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How an 1870s marine expedition changed oceanography and drove eight sailors insane When was the first voyage of the Challenger? No, not the Space Shuttle — the original Challenger, a sea ship that sailed in 1872. The HMS Challenger traversed the world's oceans for four years, drove some of its sailors completely insane, caused about a quarter of the crew to jump ship, and forever changed the face of ocean science. Is there a way to scroll past the nature channels without seeing one that describes the richness of the ocean and the life that teems in its depth? In...

The night before the 1986 explosion, Boisjoly and four others argued that joints in the shuttle's boosters couldn't withstand a cold-weather launch.

Link only to the L.A. Times obituary. Roger Boisjoly, a major figure in trying to halt the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger dies of cancer at age 73. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-roger-boisjoly-20120207,0,2248999.story

1. First off, what made you want to run for President in this election? Well, I was sincerely hoping that a better-known Democrat would enter the fray, a candidate of some national stature. My personal preference would have been former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, whose talents are largely being wasted in academia. We need him in Washington. I also believe that Rep. Dennis Kucinich would have been an articulate spokesman for the progressive values that so many Democrats hold near and dear, or possibly economist Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Jeffrey D. Sachs...

House Speaker John Boehner will face a challenge in the GOP primary next year, Fox News has confirmed. 26-year-old David Lewis, who does not live in Boehner's Ohio district, has filed with the Butler County Board of Elections (in Boehner's home county) to challenge the speaker on March 6. Lewis is a Tea Party loyalist who lives in Clermont County on the east side of Cincinnati. Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/12/31/boehner-face-gop-primary-challenger?test=latestnews#ixzz1iAsvkJDk

STS-51-L took off and flew for only 73 seconds on Jan. 28, 1986. I missed the launch -- something I think I tried to watch live back then -- because I was in a classroom somewhere on the Catholic University campus in Washington, D.C. Within minutes after the explosion, the TV was on in the lounge, the usually loud dorm quite. Where were you?

On the morning the Challenger space shuttle made its final flight, Mark Letalien was sitting in his high school theatre surrounded by wildly cheering students as the spacecraft carrying their teacher, Christa McAuliffe, tore through the Florida sky. But 73 seconds into the historic mission, the raucous celebration at Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire, was shattered by a teacher's yell to be quiet.

High Flight  The first time I heard this poem was watching a TV station sign off during the 1970s, such as shown in the video clip below. It was much later that I learned the story behind it and how I would be personally affected by it. In the summer and through the fall of 1940, the Battle of Britain was waging and the London Blitz demoralizing this one island nation that did break as Hitler's juggernaut was steamrolling across the rest of Europe. During such desperate times, Sir Winston Churchill gave his famous speech: Their Finest Hour Before...

Video: Challenger: President Reagan's Challenger Disaster Speech - 1/28/86 Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But, we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation...

???? Maybe some are RINOS and have indpendent Conservative challengers, libertarians, or C.P. people, maybe we can still give them a run for the money if they are truely RINOS..

In any normal year, a longtime powerbroker like the 84-year-old Dingell wouldn’t waste a second thought on a neophyte challenger in his reliably Democratic seat. Even in bad years for Democrats, Dingell’s won comfortably—he's been held under 60 percent of the vote just once in his long career. In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama won his district with two-thirds of the presidential vote. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42191.html#comments#ixzz0zbYhLsk8

WASHINGTON - The Democratic left still smarts over President Obama's failure to deliver on some of its key issues, but has made no serious move to challenge him in 2012. Even the loudest critics among them think putting up a primary candidate would just split the party and strengthen the Republican who runs against him or her. "There is beginning to be some chatter about running a candidate from the left, but nobody wants to think that way," said Peter Daou, a liberal blogger and ex-digital media adviser to Hillary Clinton's campaign. The left's grievance list is long. They believe...

DODGE CHALLENGER COMMERCIAL

"Gaza flotilla: 2 dead, dozens injured in navy boarding." By JPOST.COM STAFF AND YAAKOV KATZ 05/31/2010 07:00 SNIPPET: "Passengers tried to wrest weapons from soldiers, Army Radio reports; Turkish leadership in emergency meeting to discuss response to attack at sea. Passengers tried to grab weapons away from soldiers boarding the Gaza protest flotilla, starting the violence, Army Radio reported Tuesday morning, responding to accusations that Israeli commandos assaulted the ships guns blazing."

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A leading US senator blamed "a cascade of failures" Tuesday for a disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill and likened the crisis to the sinking of the Titanic and space shuttle Challenger explosion. Democratic Senator Jeff Bingaman, leading the US Congress' first hearing into the catastrophe, also warned against "snap judgments" like ceasing all offshore drilling or shrugging off the crisis and pursuing business as usual. "If this is like other catastrophic failures of technological systems in modern history -- whether it was the sinking of the Titanic, Three Mile Island, or the loss of the Challenger...

PHOENIX, Arizona (AFP) – Republican lawmakers hoping to return to power in November must first prevail in battles in states like Arizona, where veteran Senator John McCain is locking horns over his seat with a "Tea Party" upstart. McCain, 73, headlined the Republican ticket in the 2008 White House race, losing in the historic poll to Barack Obama. And two years later, his hopes look even dimmer in the fight for his 22-year senate career against John David "JD" Hayworth, darling of the anti-government Tea Party movement. A right-wing former congressman and radio host, 52-year-old Hayworth is thriving in a...

Media Bias: As the Gulf Coast faced ecological disaster, the president yukked it up with White House correspondents. His Saturday radio address didn't even mention the oil spill. President Bush, call your office. Rarely has media sycophancy been on such sharp display as in the largely indifferent response to President Obama's own indifference to the oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The coverage has been far different from that given to President Bush's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The White House announced Saturday morning that Obama would head to the Gulf Coast on Sunday, just a...

Daily Mail: The four-minute film, shot by optometrist Jack Moss, brings an entirely new perspective to the terrible event which killed a team of seven, including science teacher Christa McAuliffe, who had been chosen by NASA to become the first civilian in space. Video at source.

Where were you on January 28th, 1986? Were you in a classroom watching the first teacher go into space? Do you remember how you felt when you saw the Challenger explode soon after it left the earth? CNN reports that about 17% of Americans were watching when the disaster occurred. One hour later, 85% had heard the news. It is estimated that 48% of 9-13 year-olds were watching. Teacher Christa Macauliffe was supposed to be the first teacher in space, but she never made it. She died in the explosion along with the six astronauts accompanying her. Most of today's...

Washington County and the 1st District will be witnesses to a major showdown in the fall of 2010, as incumbent Democrat Congressman David Wu is being challenged by a Tualatin businessman for the congressional seat.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, said in July that it had found the "smoking gun" that caused the space shuttle Columbia to break apart as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on Feb. 1: a piece of foam that had peeled off the external fuel tank and struck the shuttle's wing 1 minute and 22 seconds after liftoff. But many experts looking at the tragedy that killed seven astronauts say there is a deeper cause. They say that the metaphorical smoking gun should be painted green. Because of demands that the agency help to front for...

The last week of January contains a number of notable space anniversaries. This year, the most prominent one is the fiftieth anniversary of the first satellite launched by the United States, Explorer I, starting our own nation’s space age. Most of us don’t remember that time, half a century ago, but the nation had been shocked four months earlier when the Soviet Union was the first to launch an object into orbit. Most hadn’t even been aware that there was a space race, but suddenly we were losing it. This was compounded on December 6th, 1957 when, in an attempt...

A Challenger 2 tank - the [British] army's heaviest weapon - has been penetrated by a roadside bomb in Iraq, leaving the driver with serious injuries, the Ministry of Defence confirmed yesterday. It is the first time a Challenger has been damaged by an improvised explosive device in this way. The driver of the tank, who has not been named, is understood to be recovering in a British hospital after both his legs were amputated. Another soldier in the four-man crew suffered minor injuries. The incident, which has serious implications for the safety of British soldiers, happened on April 6...

A heavily armoured British tank has been badly damaged for the first time by a roadside bomb in Iraq. The Challenger 2, a 62-ton vehicle which is among the best-protected tanks in the world, was hit by the device during a routine patrol in Basra. Its driver is thought to have lost both legs during the attack and has been flown back to Britain for medical treatment, while another member of the crew suffered minor injuries. The attack on the tank was followed by the death of another British soldier today in Basra. The soldier from the 2nd Battalion The...

A British Challenger 2 tank has been penetrated by a roadside bomb in Iraq, leaving the driver seriously injured, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. A spokesman said the tank had been on routine duties in a western district of Basra when it was hit on 6 April. It is believed to be the first incident where a Challenger tank has been breached by such an attack. The driver of the Challenger has now been sent back to the UK for further medical treatment. An MoD spokesman said the Challenger tank was "well armoured but in an operational theatre it's...

Sometime very early in the Columbia accident investigation, Admiral Hal Gehman, the chairman of the investigation board, reportedly held up a copy of the Challenger accident investigation report. It was one of the first things he read after being named to lead the investigation. “This is not the kind of report we are going to write,” he told the staff. Late in the investigation I had a conversation with an Air Force officer who was working on the crew mortality part of the investigation. The officer told me how the small group working on that issue had taken a completely...

Can Tasini Pull a Lamont?Underdog Hillary challenger thinks so, even if nobody else does; in basement HQ, he wonders why voters don’t see the parallels with Lieberman. By Geoffrey Gray Jonathan Tasini is walking the wrong way down Fifth Avenue. It’s just past noon the day after antiwar insurgent Ned Lamont beat stubbornly pro-war Joe Lieberman in Connecticut, and it ought to be the biggest day of Tasini’s campaign yet, since he’s been sounding the same themes against Hillary Clinton. He’d put this trip to the New York Public Library on his schedule, but the media didn’t seem to care...

A clear leader in the voting from the start, the retro-styled Dodge Challenger was the obvious favorite among MSN Autos visitors. Dodge Challenger Concept The Challenger concept features the characteristic wide-mouth grille, the rectangular tailpipes and pistol-grip shifter. Even the Challenger’s black racing stripes on the hood are on the new concept. But instead of being done with paint, the stripes on the concept car are exposed carbon fiber. Dodge Challenger Photo Gallery The four-passenger Challenger concept also has six manual speeds, rather than the four speeds of the original car. The single, large rear taillight is illuminated by diffuse...

"We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights...more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space."Video LINK: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/rreaganchallenger.htmSPEECH: Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss. Nineteen years ago, almost to...

"...The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them nor the last time we saw them -- this morning -- as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye, and slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God." -- President Reagan Addresses the Nation, January 28, 1986

HOUSTON - Twenty years ago, millions of television viewers were horrified to witness the live broadcast of the space shuttle Challenger exploding 73 seconds into flight, ending the lives of the seven astronauts on board. And they were equally horrified to learn in the aftermath of the disaster that the faulty design had been chosen by NASA to satisfy powerful politicians who had demanded the mission be launched, even under unsafe conditions. Meanwhile, a major factor in the disaster was that NASA had been ordered to use a weaker sealant for environmental reasons. Finally, NASA consoled itself and the nation...

Random Thoughts on January 27, 2006 - © Kent Fletcher It appears today there are several factors of somewhat insignificant matters which tend to rile the feathers of folk. The major one I've seen in the last few weeks results from NOLA Mayor Ray Nagin's comments on MLK Day in NOLA, and I can't quote directly without looking hard and long, but it pivots around his statements of his longing for NOLA to be the nation's 'chocolate city'. To wit, a kinda-sorta funny sent to me this morning: Did he (Nagin) ever stop to think that: 99% of the people...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Twenty years ago, space shuttle Challenger blew apart into jets of fire and plumes of smoke, a terrifying sight witnessed by the families of the seven astronauts and by those who came to watch the historic launch of the first teacher in space. The disaster shattered NASA's spit-shined image and the belief that spaceflight could become as routine as airplane travel. The investigation into the accident's cause revealed a space agency more concerned with schedules and public relations than safety and sound decision-making. Seventeen years later, seven more astronauts were lost on the shuttle Columbia, leading...

The last Thursday in January was designated as NASA's "Day of Remembrance" for fallen astronauts of the APOLLO 1, Challenger and Coumbia crews. Historical information is at the link: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/dor/index_noaccess.html

Saturday is the 20th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. It's hard to believe it's been two decades, but I can remember that day like it was yesterday. I was 8 years old and sitting in my 3rd grade class, when our teacher came back to the classroom after a trip to the teacher's lounge to watch the launch. The look of horror and confusion on her face before she even said anything made a couple of girls in the glass cry immediately. After she told us "The space shuttle just exploded." I remember sitting in shock because my second grade...

One of America's most experienced astronauts has denounced the space shuttle as a deathtrap and accused US space officials of stifling all concerns raised about its safety. The revelation comes as America prepares to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. Seven astronauts were killed on 28 January 1986, when their shuttle exploded 73 seconds after take-off.

First-Flight Shuttle Ride Aviation Week & Space Technology 01/16/06 author: Col. R. Mike Mullane Jan. 28 marks the 20th anniversary of the 1986 Challenger space shuttle accident that killed NASA astronauts Dick Scobee, Mike Smith, Judy Resnik, Ron McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Hughes corporate payload specialist Greg Jarvis and teacher-in-space Christa McAuliffe. Nearly 18 months before the Challenger accident, the Thiokol solid-rocket boosters used on Discovery's Mission 41D experienced the first major "blow-by" of gases around O-ring seals--the same problem that later doomed Challenger. Former astronaut USAF Col. (ret.) Mike Mullane, a mission specialist on that Discovery flight, describes his experience...

LOS ANGELES — Lamborghini introduced the retro Miura concept, which hews closely to the celebrated 1966 original version, on Thursday at the Los Angeles auto show. In a statement, Automobili Lamborghini said the new concept is "strictly a concept, with no firm date set for its production launch." However, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann recently told Car magazine: "We are not yet talking about production. But every project has its meaning." The Miura concept is a landmark vehicle and the first Lamborghini to be designed by Walter de'Silva, head of design at the Audi Group. The company said de'Silva aimed at...

Edmunds Inside Line is reporting that Chevrolet and Dodge are headed for an RWD concept-car showdown at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show, with Chevy unveiling a new Camaro prototype and Dodge introducing a two-door Challenger concept. Both companies, it’s said, are evaluating potential entries to compete with Ford’s new Mustang — though any new model from either company likely won’t likely appear before 2008 for Dodge, and 2009 for Chevrolet. The Camaro concept, unfortunately, won’t likely get any cues from California artist Chris Horton’s Camaro concept .

The crews of shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station paid tribute to Columbia’s seven astronauts and all other fallen space explorers today, saying they sacrificed their lives for all mankind.

NASA has been trying to make the space shuttle safe since its negligence killed seven brave astronauts in 2003. Unfortunately, they must not have many WorldNetDaily readers at the space agency. The Discovery is orbiting the Earth right now with tile damage caused by the same problem that obliterated the Columbia upon re-entry. No one is certain how extensive that damage is and whether it threatens the crew. But it should never have gotten this far. It was NASA's environmental concerns that resulted in the tragic deaths of the Columbia crew. And that wasn't the first time a space shuttle...

BERLIN - Opposition leader Angela Merkel, leading in polls for fall elections, signaled Thursday that she would continue Germany's limited support for rebuilding Iraq, but she would not say whether the war made the world safer — hedging on an issue where she's vulnerable to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Merkel indicated approval for what Schroeder's government is doing now, which includes training Iraqi security forces in the United Arab Emirates. "It's right that the German government has supported stabilization and reconstruction," Merkel told foreign journalists. "And when we're in government we'll take another look at the situation as it is ......

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Monday she will seek statewide office in 2006, possibly by running for the U.S. Senate against Hillary Rodham Clinton. Pirro said she will decide later this year which office to seek, and mentioned three possibilities: state attorney general, the Senate, and governor, if Republican George Pataki decides against another term. Asked if she thought she could beat Clinton, Pirro refused to answer directly but said: "I have never been afraid of challenges, no matter how daunting." A top Clinton adviser, Howard Wolfson, declined to comment. A statewide poll earlier...

LOS ANGELES (May 18) - Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa trounced Mayor James Hahn to become the city's first Hispanic mayor in more than a century as voters turned to the promise of change in a metropolis troubled by gridlock, gangs and failing schools. Tuesday's election confirms the rising political power of Latinos in the nation's second-largest city. In a victory speech before thousands of supporters in downtown Los Angeles, Villaraigosa, 52, paid tribute to his heritage while promising to bring the city's diverse racial and ethnic groups together. ''I stand here today because people believed in me. I want you to...

SPACE CENTER, Houston - After a two-year struggle to keep big chunks of foam from coming off the shuttle fuel tank during launch, NASA acknowledged Tuesday even marshmallow-size pieces could doom the spacecraft under the worst circumstances. Shuttle systems engineering manager John Muratore said it is a risk NASA and the nation must accept for flights to resume anytime soon. It would take years and a total redesign of the fuel tank to completely eliminate foam loss and to ensure the 2003 Columbia tragedy would never be repeated, Muratore and other officials said. NASA expects pieces of insulating foam no...

Elections without choice are Democracy how, exactly?In 1812, Elbridge Gerry, the Governor of Massachusetts, redrew the legislative districts in his state to favor his party in the upcoming election. Looking at the sinuous and contorted shape of one district, which projected protuberances into dispersed pockets of voters across half the state, one observer noted that it looked rather like a salamander. "No," another commentator replied, "it looks more like a Gerry-mander." Thus, one of America's oldest and most-questionable political practices was born and named, surprisingly in Massachusetts. Gerrymandering is a political trick that parties in power use to stay in...

<p>The 25th mission in the Space Shuttle program, flown by the Challenger, ended tragically with the loss of its seven crew members and destruction of the vehicle when it exploded shortly after launch.</p> <p>Back row from left to right: Ellison Onizuka, mission specialist; Christa McAuliffe, payload specialist; Gregory Jarvis, payload specialist; and Judith Resnik, mission specialist.</p>

Next week marks the thirty-eighth anniversary of the launch pad fire of Apollo 1, which took the lives of Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee. In a grim irony, that same week also marks the nineteenth anniversary of the Challenger disaster, as well as the second anniversary of the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Though memorials are certainly in order, a closer examination of the nature and cause of each catastrophe reveals much about the nation throughout the past four decades. Particularly in the wake of the Columbia tragedy and its ensuing investigations, disturbing trends in NASA...

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...