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Sir Arthur C. Clarke, CBE: 16 Dec 1917 – 19 Mar 2008

BySteeljawscribe

If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run – and often in the short one – the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative. – Arthur C. Clarke, The Exploration of Space, 1951 Radar specialist, scientist, visonary and author.  One of the great pillars…

4 October 1957: The Shot Heard (and Seen) Around the World

BySteeljawscribe

The space race begins with the launch of Sputnik (Russian for traveler) by an indigenously developed and modified R-7 ICBM (NATO Codename SS-6 Sapwood).  R-7 Семёрка/SS-6 SAPWOOD   Design work began at OKB-1 (later S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia) in Kaliningrad (now Korolev) and other divisions in 1953 with the requirement for a…

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Lunar Reflections

BySteeljawscribe

And so here we are, on the cusp of the 40th anniversary of the first landing on the Moon – where have we come in those forty years?  As a star-crossed (literally) youth in 1969, my imagination was fired by the likes of the space program.  From Sheppard’s sub-orbital flight that I recall watching from…

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Flightdeck Friday: STS-133 & Last Flight for Shuttle Discovery

BySteeljawscribe

The oldest and perhaps most storied of the shuttle fleet, Discovery launched on her final mission today to deliver a final module to the U.S. segment of the International Space Station, the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module, as well as the first humanoid robot to fly in space, Robonaut2. Named for the ships used by Henry…

Shashou Jiang: CBERS-2B

BySteeljawscribe

The phrase “assassin’s mace” is the English translation of “shashou jiang,” a term of ancient Chinese strategy. “Shashou jiang” was a club with which the “assassin” incapacitated his enemy, suddenly and totally, instead of fighting him according to “the rules.” Dateline: 19 September 2007 – The CBERS (China/Brazil Earth Resources Spacecraft) -2B is placed in…