Free Republic

Lockheed Martin and International Launch Services are preparing for [Wednesday's] lift-off of an Atlas 3B rocket with a Navy communications satellite aboard. It's the last of the Navy's "UFO" or ultra high-frequency follow-on satellites, which allow people in all branches of the military to talk securely between the ground, ships and airplanes, often with small, portable terminals. ... 8:24 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2003 In the words of a seasonal song, baby, it's cold outside. However, cold won't hinder the launch. Winds might, but now, both surface and upper-level winds are below limits. The countdown is proceeding toward the...

CAPE CANAVERAL - If you want to experience the real United States, visit John F. Kennedy Space Center as a tourist. I did so on Saturday. KSC is not about making war. It is about space exploration. As a high school junior, I was at the Cape on Feb. 20, 1962, when John Glenn blasted into space for the first time on Friendship 7, and I was here in October 1998, when, at age 77, Glenn went up the second time on the shuttle Discovery. Between those two flights, I saw eight other liftoffs at the site, all as a...

Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial Service Remarks by FL Gov. Jeb Bush They were supposed to return here. After orbiting the earth for sixteen days, after traveling more than six million miles, after seeing every corner of our beautiful world, they were supposed to return here. You -- their coworkers, their colleagues, their friends -- were ready to greet them with their families, to congratulate them on their successful mission, to honor them as the newest standard bearers of the great American tradition of exploration and discovery in space. They were supposed to return here, to the Kennedy Space Center at...