idea of Ireland that they get from their media. The sports-talking reference wasn't meant to show how capitalist I am, but just to show that our society is every bit as "advanced" as the yanks. Still tho, I think your own idea of Ireland is a bit warped. A lot of Irish people have this concept of themselves as "Ireland of the thousand welcomes" thats just a bloody fascade for the aforementioned yanks, and disappears as soon as somebody with a different colour skin appears in need of help. I've seen Irish people being kinder and more generous than I would ever expect them to be, but on the other hand I've also seen them being viscious monsters worse than anything I've seen anywhere else in the world. We have a lust for money/power that is more than the rival to anybody else in the world. The only thing thats stopped us from being known for it is 800 years of occupation and suppression.
hey I *am* Irish, born and reared. I value material wealth pretty high, and so do most people I know. Don't let yourself be brainwashed by the image of twee Ireland where we all live in thatched cottages and eat potatoes for lunch dinner and breakfast. I eark 35k a year as a SysAdmin. I live in a metropolis, drink coffee, watch anime and talk about sports with my friends. We are *not* a third world country.
Whats interesting about this girls story is that her discovery was actually an entry in an Irish Young Scientists competition, and her father has refused to let her profit from it at all for fear it will spoil her. IMHO thats pretty aweful, considering its potential applications.
--
Dave
The Internet is unstoppable?
on
Taming the Web
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
A quote in the article says, "The Internet is unstoppable! The flow of data can never be blocked". While I'm sure that the Internet, as it is now can be censored and thus, basically stopped (just look at the Great Firewall of China), the second sentence is the greatest truth - the flow of data can never be blocked. This is as true now as it was when the Nazi's publically burned books in 1933. The model of the internet routing around censorship is taken from real life - if you stop the net, we'll just find another way of spreading our information and letting the data flow. Information is ammunition, and the people will/never/ let that be taken away from them.
Quite simply, reading a piece of text onscreen and reading words printed on a page are two *totally* different things. I have a eCopy of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy on my computer, aswell as a paperback version on my bookshelf, and 19 times out of 20 I'd rather go for the paperback. Why? Because reading a book isn't just putting information, words, descriptions etc, into your head, its an experience in and of itself. I can't wrap a blanket around myself and snuggle up with a good text file, can I? I can't *thumb* through a text file looking for my favourite paragraph and get distracted by another piece that can keep me enthralled for hours. I can't throw my text file into my gym bag to show my frields on the way back. What I'm trying to say is that a book isn't just words; its something which cannot be simply replaced by pixels on a computer screen; an actual real experience.
My nokia cell has an doohicky (don't ask me, I'm only a half nerd;)) on it that officially is mainly used to play multi-player cellphone based games (really basic stuff like snake). It can be easily hacked to detect when your car is going through a RADAR speed check so you can slam on the breaks and avoid the fine. Thats the only thing I'll be using my cell in traffic for:))
NASA has always had a policy of "its more important to get the job done well and safely than cheaply". The end result of this is an excellent safety record (compare the death told of the space exploration to/any/ of the major explorations of Africa/South America etc), which, unfortunately, when combined with the apparent American idiom that "bigger is better", leads to astronomical costs such as this. I don't think anybody here would advocate NASA cutting back on the safety and workability of the ISS and its other projects, but maybe its time for them to scale the scope of their projects back a bit. I don't mean neccessarily eliminating certain projects entirely, but rather getting them done more efficiently, even at the cost of getting them done quickly. In the long term, we'll still reach our end goal of exploring the solar system and beyond, but that way we can do it within our means *as well* as safely.
Am I the only one who's noticed that there's a hell of a lot of people dying lately who have made great contributions to humanity (well, specifically, who've made my own life a lot better) - Douglas Adams, John Lee Hooker, and now Jim Ellis. Damn, the world is becomming a worse place:(
RIP.
...let me get this straight...you're saying that minors shouldn't be given the same rights and privileges as adults? How the hell did you come to/that/ decision? *Everybody*, regardless of age should be given the same rights and privaleges! The right to grow and develop freely just happens to be one of those rights and is to be enjoyed by adults and minors alike.
Slashdot Mirror
Wallops Island, Virginia
Latitude 37.8o N Longitude 75.5o W
Wallops Flight Facility became America's third space launch site in 1961 with the launch of the Explorer 9 balloon on an solid-fuel Scout rocket. Today, WFF is a part of Goddard Space Flight Center. Although the facility is still available, the Scout rocket was retired in 1994. Some 19 rockets have reached orbit from Wallops, most recently in 1985. Today, WFF conducts NASA's sounding rocket program using Super Arcas, Black Brant, Taurus-Tomahawk, Taurus-Orion and Terrier-Malemute rockets. About 30 launches are made annually. An orbital attempt was made in 1995, but the commercial Conestoga rocket failed. Virginia Space Flight Center is a commercial launch facility on the south end of Wallops Island.
There's a picture of the Starshine 3 sattelite at the AziNet site.
Also, information on tracking both satellites is here at the NASA Starshine Observers page.
While I was reading the start of this article, I couldn't figure out why Alaska would be chosen as a launch site for a rocket, considering the 90% chance of weather too poor for launch. If, like the article says, it was chosen specifically for the deployment of the Starshine 3 satellite, I am very impressed with the dedication to the education of the nations (and the worlds) young people in space-science this shows. Hopefully, its projects like this that will kids interested while we gradually make our way to Mars and beyond.
ewwwww, Taco!!! Not in front of impressionable young geeks!
Mostly because the new extended TLD's are just so damn ugly. Dot-Com, Dot-Net, Dot-Org are beautiful, aesthetically pleasing prefixes, that clearly explain what the website is about (at least, they used to till everybody and his stepson started getting them). Dot-Biz just seems too gaudy to be true, and Dot-Museum? Please! Some of these are just so ridiculous its untrue! Dot-Name? Where on earth is that going to go? Porn sites like BitchWhatsMy.name? That's about it. To be honest, the only one of the new additions I even find mildly acceptable is .info, and even thats stretching it. All in all, I'll pass on these thank you very much, and stick to the three original - and best, TLDs.
So this is the word of the head of the NSA? The same NSA whos very existance was denied until recently? The same NSA who's activities are entirely based around misleading everybody as to their objectives and secretly gathering information on members of the public? The same NSA who invented the concept "secrets and lies" as an actual corporate vision statement??? And we're expected to believe this? Come on, /.! This is what those in the business call "misinformation"!
Ok point taken, I just assumed you were one of those stupid Americans who have this off-the-wall idea of Ireland that they get from their media. The sports-talking reference wasn't meant to show how capitalist I am, but just to show that our society is every bit as "advanced" as the yanks. Still tho, I think your own idea of Ireland is a bit warped. A lot of Irish people have this concept of themselves as "Ireland of the thousand welcomes" thats just a bloody fascade for the aforementioned yanks, and disappears as soon as somebody with a different colour skin appears in need of help. I've seen Irish people being kinder and more generous than I would ever expect them to be, but on the other hand I've also seen them being viscious monsters worse than anything I've seen anywhere else in the world. We have a lust for money/power that is more than the rival to anybody else in the world. The only thing thats stopped us from being known for it is 800 years of occupation and suppression.
It's the Mother Teresa bun for our modern, secular age!
hey I *am* Irish, born and reared. I value material wealth pretty high, and so do most people I know. Don't let yourself be brainwashed by the image of twee Ireland where we all live in thatched cottages and eat potatoes for lunch dinner and breakfast. I eark 35k a year as a SysAdmin. I live in a metropolis, drink coffee, watch anime and talk about sports with my friends. We are *not* a third world country.
--
Dave
A quote in the article says, "The Internet is unstoppable! The flow of data can never be blocked". While I'm sure that the Internet, as it is now can be censored and thus, basically stopped (just look at the Great Firewall of China), the second sentence is the greatest truth - the flow of data can never be blocked. This is as true now as it was when the Nazi's publically burned books in 1933. The model of the internet routing around censorship is taken from real life - if you stop the net, we'll just find another way of spreading our information and letting the data flow. Information is ammunition, and the people will /never/ let that be taken away from them.
I know. I'm sorry.
>> written a book
sure, and I know a bit about quantum physics; I've doodled on the back of my science notebook.
Quite simply, reading a piece of text onscreen and reading words printed on a page are two *totally* different things. I have a eCopy of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy on my computer, aswell as a paperback version on my bookshelf, and 19 times out of 20 I'd rather go for the paperback. Why? Because reading a book isn't just putting information, words, descriptions etc, into your head, its an experience in and of itself. I can't wrap a blanket around myself and snuggle up with a good text file, can I? I can't *thumb* through a text file looking for my favourite paragraph and get distracted by another piece that can keep me enthralled for hours. I can't throw my text file into my gym bag to show my frields on the way back. What I'm trying to say is that a book isn't just words; its something which cannot be simply replaced by pixels on a computer screen; an actual real experience.
if not the fireball what scorched the cornfield?
My nokia cell has an doohicky (don't ask me, I'm only a half nerd ;)) on it that officially is mainly used to play multi-player cellphone based games (really basic stuff like snake). It can be easily hacked to detect when your car is going through a RADAR speed check so you can slam on the breaks and avoid the fine. Thats the only thing I'll be using my cell in traffic for :))
NASA has always had a policy of "its more important to get the job done well and safely than cheaply". The end result of this is an excellent safety record (compare the death told of the space exploration to /any/ of the major explorations of Africa/South America etc), which, unfortunately, when combined with the apparent American idiom that "bigger is better", leads to astronomical costs such as this. I don't think anybody here would advocate NASA cutting back on the safety and workability of the ISS and its other projects, but maybe its time for them to scale the scope of their projects back a bit. I don't mean neccessarily eliminating certain projects entirely, but rather getting them done more efficiently, even at the cost of getting them done quickly. In the long term, we'll still reach our end goal of exploring the solar system and beyond, but that way we can do it within our means *as well* as safely.
login: dbolger
pw: StalkingNataliePortman
yeah :( kept playing right up till the end.
Am I the only one who's noticed that there's a hell of a lot of people dying lately who have made great contributions to humanity (well, specifically, who've made my own life a lot better) - Douglas Adams, John Lee Hooker, and now Jim Ellis. Damn, the world is becomming a worse place :(
RIP.
Don't know if its just me, but that site would appear to be down. I don't think the /. effect would have happened quite so quickly?
"V ybbxrq ng anxrq Angnyvr Cbegzna juvyr cbhevat ubg tevgf qbja zl cnagf, ohg abobql jvyy rire xabj! gunaxf ctc!"
...let me get this straight...you're saying that minors shouldn't be given the same rights and privileges as adults? How the hell did you come to /that/ decision? *Everybody*, regardless of age should be given the same rights and privaleges! The right to grow and develop freely just happens to be one of those rights and is to be enjoyed by adults and minors alike.
www.tablese.cx man its a joke :P
I don't see how it can be illegal if its outside any terrestrial jurisdiction...