|
|
|
Dawn of a New Era in Space Transportation The leaders of NASA's advanced space transportation activity have a vision for the opening century of the third millennium: human settlements on other planets within 100 years. "If you look at where we were as a civilization 1,000 years ago, or just 100 years ago," said Garry Lyles, manager of the Advanced Space Transportation Program at NASA?s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., "it's quite realistic to expect human settlements in space in the 21st century." As with any pioneering adventure, trailblazers must clear the way to the frontier. In the case of the Final Frontier, it requires building a highway to space. "Safe, reliable, affordable transportation has been the key to exploration and development of frontiers that emerged throughout history," said Dr. Row Rogacki, director of the Space Transportation Directorate at the Marshall Center. "And transportation is again the driver as we boldly prepare to explore and develop the largest frontier of all-?the space frontier." Ocean-going vessels enabled discovery of the New World and initiated global commerce. The stagecoach transported early settlers and cargo across the untamed American West, and the transcontinental railway opened up this new frontier to vast numbers of settlers and commerce. Modern airways are a critical element of international travel today. And with the dawn of the new century, space transportation can expand our global economy to a universal economy. "Once we bring the cost and safety of space transportation in line with today's airlines, I believe we'll have a growth of people doing business in space," said Lyles. "The opportunities for scientific research and new space industries are limitless." Possibilities he lists include: manufacturing medicines that are far superior to drugs made on Earth; prospecting asteroids and mining resources from orbiting bodies; generating cheap, clean power from the sun; and exploring new worlds and routinely transporting passengers. "NASA's role is to develop innovative technologies so our industry partners can develop commercially viable space launch vehicles that meet NASA's needs," said Rogacki. The X-33, X-34 and X-37 technology demonstrators scheduled to fly in the early years of the 21st century are designed to reduce space transportation costs from today?s price tag of $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound before 2010. Marshall's Advanced Space Transportation Program is pushing technologies to reduce that cost to only hundreds of dollars per pound by 2025 and a bargain price of tens of dollars per pound midway through the new century.At the same time costs are decreasing, safety and reliability will be increasing to a level that will surpass today?s airline transportation. In fact, spacecraft of the future will be equipped with intelligent vehicle health management systems that allow a launch vehicle to determine its own health without human inspection. One radical technology being developed at Marshall and other NASA centers is a rocket engine that breathes oxygen from the air during the climb to orbit. A magnetic levitation track that uses magnets and electricity to accelerate a vehicle at speeds up to 600 mph could give a launch vehicle a running start before it leaves the planet. Propulsion systems that boost spacecraft with laser beams and propellant-free electrodynamic tethers could also become operational within the first half of the 21st century. An attractive feature of these advanced propulsion technologies is that the energy to propel the vehicle doesn?t have to be carried on board, resulting in significant weight and cost reductions and better performance. Marshall scientists and engineers are conducting fundamental research into exotic, high-energy propulsion required for travel to the outer planets and other star systems. Sails propelled through space by sunlight-?just as wind pushes sailboats on Earth-?could be used for an interstellar precursor mission as soon as 2010. Marshall is also experimenting with antimatter, fusion and fission as propulsion alternatives for deep space travel in the third millennium. And NASA is also involved in basic research on the leading edge of modern science and engineering, such as space and time warping, gravity manipulation and theories that might enable faster-than-light travel. Through intense technology development that will make space transportation safe and affordable for ordinary people, NASA is building a highway to space for the 21st century and unlocking the door to the final frontier. Keeping San Francisco a Special City by Mayor Willie Brown To all my fellow San Franciscans, I want to say that I have heard your voices united in the call to keep San Francisco a liveable city, and an affordable city, a compassionate city, a special city, and for the next four years, I will dedicate myself to answer that call. The intensity of participation in the recent mayoral election is something for which the whole city should give thanks. For it means our City is alive, its politics robust, its citizens involved and caring. It means we are all committed to a City where people come first. First in our dream for a city that is as liveable as it is beautiful. First in preserving the character of our neighborhoods while facilitating opportunities for affordable housing and new jobs. First in our commitment to justice and tolerance for all who live and work here, first in compassion for all who seek hope and need a helping hand. These qualities enrich our City, give it such heart and strength, and make being its Mayor an unequaled honor for which I will always be grateful. I am truly thankful to all who voted for me. But I am more thankful to all those who voted in this election, for together, they truly represent the residents of our great City and its many hopes, anxieties, and goals. It is now my job to bridge these concerns and build from our diversity common ground on which this City can secure its future into the 21st Century. I pledge to all San Franciscans that I shall devote my efforts to construct consensus, to an administration that works hard for a City in which everyone has a stake, feels involved, and has a voice. For the past nine months, in community centers, churches, and neighborhood meetings, I have heard your voices. They are strong. They are caring. These voices that say this City is great and we should demand greatness--from our City, from our public servants, and from ourselves. These voices that challenge San Francisco to stand above the polarization and divisiveness that weakens national politics. And we shall. We are a City that understands that we must fight every day to keep our City special. We are a City that knows the importance of getting along with each other and caring about every other San Franciscan, almost as much as we care about San Francisco. And, most importantly, we are a city that understands, to a degree unparalleled anywhere else, that politics is just another word for the way we treat each other. These are voices that have taught me much in this election. The lessons have been hard, at times punishing in their vehemence. I now know the enormous effort required to streamline Muni, keep our economy in high gear, create housing and employment, make our parks beautiful and our playgrounds accessible, and protect our neighborhoods from unwanted change. I am also fully aware of the huge managerial effort needed to deploy police, provide fire and medical emergency services the instant that 911 is called, staff General Hospital, rebuild Laguna Honda, and keep libraries open. Progress, I believe, has been substantial in many of these areas during the past four years. But continued and even greater progress will only come if this city can transcend its differences and work together over the next four years. This requires absolute commitment, tireless effort, and the willingness on my part to take the lead and the heat that goes with it. And you shall have it. It also takes the realization that the job can't be done alone. It requires the involvement of San Francisco. Influential Hairstyles of the 20th Century There is much talk about the best entertainers, sports figures, and technological innovations of the 20th Century...but what about the hairstyles that had the most impact among men? Sy Sperling, president of Hair Club for Men and renowned hair expert feels the 10 most influential hairstyles were: 1. Elvis Presley - his full black pompadour and long sideburns sent women swooning and men trying to achieve the same 'do. 2. The Beatles - their influential British haircuts were like nothing seen stateside before. 3. Jim Morrison - the uninhibited rock posturing of the Lizard King inspired men to cut loose and let their locks grow wild. 4. Jimi Hendrix - after decades of African-American men trying different methods to straighten their hair, Jimi's afro showed that he was proud of his hair texture and they should be too. 5. Sy Sperling - Sy took what was a taboo subject--hair replacement--and removed the shroud of secrecy by taking hair loss out of the closet and showing that it was okay to do something by appearing on TV before-and-after and making "I'm not only the Hair Club president, I'm also a client" part of pop culture vernacular. 6. Rod Stewart - Do ya think I'm sexy with my spiky hair? The first guy to spike his hair up. 7. Vanilla Ice - He may have been a one-hit wonder, but his short around the sides, long on top look has inspired haircuts throughout the 90s. 8. Brandon and Dylan - the guys from 90210 - These guys brought back the original Elvis Presley pompadour and sideburns style for the retro 90s. 9. Michael Jordan - Shave baby, shave. He inspired millions to shave it all off! 10. George Clooney - This hunk's Caesar cut inspired legions of guys to cut theirs the same way in hopes of the same result. Cars and Driving History Quiz for the Millennium Americans are said to have a love affair with their cars. But for a nation in love, we may not know as much as we think about cars and driving. Try your hand at this quick quiz from Response Insurance on automobiles and driving in the 20th Century. 1. Who designed the octagonal Stop Sign?
2. Where was the first traffic signal
installed in the United States?
3. When was radar first used to catch
speeders?
4. When was the only highway connecting
Alaska to the lower 48 states built?
5. In which horse-drawn carriage (later
a major auto maker) did President Lincoln ride to Ford's Theatre?
6. Who received the first patent for
a fast-running combustion engine fueled by a petroleum product?
7. How much did the first Model T Ford
cost to the consumer?
8. When was the first uniform traffic
code for the nation created?
9. How did Genevre Delphine Mudge make
driving history in 1898?
10. What was the first state to require
a driver's license?
11. When was the first vanity license
plate issued and where?
12. How many licensed drivers are there
in the U.S.?
13. Where was the nation's first full
service gas station?
14. Where is the Museum of Automobile
History located?
15. When was air conditioning first
offered in a car?
16. In what year were the first restrictions
imposed on auto emissions?
17. When was the AAA (automobile club)
formed?
18. Which U.S. President launched the
construction of the interstate highway system?
Answers
2. c) In 1914, Detroit MI installed a manually operated "stop and go" sign and later that year an electric signal was installed in Cleveland OH. 3. c) Radar was first used to catch speeders by Indiana police in 1965. 4. a) 1942 5. c) On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln took his last horse-drawn carriage ride to Ford's Theatre in a Studebaker. 6. b) German inventor Gottlieb Daimier received the patent in 1883. 7. a) The 1906 Model T retailed for $850. By 1916 Henry Ford's improvements to the assembly line enabled the price to drop to less than $400. 8. b) In 1926 the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety drew up a uniform code of traffic rules, which were eventually adopted by all states. 9. b) In 1898, Ms. Mudge was the first woman to drive a car. One year later, as the first female race car driver, she was the first woman to have an auto accident. 10. c) Rhode Island in 1908 11. a) 1937 in Connecticut 12. b) Approximately 180 millon 13. a) The first modern gas station opened in Pittsburgh PA in 1913. 14. a) The largest museum of auto history, with a collection of more than 10,000 items, is in Syracuse NY. (There's plenty of parking.) 15. a) Packard offered the first car with air conditioning in 1941. 16. a) 1963 17. b) The AAA was formed in 1902 in Chicago IL. 18. b) President Dwight D. Eisenhower Five Years Ago in the Grapevine JANUARY 1995 *Visitacion Valley Task Force member presented their Neighborhood Strategic Plan to the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency at a meeting on Dec. 8. *Kwanzaa candles were lit during a moving lunchtime ceremony Dec. 14 at Visitacion Valley Middle School (VVMS). *VVMS was also featured in a publication of the National School Board Association, as well as several periodic features in the San Francisco Examiner. *Visitacion Valley Branch library increased its time open to 32 hours a week. *Thanks to Nationwide Papers, Santa Claus brought toys to all the Children at Visitacion Valley Elementary School (VVES). *VVES also hosted its Winter Festival assemblies on Dec. 15. *UPS adopted Visitacion Valley Community Center, contributing to the United Way and donating turkeys to families in the Childcare Program. Historic Proportions Match clues to answers. 1984
A. Bishop Desmond Tutu
Answers: 1-I; 2-R; 3-L; 4-C; 5-P; 6-J; 7-F; 8-M; 9-O; 10-K; 11-E; 12-Q; 13-D; 14-G; 15-J; 16-A; 17-N; 18-H. Sez Who? Match quotes to speakers. 1. "The only good is knowledge and the
only evil is ignorance."
A. Benjamin Disreali
Answers: 1-F; 2-H; 3-B; 4-G; 5-A; 6-I; 7-E; 8-D; 9-C. |