Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Adapter (rocketry)

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

In rocketry, an adapter is a hollow cylindrical or conical segments between rocket stages or between the top rocket stage and the shroud that houses a spacecraft. They transfer the thrust from the lowest stage and are discarded during staging. This usage, which may appear overelaborate in that such adapters are inert structural elements rather than dynamic converters of signals or electrical power, actually derives from French.

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adapter_(rocketry)
Categories: Rocketry

Blue Riband

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

For other uses, see Blue Riband (disambiguation).

For use of the related term “Blue Ribbon”, see Blue ribbon (disambiguation).

The Blue Riband (pronounced /blu ‘rɪbənd/) is the award received by the ship with the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing. The term is believed to have been derived from Cordon Bleu. The first steam-only powered crossing of the Atlantic was in 1838. The Blue Riband was a creation of the transatlantic shipping companies in the 1860s, for the publicity opportunities of possessing the fastest ship. There were separate awards for the fastest eastbound and westbound crossings. It was represented by a blue pennant flown from the topmast of the ship, until 1935 when Sir Harold Keates Hales (1868-1942), a British politician and owner of Hales Brothers shipping company, initiated a trophy.

The Hales Trophy is awarded on the basis of average speed, since the distance of transatlantic routes varies. Theoretically the endpoints could be any port in the Canadian Maritimes or the Eastern Seaboard of the United States in the west, and any port in Ireland, Britain, or western Europe in the east, but traditionally routings considered for transatlantic records tend to involve service to or from New York City. The last “superliner” to hold the trophy was SS United States, which set a time that was not beaten until 1990.

Contents

//

Holders of the Blue Riband

Some of the ships that held the record for the fastest crossing, including those recorded before the Blue Riband was instituted, with the date first achieved:

Westbound

Steamer
Year
Dates
Line
From
To
Nautical
Miles
Days, hours, minutes
Knots

Sirius
1838
4 April–22 April
B&A
Cork
Sandy Hook
3583
18 d, 14 h, 22 m
8.03

Great Western
1838
8 April–23 April
GW
Avonmouth
New York
3220
15 d, 12 h, 0 m
8.66

Great Western
1838
2 June–17 June
GW
Avonmouth
New York
3140
14 d, 16 h, 0 m
8.92

Great Western
1839
18 May–31 May
GW
Avonmouth
New York
3086
13 d, 12 h, 0 m
9.52

Columbia
1841
4 June–15 June
Cunard
Liverpool
Halifax
(2534)
10 d, 19 h, 0 m
(9.78)

Great Western
1843
29 April–11 May
GW
Liverpool
New York
3068
12 d, 18 h, 0 m
10.03

Cambria
1845
19 July–29 July
Cunard
Liverpool
Halifax
(2534)
9 d, 20 h, 30 m
(10.71)

America
1848
3 June–12 June
Cunard
Liverpool
Halifax
(2534)
9 d, 0 h, 16 m
(11.71)

Europa
1848
14 October–23 October
Cunard
Liverpool
Halifax
(2534)
8 d, 23 h, 0 m
(11.79)

Asia
1850
18 May–27 May
Cunard
Liverpool
Halifax
(2534)
8 d, 14 h, 50 m
(12.25)

Pacific
1850
11 September–21 September
Collins
Liverpool
New York
(3050)
10 d, 4 h, 45 m
(12.46)

Baltic
1851
6 August–16 August
Collins
Liverpool
New York
3039
9 d, 19 h, 26 m
12.91

Baltic
1854
28 June–7 July
Collins
Liverpool
New York
3037
9 d, 16 h, 52 m
13.04

Persia
1856
19 April–29 April
Cunard
Liverpool
Sandy Hook
(3045)
9 d, 16 h, 16 m
(13.11)

Scotia
1863
19 July–27 July
Cunard
Queenstown
New York
(2820)
8 d, 3 h, 0 m
(14.46)

Adriatic
1872
17 May–25 May
W.Star
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2778
7 d, 23 h, 17 m
14.53

Germanic
1875
30 July–7 August
W.Star
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2800
7 d, 23 h, 7 m
14.65

City Of Berlin
1875
17 September–25 September
Inman
Queenstown
Sandy Bank
2829
7 d, 18 h, 2 m
15.21

Britannic
1876
27 October–4 November
W.Star
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2795
7 d, 13 h, 11 m
15.43

Germanic
1877
6 April–13 April
W.Star
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2830
7 d, 11 h, 37 m
15.76

Alaska
1882
9 April–16 April
Guion
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2802
7 d, 6 h, 20 m
16.07

Alaska
1882
14 May–21 May
Guion
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2871
7 d, 4 h, 12 m
16.67

Alaska
1882
18 June–25 June
Guion
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2886
7 d, 1 h, 58 m
16.98

Alaska
1883
29 April–6 May
Guion
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2844
6 d, 23 h, 48 m
17.05

Oregon
1884
13 April–19 April
Guion
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2861
6 d, 10 h, 10 m
18.56

Etruria
1885
16 August–22 August
Cunard
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2801
6 d, 5 h, 31 m
18.73

Umbria
1887
29 May–4 June
Cunard
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2848
6 d, 4 h, 12 m
19.22

Etruria
1888
27 May–2 June
Cunard
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2854
6 d, 1 h, 55 m
19.56

City of Paris
1889
2 May–8 May
I&I
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2855
5 d, 23 h, 7 m
19.95

City of Paris
1889
22 August–28 August
I&I
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2788
5 d, 19 h, 18 m
20.01

Majestic
1891
30 July–5 August
W.Star
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2777
5 d, 18 h, 8 m
20.10

Teutonic
1891
13 August–19 August
W.Star
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2778
5 d, 16 h, 31 m
20.35

City of Paris
1892
20 July–27 July
I&I
Queenstown
Sandy Book
2785
5 d, 15 h, 58 m
20.48

City of Paris
1892
13 October–18 October
I&I
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2782
5 d, 14 h, 24 m
20.70

Campania
1893
18 June–23 June
Cunard
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2864
5 d, 15 h, 37 m
21.12

Campania
1894
12 August–17 August
Cunard
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2776
5 d, 9 h, 29 m
21.44

Lucania
1894
26 August–31 August
Cunard
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2787
5 d, 8 h, 38 m
21.65

Lucania
1894
23 September–28 September
Cunard
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2782
5 d, 7 h, 48 m
21.75

Lucania
1894
21 October–26 October
Cunard
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2779
5 d, 7 h, 23 m
21.81

Kaiser Wilhelm der Große
1898
30 March–3 April
NDL
Needles
Sandy Hook
3120
5 d, 20 h, 0 m
22.29

Deutschland
1900
6 July–12 July
Hapag
Eddystone
Sandy Hook
3044
5 d, 15 h, 46 m
22.42

Deutschland
1900
26 August–1 September
Hapag
Cherbourg
Sandy Hook
3050
5 d, 12 h, 29 m
23.02

Deutschland
1901
26 July–1 August
Hapag
Cherbourg
Sandy Hook
3141
5 d, 16 h, 12 m
23.06

Kronprinz Wilhelm
1902
10 September–16 September
NDL
Cherbourg
Sandy Hook
3047
5 d, 11 h, 57 m
23.09

Deutschland
1903
2 September–8 September
Hapag
Cherbourg
Sandy Hook
3054
5 d, 11 h, 54 m
23.15

Lusitania
1907
6 October–10 October
Cunard
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2780
4 d, 19 h, 52 m
23.99

Lusitania
1908
17 May–21 May
Cunard
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2889
4 d, 20 h, 22 m
24.83

Lusitania
1908
5 July–10 July
Cunard
Queenstown
Sandy Hook
2891
4 d, 19 h, 36 m
25.01

Lusitania
1909
8 August–12 August
Cunard
Queenstown
Ambrose
2890
4 d, 16 h, 40 m
25.65

Mauretania
1909
26 September–30 September
Cunard
Queenstown
Ambrose
2784
4 d, 10 h, 51 m
26.06

Bremen
1929
17 July–22 July
NDL
Cherbourg
Ambrose
3164
4 d, 17 h, 42 m
27.83

Europa
1930
20 March–25 March
NDL
Cherbourg
Ambrose
3157
4 d, 17 h, 6 m
27.91

Europa
1933
27 June–2 July
NDL
Cherbourg
Ambrose
3149
4 d, 16 h, 48 m
27.92

Rex
1933
11 August–16 August
Italian
Gibraltar
Ambrose
3181
4 d, 13 h, 58 m
28.92

Normandie
1935
30 May–3 June
CGT
Bishop Rock
Ambrose
2971
4 d, 3 h, 2 m
29.98

Queen Mary
1936
20 August–24 August
C-WS
Bishop Rock
Ambrose
2907
4 d, 0 h, 27 m
30.14

Normandie
1937
29 July–2 August
CGT
Bishop Rock
Ambrose
2906
3 d, 23 h, 2 m
30.58

Queen Mary
1938
4 August–8 August
C-WS
Bishop Rock
Ambrose
2907
3 d, 21 h, 48 m
30.99

United States
1952
11 July–15 July
USL
Bishop Rock
Ambrose
2906
3 d, 12 h, 12 m
34.51

Eastbound

Steamer
Year
Dates
Line
From
To
Nautical
Miles
Days, hours, minutes
Knots

Sirius
1838
1 May–19 May
B&A
New York
Falmouth
(3159)
(18/0/0)
(7.31)

Great Western
1838
7 May–22 May
GW
New York
Avonmouth
3218
14 d, 15 h, 59 m
9.14

Great Western
1838
25 June–8 July
GW
New York
Avonmouth
3099
12 d, 16 h, 34 m
10.17

Britannia
1840
4 August–14 August
Cunard
Halifax
Liverpool
(2610)
9 d, 21 h, 44 m
(10.98)

Great Western
1842
28 April–11 May
GW
New York
Liverpool
3248
12 d, 7 h, 30 m
10.99

Columbia
1843
4 April–14 April
Cunard
Halifax
Liverpool
(2534)
9 d, 12 h, 0 m
(11.11)

Hibernia
1843
18 May–27 May
Cunard
Halifax
Liverpool
(2534)
9 d, 10 h, 44 m
(11.18)

Hibernia
1843
18 July–27 July
Cunard
Halifax
Liverpool
(2534)
8 d, 22 h, 44 m
(11.80)

Canada
1849
19 July–28 July
Cunard
Halifax
Liverpool
(2534)
8 d, 12 h, 44 m
(12.38)

Pacific
1851
10 May–20 May
Collins
New York
Liverpool
(3078)
9 d, 20 h, 14 m
(13.03)

Arctic
1852
7 February–17 February
Collins
New York
Liverpool
3051
9 d, 17 h, 15 m
13.06

Persia
1856
2 April–12 April
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Liverpool
(3048)
9 d, 10 h, 22 m
(13.46)

Persia
1856
14 May–23 May
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Liverpool
(3048)
9 d, 3 h, 24 m
(13.89)

Persia
1856
6 August–15 August
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Liverpool
(3046)
8 d, 23 h, 19 m
(14.15)

Scotia
1863
16 December–24 December
Cunard
New York
Queenstown
(2800)
8 d, 5 h, 42 m
(14.16)

City of Brussels
1869
4 December–12 December
Inman
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
(2780)
7 d, 20 h, 33 m
(14.74)

Baltic
1873
11 January–19 January
W.Star
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2840
7 d, 20 h, 9 m
15.09

City of Berlin
1875
2 October–10 October
Inman
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2820
7 d, 15 h, 28 m
15.37

Germanic
1876
5 February–13 February
W.Star
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2894
7 d, 15 h, 17 m
15.79

Britannic
1876
16 December–24 December
W.Star
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2892
7 d, 12 h, 41 m
15.94

Arizona
1879
22 July–29 July
Guion
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2810
7 d, 8 h, 11 m
15.96

Alaska
1882
30 May–6 June
Guion
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
(2791)
6 d, 22 h, 0 m
(16.81)

Alaska
1882
12 September–19 September
Guion
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2781
6 d, 18 h, 37 m
17.10

Oregon
1884
29 March–5 April
Guion
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2916
7 d, 2 h, 18 m
17.12

Oregon
1884
26 April–3 May
Guion
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
291
6 d, 16 h, 57 m
18.09

Oregon
1884
30 July–6 August
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2853
6 d, 12 h, 54 m
18.18

Oregon
1884
3 September–10 September
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2853
6 d, 11 h, 9 m
18.39

Etruria
1885
1 August–7 August
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2822
6 d, 9 h, 0 m
18.44

Etruria
1888
7 July–14 July
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2981
6 d, 4 h, 50 m
19.36

City of Paris
1889
15 May–22 May
I&I
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2894
6 d, 0 h, 29 m
20.03

City of New York
1892
17 August–23 August
I&I
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2814
5 d, 19 h, 57 m
20.11

Campania
1893
6 May–12 May
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2928
5 d, 17 h, 27 m
21.30

Lucania
1894
6 May–12 May
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2911
3 d, 13 h, 28 m
21.81

Lucania
1894
2 June–8 June
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2911
5 d, 12 h, 59 m
21.90

Lucania
1895
18 May–24 May
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2897
5 d, 11 h, 40 m
22.00

Kaiser Wilhelm der Große
1897
23 November–29 November
NDL
Sandy Hook
Needles
3065
5 d, 17 h, 23 m
22.33

Deutschland
1900
18 July–24 July
Hapag
Sandy Hook
Eddystone
3085
5 d, 15 h, 5 m
22.84

Deutschland
1900
4 September–10 September
Hapag
Sandy Hook
Eddystone
2981
5 d, 7 h, 38 m
23.36

Deutschland
1901
13 June–19 June
Hapag
Sandy Hook
Eddystone
3083
5 d, 11 h, 51 m
23.38

Deutschland
1901
10 July–17 July
Hapag
Sandy Hook
Eddystone
3082
5 d, 11 h, 5 m
23.51

Kaiser Wilhelm II
1904
14 June–20 June
NDL
Sandy Hook
Eddystone
3112
5 d, 11 h, 58 m
23.58

Lusitania
1907
19 October–24 October
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2807
4 d, 22 h, 53 m
23.61

Mauretania
1907
30 November–5 December
Cunard
Beady Hook
Queenstown
2807
4 d, 22 h, 33 m
23.69

Mauretania
1908
25 January–30 January
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2932
5 d, 2 h, 41 m
23.90

Mauretania
1908
7 March–12 March
Cunard
Sandy Hook
Queenstown
2932
5 d, 0 h, 5 m
24.42

Mauretania
1909
3 February–8 February
Cunard
Ambrose
Queenstown,
2930
4 d, 20 h, 27 m
25.16

Mauretania
1909
17 March–22 March
Cunard
Ambrose
Queenstown
2934
4 d, 18 h, 35 m
25.61

Mauretania
1909
5 May–10 May
Cunard
Ambrose
Queenstown
2934
4 d, 18 h, 11 m
25.70

Mauretania
1909
16 June–21 June
Cunard
Ambrose
Queenstown
2933
4 d, 17 h, 21 m
25.88

Mauretania
1924
20 August–25 August
Cunard
Ambrose
Cherbourg
3198
5 d, 1 h, 49 m
26.25

Bremen
1929
27 July–1 August
NDL
Ambrose
Eddystone
3084
4 d, 14 h, 30 m
27.91

Bremen
1933
10 June–15 June
NDL
Ambrose
Cherbourg
3199
4 d, 16 h, 15 m
28.51

Normandie
1935
7 June–11 June
CGT
Ambrose
Bishop Rock
3015
4 d, 3 h, 25 m
30.31

Queen Mary
1936
26 August–30 August
C-WS
Ambrose
Bishop Rock
2939
3 d, 23 h, 57 m
30.63

Normandie
1937
18 March–22 March
CGT
Ambrose
Bishop Rock
2967
4 d, 0 h, 6 m
30.99

Normandie
1937
4 August–8 August
CGT
Ambrose
Bishop Rock
2936
3 d, 22 h, 7 m
31.20

Queen Mary
1938
10 August–14 August
C-WS
Ambrose
Bishop Rock
2938
3 d, 20 h, 42 m
31.69

United States
1952
3 July–7 July
USL
Ambrose
Bishop Rock
2942
3 d, 10 h, 40 m
35.59

Hoverspeed Great Britain
1990
23 June
Aegean Speedlines

3 d, 7 h, 54 m
36.6

Catalonia
1998
9 June
Buquebus
Manhattan
Tarifa, Spain
3125
3 d, 9 h, 40 m
38.9

Cat-Link V (or today Fjord Cat)
1998
20 July
Master Ferries

2 d, 20 h, 9 m
41.3

References and links

  • Arnd Stroeh (2003-02-27). “From Superliners to Airliners”. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  • Jeff Newman. “The Blue Riband of the North Atlantic, westbound and eastbound holders”. greatships.net. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
    • which cites N.R.P. Bonsor (1980). North Atlantic Seaway, Vol. 5
  • “Danish ferry sets new Atlantic-crossing record!!”. American VULKAN Corporation (1998-07-20). Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  • “The Hales Trophy”. Sea Containers Ltd (2003). Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  • Kludas, Arnold (2000). Record breakers of the North Atlantic — Blue Riband Liners 1838-1952. London: Chatham Publishing. 
  • Michael Pocock. “Information about the Kronprinz Wilhelm’s award-winning voyage”. Maritime Quest. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Riband
Categories: Atlantic Ocean | Water transport

Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications
Ministério das Obras Públicas, Transportes e Comunicações

Agency overview

Jurisdiction
Government of Portugal

Minister Responsible
Mário Lino, Minister for Public Works, Transport and Communications

Website

http://www.moptc.pt/

The Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications (Portuguese: Ministério das Obras Públicas, Transportes e Comunicações), MOPTC, is a Portuguese government ministry.

External links

  • Official website (Portuguese)

v • d • e

Government ministries of Portugal

Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries · Culture · Economy and Innovation · Education · Environment, Spatial Planning and Regional Development · Finance and Public Administration · Foreign Affairs · Health · Interior · Justice · Labour and Social Solidarity · National Defence · Public Works, Transport and Communications · Science, Technology and Higher Education


 This Portugal-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Public_Works,_Transport_and_Communications
Categories: Portugal stubs | Transport ministries | Communications ministries | Government ministries of Portugal

National Congress on Aviation and Space Education

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

The National Congress on Aviation and Space Education is an annual conference sponsored by Civil Air Patrol designed to enhance and expand educational opportunities and support for teachers throughout the United States. The event is co-sponsored with the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA.

External links

  • NCASE website
  • Civil Air Patrol facsheet including information on NCASE

References

  1. ^ About.com


 This article about an education organization is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Congress_on_Aviation_and_Space_Education
Categories: Education organization stubs | Aviation

Overland travel

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

Overland travel or overlanding refers to an “overland journey” - perhaps originating with Marco Polo’s first overland expedition in the 13th century from Venice to the Chinese court of Kublai Khan.

Since the 1960s overlanding has been a popular means of travel between destinations across Africa, Europe, Asia (particularly India), the Americas and Australia. The “Hippie Trail” of the 60s and 70s saw thousands of young westerners travelling through the Middle East to India and Nepal.

Rail

At 9,288km the Trans-Siberian Railway is one of the longest overland journeys in existence today, taking 7 days to reach Vladivostok from Moscow, and providing an alternative to air travel for journeys between Europe and Asia.

The Indian Pacific railway, completed in 1970, links Sydney and Perth in Australia. Covering 4,343km over 4 days, the railway includes the longest stretch of straight railway line in the world.

The introduction of Japan’s high speed railway Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964 changed the face of rail travel. The railway has carried more than 4 billion passengers and its new N700 series trains are capable of 300 km/h. France’s TGV holds the record for the fastest train, with a top speed of more than 500 km/h, making it faster than air travel for many journeys within the country.

The Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable

Bus

The Silk Route or Silk Road historically connects the Mediterranean with Persia and China. offering tours on the southern route.

The traditional Trans Africa route is from London to Nairobi, Kenya and Cape Town, South Africa. The route started in the 1970’s and becaming popular with small companies using old Bedford four wheel drive trucks carrying about 20 people each Also independent travellers; normally run by or groups of friends in 4×4 Landrovers headed out from London from November to March every year, the winter months been considered the best to cross the Sahara. The usual route was from Morocco to Algeria with a Sahara desert crossing into Niger then Nigeria in West Africa, followed by a month long journey likened to Joseph Conrad Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” through the forests of Zaire with the trucks surfacing into the relatively modern word in Kenya. From Kenya the last leg was south through Tanzania to either Zimbabwe or South Africa. The writer Shiva Naipaul travelled in an Overland truck and wrote of it in his novel North of South, he was disparaging of the people on the truck and their motives for travelling. The route has changed dramatically with border closures and no-go zones with the closure of Zaire now the DR Congo and the Darfur crises’ forcing the biggest change in the route. The route has, since the year 2000, reversed itself somewhat with truck now crossing from the north to the south of Africa following near to the west coast all the way from Morocco to Cape Town. The biggest recent change in the route been made possible by the opening of Angola to tourism, letting vehicles pass into Namibia into South Africa; leaving then to complete the old route by turning north in Cape Town to travel to Nairobi and on to Cairo.

The second most popular route was the Nile, starting in Africa after a long crossing of Europe to Athens then by ferry to Alexandria in Egypt. The trip mostly followed the Nile River through Egypt and Sudan to Uganda and laid over in Nairobi before heading further south. The Nile trip was much shorter at ten weeks as opposed to the western Trans Africa at 22 weeks to Nairobi.

Since 2006 a few companies have offered overland expeditions from the UK to Australia. Originated by Exploratory Overland Expeditions in 2006, the expedition is marketed as the longest trans-Asian overland journey available.

The longest overland expedition of any kind is run by African Trails their London-Capetown-Istanbul journey (43 weeks) remains the classic overland expedition for die-hard travellers.Though the longest combination of trips is 50.5 weeks run by Dragoman from Helsinki, Finland to Cape Town, South Africa via Russia, China, Middle East, following the Nile and to Kenya and on to southern Africa

Notes

  1. ^ Go-Overland.com - History of Overlanding
  2. ^ BBC - h2g2 - Overlanding
  3. ^ R.Maclean. Magic Bus: On the Hippie Trail from Istanbul to India. 2006. Viking.
  4. ^ The Man in Seat Sixty-One
  5. ^ The Man in Seat Sixty-One
  6. ^ Silk Road - Britannica Online Encyclopedia

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overland_travel
Categories: Travel

American Rocket Society

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

American Rocket Society

Type
Professional Organization

Founded
April 6, 1934

Origins
renamed from American Interplanetary Society (formed April 4, 1930)

Revenue
·

Endowment
·

Volunteers
·

Employees
·

Members
21,000 (1959)

Owner
·

Dissolved
merged with Institute of Aerospace Sciences to become AIAA

·

The American Rocket Society (ARS) began its existence on April 4, 1930, under the name of the American Interplanetary Society. It was founded by science fiction writers G. Edward Pendray, David Lasser, Laurence Manning and others. The members originally conducted their own rocket experiments in New York and New Jersey. The society printed its own journal. The AIS did pioneering work in testing the design requirements of liquid-fuelled rockets, with a number of successful test launches occurring in this period and pointing the way to the United States space program. Its name was changed to American Rocket Society on April 6, 1934.

Membership increased rapidly in the 1950s as the government funded of “upper air research”, and by the end of the decade it had reached 21,000. In early 1963 the ARS merged with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

References & Notes

  1. ^ “the ARS – early years (1930-1944)” (html). History of AIAA. Retrieved on 2008-09-09.

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Rocket_Society
Categories: Rocketry | 1930 establishments

Portland State Aerospace Society

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

This article may not meet the notability guidelines for companies and organizations. If you are familiar with the subject matter, please expand or rewrite the article to establish its notability. The best way to address this concern is to reference published, third-party sources about the subject. If notability cannot be established, the article is more likely to be considered for redirection, merging, or deletion, per Wikipedia:Guide to deletion.
This article has been tagged since June 2008.

The Portland State Aerospace Society (or PSAS), founded in 1998, is a student group at Portland State University building high powered rockets with the vision of putting nanosatellites into Earth orbit. Pursuing this vision has led to building advanced avionics, adaptable airframes, and high energy rocket engines. PSAS attempts to be open in its development, including posting CAD drawings and schematics, and maintaining its GPL and MIT-licensed software in git and Subversion.

Rocket generations

LV0

The first airframe, LV0 was a proof of concept for some of the radio systems, including real-time broadcast video. LV0 was launched in June 1998.

LV1

The second airframe, LV1 was flown to 3.6 km (12,000 feet) in April 1999. It added an emergency uplink system, an Inertial Measurement Unit, and more advanced telemetry.

LV1b was an extension of the LV1 rocket to add a GPS module, an improved flight computer, and improved IMU. It was flown to 13.53 km (11,600 feet) in October 2000.

LV2

The third airframe, LV2 was first flown as an airframe only (with commercial flight computer) in September 2002. It reached apogee at around 18,000 feet and a maximum velocity of 900 miles per hour, over Mach 1.

LV2.1 was the second flight of LV2 in August 2005, with the complete avionics system. The modular aluminum airframe measured 11 feet tall, 5.25 inches wide, and weighed 115 pounds. The avionics system included a 133 MHz Pentium flight computer running Linux, using 802.11 telemetry broadcast via custom-made cylindrical patch antennas, a GPS module, IMU module, temperature sensor, altimeter, and recovery node. The various nodes ran on PIC microcontrollers and were connected via a CAN bus. The motor was an ammonium perchlorate and aluminum mixture, and the rocket reached a maximum altitude over 18,000 feet AGL. Rocket telemetry was successful, but the nosecone appeared to not release at apogee when the recovery charges were fired. The result was a descent in “lawn dart” mode, where no parachutes open and the rocket lands nearly straight into the ground.

LV2c

The fourth airframe and replacement avionics are currently being designed. The airframe will retain the modular design, moving to 5.5 inch diameter tubing (a more standard size). The next avionics system plans to use a PowerPC flight computer and ARM microcontroller nodes connected via USB.

Other projects

Other areas of research include design and testing of an oxygen/paraffin hybrid rocket engine, development of real-time control algorithms for in-flight steering (a requirement for orbital spaceflight), CAN bus debugging hardware (”CANtelope”), enhancing the Linux USB driver, and development of open source GPS firmware.

External links

  • Portland State Aerospace Society wiki

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_State_Aerospace_Society
Categories: Rocketry | Portland State UniversityHidden category: Articles with topics of unclear notability from June 2008

Hydrogen station

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

A hydrogen station is a storage or filling station for hydrogen, usually located along a road or hydrogen highway, or at home as part of the distributed generation resources concept. Vehicles use hydrogen as fuel in one of several ways, including fuel cells and mixed fuels like HCNG. The hydrogen fuel dispensers dispense the fuel by the kilogram

Contents

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Hydrogen filling stations

In 2000, Ford and Air Products opened the first hydrogen station in North America in Dearborn, MI.

Since the turn of the millennium, filling stations offering hydrogen have been opening worldwide. However, this does not begin to replace the existing extensive gasoline fuel station infrastructure, which would cost a half trillion U.S. dollars in the United States alone.

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (September 2008)

The hydrogen fueling stations include the following:

  • Some fuel stations in Germany, within the Clean Energy Partnership, are offering hydrogen.
  • Bus refueling stations in a small number of European cities as part of the Clean Urban Transport for Europe programme.
  • Iceland began opening stations in 2003 as part of the country’s initiative to implement a hydrogen economy.
  • Stations in California opened by the California Fuel Cell Partnership, and under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s California Hydrogen Highway program.
  • A Washington, D.C., Shell gas station on 3355 Benning Road NE sells mostly gasoline but also has one hydrogen pump.
  • Japan has a number of hydrogen filling stations run by the Japan hydrogen fuel cell project to test various technologies of hydrogen generation.
  • British Columbia, Canada, is building a seven node hydrogen refueling station network from Victoria to Whistler timed to coincide with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The node in Surrey was the first in the world to deliver hydrogen at 70 MPa, and is the longest operational node in the network, having been supplying hydrogen since March 2002.
  • Proton Energy Systems and Northern Power, both wholly owned subsidiaries of Distributed Energy Systems (Nasdaq: DESC), were contracted by EVermont to build an advanced demonstration hydrogen fueling station in Burlington, VT. The project was partially funded through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Program.
  • A hydrogen filling station opened in 2006 on the campus of The Ohio State University at the Center for Automotive Research. This station is the only one in Ohio.
  • Missouri’s only Hydrogen Filling Station is located at the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus.
  • A prototype hydrogen fueling station was built in compliance with all of the prevailing safety, environmental and building codes in Phoenix to demonstrate that such fueling stations could be built in urban areas.
  • Hynor, Norway’s first hydrogen fueling station was opened in February 2007.
  • The UK has opened its first hydrogen filling station at the University of Birmingham.
  • June 2008 - The HyApproval project, FP6 N° 019813 developed a universal handbook to facilitate the approval process of Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS) in Europe.

Hydrogen home stations

Hydrogen home stations come in different types.

  • A solar powered water electrolysing hydrogen home station, is made of solar cells, power converter, water purifier, electrolyzer, piping, hydrogen purifier,
  • A more complete home station would combine the solar home system on the inlet with natural gas and a reformer and from the storage tank to a fuel cell microchp system to produce heat and electricity for the house and the excess electricity to the grid to become part as a distributed generation resource.
  • Integrated systems that convert solar energy photoelectrochemically are more efficient than splitting water.
  • January 2007 - Australia’s CSIRO has developed a hydrogen homestation based on electricity from standard rooftop solarpanels or a home wind turbine with an electrolyzer including compression and storage ready for use, the size of a filing cabinet, the expected market price would be $500 according to Sukhvinder Badwal. Extensive testing of the system will be going on for the next 2 years at RMIT University in Melbourne.
  • Home Energy Station IV is in testing phase.
  • The Hopewell Project an oversized pilot homestation by Michael Strizki.
  • The Chewonki Renewable Hydrogen Project opened on August 28, 2006 in Wiscasset, Maine.
  • The Stuart Island Energy Iniative.
  • The homefueler and HyStat-A Energy Station

Hydrogen highway

Main article: Hydrogen highway

A hydrogen highway is a chain of hydrogen-equipped filling stations and other infrastructure along a road or highway. Italy and Germany are building in collaboration a hydrogen highway between Mantova (Italy) and Munich (Germany). Italy has already built a hydrogen filling station in Mantova and it has been completed on 21 September 2007. See Zero Regio .

See also


Energy portal


Sustainable development portal

  • Cascade storage system
  • Hydrogen vehicle
  • Hydrogen production
  • Hydrogen storage
  • Hydrogen reformer
  • Hydrogen piping
  • Hydrogen leak testing
  • Hydrogen microsensor
  • Autonomous building
  • Microgeneration
  • Virtual power plant
  • Zero Regio

References

  1. ^ LA gas station gets hydrogen fuel pump
  2. ^ Motavalli, Jim (2001). Breaking Gridlock: Moving Towards Transportation That Works. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, p. 145. ISBN 1-57805-039-1
  3. ^ Romm, Joseph (2004). The Hype about Hydrogen, Fact and Fiction in the Race to Save the Climate. New York: Island Press. ISBN 1-55963-703-X.  Chapter 5
  4. ^ “Hydrogen-filling station opens … in Iceland”, USA Today (April 25, 2003). Retrieved on 21 May 2007. 
  5. ^ “Powertech Station”. British Columbia’s Hydrogen Highway Web site. Retrieved on 2006-07-30.
  6. ^ “Center for Automotive Research unveils first hydrogen refueling station in Ohio”. Ohio State University College of Engineering (April 20, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  7. ^ “Missouri’s First Hydrogen Fuel Station Welcomes Cars on Tour”. Environment News Service (August 12, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-22.
  8. ^ Alternative Fuel (Hydrogen) Pilot Plant Design Report (Report INEEL / EXT-O3-00976 of the Idaho National Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy)
  9. ^ BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Hydrogen car project begins
  10. ^ HyApproval - Handbook for the approval of hydrogen refuelling stations
  11. ^ “Hydrogen Purification”. Home Power 67: 42, http://www.homepower.com/files/Hp67p42.pdf. 
  12. ^ “Diaphram Compressors”. Pressure Products Industries, Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  13. ^ See, for example, Lincoln Composites Tuffshell tanks, as recommended by Roy McAlister in the “Hydrogen Car and Multi Fuel Engine” DVD)
  14. ^ “Solar Hydrogen Production by Electrolysis”. Home Power 39. Feb./Mar. 1994, http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/h2homesystem.pdf. Retrieved on 23 June 2007. 
  15. ^ “Fuel cell”. Honda. Retrieved on 2006-08-04.
  16. ^ John Gartner (December 7, 2004). Sunlight to Fuel Hydrogen Future, Wired magazine, http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65936,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1. Retrieved on 30 June 2006. 
  17. ^ CSIRO Solar homestation
  18. ^ A Stand Alone 2 kW Class PEM Electrolyser Integrated with Solar PV System for Hydrogen Generation
  19. ^ YouTube - Solar hydrogen home Michael Strizki
  20. ^ Stuart Island Energy Initiative
  21. ^ NFCRC: Hydrogen Program - Hydrogenics Home Fueler

External links

  • Virtual hydrogen station IV
  • EUhyfis
  • ISO-TC 197
  • Hydrogen Refueling Stations Mapped on Platial.
  • Worldwide Hydrogen Fueling Stations (PDF) fuelcells.org
  • Map of hydrogen refueling stations worldwide
  • Idaho National Laboratory

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_station
Categories: Sustainable transport | Sustainable technologies | Hydrogen infrastructureHidden categories: Articles with trivia sections from September 2008 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since September 2008

New Paper Big Walk

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

This article or section is written like an advertisement.
Please help rewrite this article from a neutral point of view.
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This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations.
You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (November 2008)

This section or article is about an event or subject that may not be current but does not specify the time period.
Please help improve the article to include this information as Wikipedia is viewed by a worldwide audience. You can discuss the issue on the talk page.

The New Paper Big Walk is a mass-participation walking event held annually in Singapore and holds the official Guinness World Record as the world’s largest walk when a record-breaking 77,500 participants joined in to mark the 10th anniversary of The New Paper Big Walk 2000 which was held on May 21, 2000 at the Singapore National Stadium.

The event was founded by The New Paper; the inaugural walk, on June 16, 1991, had 7,000 participants. Over the last years, the event has grown, attracting thousands of participants every year from all walks of life and all sorts of age groups.

The 10 kilometre walk will take participants an estimated 3 hours to complete and usually flags off from its traditional starting point of the Singapore National Stadium at 6 o’clock in the morning. Although there are limited amount of registration slots, others can still be able to participant in the event as unregistered participants who would not be able to collect their goodie bags and t-shirts.

Contents

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History

Founded and organized annually by The New Paper, the Big Walk has traditionally been held annually at the Singapore National Stadium, Kallang and attracts tens of thousands of participants annually for the walk.

The very first Big Walk took place on June 16, 1991 and it expected only 4,500 walkers to turn up. However, expectations were exceeded when more than 7,000 walkers showed up on the day of the walk. Since then, the event has became more and more popular, and today, boast a participation rate of tens of thousands of people annually.

On its 10th anniversary, The New Paper Big Walk 2000 broke into the official Guinness World record as The World’s Largest Walk, when a record breaking 77,500 participants joined in. Having the Guinness certificate means that this popular Singapore mass event is ranked among the biggest world class events such as the Boston Marathon.

The event took a one year hiatus for the year of 2007 amid news that its venue of choice — the National Stadium at Kallang — was going to be torn down to make way for a world-class integrated sports hub.

Today, The New Paper Big Walk has relocated to the heart of the Central Business District where tens of thousands of participants will walk the streets from the new “hottest” spot (heart of the Formula One race track) to the new “coolest” spot — the recently completed Marina Barrage.

Locations

The Singapore National Stadium

Regarded as the venue of choice by The New Paper for its crowd-friendly features, character and sense of place, the Singapore National Stadium has long been an integral part to the success of the event.

The 10 kilometres walk took participants an estimated time of 3 hours to complete. Though there was limited number of registration slots, unregistered participants were also given the opportunity to complete the walk, on a condition that they would not be entitled to goodie bags and t-shirts.

However, the impending news that the Singapore government had plans to tear down the National Stadium to make way for a new state-of-the-art integrated sports hub, led to the organizers decision to take a one year hiatus as they went in search of an alternative venue for the event.

The 2008 edition of the event was relocated to Marina Bay area and was aptly renamed “The Big Walk on Water.”

The Marina Barrage

As part of The New Paper’s 20th anniversary celebrations, The New Paper Big Walk will relocate to Singapore’s “coolest” and “hottest” spots.

Flagging off at Suntec City’s Fountain of Wealth, the revised 5 kilometres walk will take participants across the Marina Channel and other breathtaking views such as, The Esplanade, the Singapore Flyer and part of the race track of the Formula One Singtel Singapore Grand Prix which was held on 28 September, 2008, before ending at the newly completed Marina Barrage that is set to become the new jewel of Singapore, with Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Bay Sands due to be completed by 2009.

The Big Walk On Water

The “Big Walk on Water” is the new event name for The New Paper Big Walk as it makes its transition from the crowd-friendly National Stadium to the waters of Marina Bay.

The event, which returns after a one year hiatus, will also mark the 20th anniversary of its organizers — The New Paper — and allow readers and participants a chance to “walk on water” by crossing the dam across the Marina Channel.

The 5 kilometre journey — a revision from the previous 10 kilometre route — will allow participants to immerse themselves in the beautiful scenery of Marina Bay as they stroll from The Fountain of Wealth at Suntec City Mall, through the tracks of the recently concluded inaugral Singapore F1 Grand Prix to the newly completed Marina Barrage.

Participation

To mark the 20th Anniversary of The New Paper, only 20,000 places were opened to the public with registration slots all swept up by enthusiastic walkers of all ages within the short 5-days registration period.

The New Paper Big Walk has been attracting more and more locals which explain the leap in numbers, an increase by approximately 11 times since its inaugural walk back in 1991.

Today, the event attracts a healthy participation rates that include both registered and non-registered participants that add to the spectacle of the event.

Programmes & Contests

Other than just the 5km walk, there was a series of fun-filled programmes and contests organized.

A post walk carnival at Suntec City Mall was held, where three contests like Spot Me, Green Fancy Dress and Stabilo Colouring awarded Fairprice shopping vouchers.

Significance

The Big Walk On Water 2008 was organized by The New Paper to mark three significant events that happened in the year of 2008.

Firstly, the event was held as part of the celebrations for the success of the inaugural Formula One Singtel Singapore Grand Prix race — F1’s first ever night race — that was held on 28 September 2008 by moving participants onto part of the race track where the drivers drove on race day.

Secondly, the event was also to mark the opening of the new Marina Barrage that officially opened on 1 November, 2008. Participants of the Big Walk On Water will most likely be the first few people to be allowed to visit the magnificent new Barrage and reservoir at Marina Bay.

Last, but not least, The Big Walk On Water was organized to mark the 20th anniversary of The New Paper. The change of name and its new location highlights and signifies the New Paper’s evolution to become one of Singapore best selling newspapers today.

References

  1. Retrieved from History : The New Paper Big Walk on Water 2008 Official Website on 10 November 2008 from
  2. Retrieved from Info for Big Walkers: The New Paper Big Walk on Water 2008 Official Website on 10 November 10, 2008 from
  3. Retrieved on 10 November 2008 from
  4. Retrieved from Big Walk Returns on Water on 10 November 2008 from
  5. Singapore Press Holdings
  6. Singapore Press Holdings
  7. EveryTrail

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Paper_Big_Walk
Categories: 1991 establishments | Events in Singapore | Guinness World Record holders | WalkingHidden categories: Wikipedia articles needing style editing from November 2008 | All articles needing style editing | Articles lacking in-text citations | Wikipedia articles needing context | Wikipedia introduction cleanup

Gogo Inflight Internet

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

This article may not meet the general notability guideline or one of the following specific guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. If you are familiar with the subject matter, please expand or rewrite the article to establish its notability. The best way to address this concern is to reference published, third-party sources about the subject. If notability cannot be established, the article is more likely to be considered for redirection, merging, or deletion, per Wikipedia:Guide to deletion.
This article has been tagged since August 2008.

Gogo Inflight

Type
Private

Founded
2008

Headquarters
Itasca, IL, USA

Industry
Technology, Aviation

Website
www.gogoinflight.com

The Gogo Inflight Internet is an in-flight broadband internet service offered by Aircell. Gogo allows airline passengers to connect to the internet through a system of cell towers on land.

Aircell owns and rents a total of 92 towers that cover North America, including Canada and Mexico, and up to 300 miles off-shore in some areas. The towers are cellphone towers that have been outfitted to point their signals at the sky rather than along the ground. The aircraft picks up the signal through a receiver installed on its underside. Once in the aircraft, the data signal is distributed throughout the cabin via a Wi-Fi system.

Contents

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Connectivity and Performance

During a test by Walter S. Mossberg on a flight, coverage was continuous and he detected only small lags in speed when passing from one cell tower signal to the next. The speed of the connection during that test was comparable to a cell phone’s internet surfing speed on land or a slow home DSL connection. The speed was approximately 500-600 Kibit/s for downloads and 300 Kibit/s for uploads.

Gogo Inflight service is compatible with both Macintosh and Windows PC computers, as well as devices that have Wi-Fi capability, including BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and iPhone.

Connection onboard is similar to the experience at Wi-Fi hotspots such as coffee shops and hotels. The user connects to the network and registers in the same way they would on the ground. The network becomes accessible as soon as electronic devices are approved for use after take-off.

The service has account management and allows purchasing service before the flight using the product web site. VOIP applications are prohibited by the terms of service.

Participating Airlines

Gogo service began on American Airlines July 2008. The first routes served were JFK to San Francisco, JFK to LAX, and JFK to Miami. Virgin America Gogo routes are also expected in late 2008, serving flights between San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles.

American Airlines plans to try out the service on 15 of its Boeing 767 aircraft, requiring passengers to connect from their own laptops and pay a fee for the broadband access. Virgin America has committed to placing Gogo on all its planes and eventually all its routes, and installing seatback computers to allow passengers to connect without bringing their own computer along. Connectivity on Virgin America would also be available for a fee.

On August 5th, 2008, Delta Air Lines announced it was installing Aircell’s Gogo Inflight Internet on all of its domestic aircraft within one year.

Aircell CEO Jack Blumenstein says they are in talks with other airlines about adding Gogo onboard.

Market Potential

Broadband internet access in the air is much welcomed by the internet-reliant public, particularly business travelers. The participating airlines hope to increase revenue with the additional fees, in a time when air travel is down and remaining customers are reluctant to pay higher prices for plane tickets.

See also

  • OnAir
  • Panasonic Avionics Corporation
  • Row 44
  • Connexion by Boeing

References

  1. ^ a b c d Mossberg, Walter (June 19, 2008) Internet-a-Gogo: Airlines to Offer In-Flight Access
  2. ^ a b Gogo Inflight participating airlines list
  3. ^ GoGo FAQ
  4. ^ Malik, Om (March 11, 2008) U.S. In-flight Broadband Is A-gogo by Spring
  5. ^ Delta Air Lines To Offer In-Flight Wi-Fi On All Domestic Flights (Official Press Release: August 5, 2008)
  6. ^ Terdiman, Daniel (January 25, 2008) In-flight Internet: Grounded for life? CNET

External links

  • Gogo Inflight Internet web site
  • Aircell (parent company) web site

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gogo_Inflight_Internet
Categories: Aviation | Internet | WirelessHidden category: Articles with topics of unclear notability from August 2008