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Michael P. Anderson

Michael Phillip Anderson (December 25, 1959 – February 1, 2003) was a United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. Anderson and his six fellow crew members were killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the craft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Anderson served as the payload commander and lieutenant colonel in charge of science experiments on the Columbia. Anderson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Early life and education
Born on December 25, 1959, to Barbara and Bobbie Anderson, Michael was their third child and only son. His father serviced jets at Plattsburgh Air Force Base in Plattsburgh, New York. Bobbie Anderson was transferred to Fairchild Air Force Base, about 12 miles away from Spokane, Washington, which Anderson spoke of as his hometown. He graduated from Cheney High School in Cheney, Washington, one of four African Americans in a class of 200 students.

In 1981, Anderson graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Washington in Seattle. In 1990, he earned a Master of Science degree in physics from Creighton University in Omaha.

Air Force career
Upon Anderson's graduation from the University of Washington, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. After completing a year of technical training at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, Anderson was assigned to Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. At Randolph, he served as chief of communication maintenance for the 2015th Communication Squadron and later as director of information system maintenance for the 1920th Information System Group.

In 1986, Anderson was selected to attend Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the 2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska as an EC-135 pilot, flying the Strategic Air Command's airborne command post code-named "Looking Glass." Anderson completed his master's degree while stationed at Offutt.

From January 1991 to September 1992, Anderson served as an aircraft commander and instructor pilot in the 920th Air Refueling Squadron, Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan.

From September 1992 to February 1995, Anderson was assigned as an instructor pilot and tactics officer in the 380th Air Refueling Wing, Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York.

Anderson logged more than 3,000 hours of flight time when NASA selected him for astronaut training in December 1994. He was one of 19 candidates selected from a pool of 2,962 applicants.

Special honors

 * Distinguished graduate, USAF Communication Electronics Officers course
 * The Armed Forces Communication Electronics Associations Academic Excellence Award
 * Undergraduate Pilot Training Academic Achievement Award for Class 87-08 Vance AFB

NASA
Anderson reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. He completed a year of training and evaluation, and was qualified for flight crew assignment as a mission specialist. Anderson was initially assigned technical duties in the Flight Support Branch of the Astronaut Office, but went on to log more than 593 hours in space aboard two Space Shuttle missions.

Endeavour
STS-89 Endeavour (January 22–31, 1998). Anderson was a mission specialist on STS-89, the eighth Shuttle-to-Mir Space Station docking mission, during which the crew delivered over 9,000 pounds of scientific equipment, logistical hardware, and water.

In the fifth and last exchange of a U.S. astronaut, STS-89 delivered Andy Thomas to Mir and returned with David Wolf. The mission's duration was 8 days, 19 hours, and 47 seconds, traveling 3.6 million miles in 138 orbits of the Earth.

Columbia

STS-107 Space Shuttle Columbia (January 16–February 1, 2003). Anderson served as payload commander and lieutenant colonel in charge of science experiments on the Columbia, NASA's oldest shuttle. On February 1, 2003, the shuttle was returning to Earth after a successful 16-day trip to orbit, where the crew had conducted more than 80 scientific experiments.

Unbeknownst to her crew, the orbiter had suffered critical damage during its launch on January 16, when foam from the fuel tank's insulation fell off and tore a hole in Columbia's left wing. During re-entry, the hole allowed super-hot atmospheric gases to penetrate the orbiter's wing, leading to its destruction. The mission's duration was 15 days, 22 hours, and 20 minutes.

Along with the rest of the STS-107 crew, Anderson was killed upon reentry when the shuttle disintegrated over Texas.

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board reported that, in addition to the Columbia's physical damage, NASA's management culture was partly responsible for the disaster.

Quotes
Prior to the final launch of the Columbia, Anderson told reporters: "There's always that unknown."

Personal life
Anderson had a wife, Sandra Hawkins, and two daughters, Kaycee and Sydney. He also had three sisters.

Anderson and his family lived in Houston at the time of his death, where they attended Grace Community Church. Anderson sang tenor in the church's choir.

Legacy and tributes

 * State Route 904, running through Cheney, Washington, where Anderson graduated from high school, was renamed in his memory.
 * The science and math wing of Cheney High School is dedicated to his memory.
 * Asteroid 51824 Mikeanderson was posthumously named after Anderson.
 * Anderson Hall, in the Columbia Village apartments at the Florida Institute of Technology is named after him.
 * Anderson Plaza, the green space in front of the Hixson-Lied Science Center at Creighton University was named after him in a compromise between the student body, who wanted the Science Center named for Anderson, and the administration who had already sold the naming rights to the Hixson-Lied family.
 * Blair Elementary School on Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington was renamed Michael Anderson Elementary School in January 2004. Anderson attended the school as a fifth-grader.
 * Avondale Elementary School in Avondale, Arizona was renamed Michael Anderson Elementary in his honor. He attended school there when he was in 3rd grade, and one of the school T-shirts was aboard the Columbia on its last voyage.
 * In 2003, Anderson was inducted into the International Forest of Friendship, in Atchison, KS as part of a memorial to the Columbia astronauts.
 * Anderson Park in Canton, Mississippi was dedicated in June 2004.
 * An outdoor bronze statue of Anderson was unveiled in Spokane in June 2005. Larger-than-life, it was created by local artist Dorothy Fowler, and shows Anderson kneeling with his helmet in one hand and a dove in the other.
 * A duplicate statue was dedicated at the Museum of Flight in Seattle in June 2009 and the museum launched an aerospace program in his honor.
 * An outdoor mural in the city of Plattsburgh was unveiled in October 2020 honoring Michael P. Anderson. On July 4, 2021, the city of Plattsburgh held a dedication for the mural, where the Anderson family was given a key to the city and lead the annual Independence Day parade.
 * Lunar crater M. Anderson is named after him.
 * The Creighton University Physics Department, from which Anderson received his master's degree, maintains a statue and physics scholarship in his honor.

title: Michael P. Anderson


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Strange Days (The Doors album)

Strange Days is the second studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on September 25, 1967 by Elektra Records, arriving eight months after their self-titled debut album. After the latter's successful release, the band started experimenting with both new and old material in early 1967 for their second record. Upon release, Strange Days reached number three on the US Billboard 200, and eventually earned a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It contains two Top 30 hit singles, "People Are Strange" and "Love Me Two Times".

Despite the album's failure to match the success of its predecessor, it was "arguably the one the band itself most appreciated musically and creatively", according to author David V. Moskowitz. Music journalist Stephen Davis considers Strange Days the best Doors album and "one of the great artifacts of the rock movement."

Recording and concept
Strange Days was recorded during tour breaks between May and August 1967 at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood (the same studio as their first LP). In contrast to the 1966 sessions, producer Paul A. Rothchild and engineer Bruce Botnick employed a then cutting-edge 8-track recording machine. The protracted sessions allowed the band to experiment in the studio and further augment their sound with unusual instrumentation and sonic manipulation. Botnick said that the Doors were determined to pursue "new techniques of recording. No holds barred."

Unlike The Doors, Strange Days incorporates various instruments, ranging from marimba to Moog synthesizer, which has been described as one of the first uses of the synth in rock music history. The contribution of the synthesizer was programmed with the help of Paul Beaver and played by lead singer Jim Morrison. Session musician Doug Lubahn occasionally played bass during the recording of the album.

The band explored musique concrète techniques during the album's recording sessions. While recording "Unhappy Girl" for example, keyboardist Ray Manzarek played his keyboard introduction backwards, and the corresponding overdubs were later made. On the track "Horse Latitudes", Botnick took the white noise of a tape recorder and varied the speed by hand-winding it (resulting in a sound akin to wind) as the four band members played a variety of instruments in unusual ways. Further varispeed was then employed to create different timbres and effects.

Composition
Strange Days has been described alternately by music critics as acid rock, psychedelic pop, psychedelic rock, or simply psychedelia; Barney Hoskyns labeled it as "post-psychedelic pop". Several of the album's songs had been written around the same time as the ones that appeared on The Doors. Two ("My Eyes Have Seen You" and "Moonlight Drive") had been demoed in 1965 at Trans World Pacific Studios before Robby Krieger joined the group; indeed, the latter had been conceived by Morrison prior to his fateful reunion with Manzarek in the summer of 1965. Although the song was attempted twice during the sessions for the band's debut, both versions were deemed unsatisfactory. A conventional blues arrangement, "Moonlight Drive" features a defining slightly off-beat rhythm and Krieger's bottleneck guitar, which create an eerie sound.

The LP's first single, "People Are Strange", was composed in early 1967 after Krieger, drummer John Densmore, and a depressed Morrison had walked to the top of Laurel Canyon. Densmore recalled the song's writing process in his book Riders on the Storm: Densmore and Krieger, who had then been roommates, were visited by a seemingly dejected Morrison. At the suggestion of Densmore, they took a walk along Laurel Canyon. Morrison returned from the walk "euphoric" with the early lyrics of "People Are Strange".

Although Morrison was the Doors' primary songwriter, Krieger wrote several of the group's hit singles, with his first composition being "Light My Fire". His bluesy "Love Me Two Times" was about a soldier/sailor on his last day with his girlfriend before shipping out, ostensibly to war. Manzarek said lyrically the song can be about "lust and loss, or multiple orgasms, I'm not sure which." Manzarek played the final version of this song on a harpsichord, which Manzarek described as "a most elegant instrument that one does not normally associate with rock and roll." It was edited to a 2:37 length and released as the second single (after "People Are Strange") from the album, and reached No. 25 on the charts in the US. Upon release, "Love Me Two Times" was considered to be somewhat risqué for radio airplay, and was banned in New Haven, Connecticut, for being "too controversial", much to the dismay of the band.

"Horse Latitudes" showcases Morrison's spoken-word poetry, who confirmed that he penned the poem during his high school years. However, Manzarek had mentioned that he never believed he wrote "Horse Latitudes" at such a young age, claiming the words were "too mature". The album concludes with the 11 minute-long epic, "When the Music's Over", whose keyboard part was inspired by Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man".

Release and packaging
Strange Days was released on September 25, 1967, by Elektra Records. Although the album was quite successful, reaching No. 3 in the United States during a sixty-three-week chart stay in November 1967, its impact was attenuated by the enduring success of the band's debut album, which remained in the Top Ten over ten months after its release during a 122-week stay. According to music journalist Stephen Davis, Strange Days also proved to be the Doors' "worst-selling album" in their career with Morrison.

The album cover of Strange Days, photographed by Joel Brodsky, depicts a group of street performers in New York. The location of the photograph is at Sniffen Court, a residential alley next to East 36th Street between Lexington and Third Avenue in Manhattan. Actual street performers could not be located for all of the designated roles, so Brodsky's assistant stood in as a juggler while a random cab driver was paid $5 to pose playing the trumpet. Twin dwarfs were hired, with one appearing on the front cover and the other appearing on the back cover, which is the other half of the same photo on the front cover. However, a group shot of the band does appear on a poster in the background of both covers, bearing captions of the band and album name. (The same photograph previously appeared on the back cover of the band's debut album.) Because of the subtlety of the artist and album title, most record stores put stickers across the cover to help customers identify it more clearly.

Critical reception
Apart from its lower commercial performance compared to The Doors, contemporary reviews for Strange Days were generally positive. Rolling Stone opined that the album "has all the power and energy of the first LP, but is more subtle, more intricate and much more effective" and argued that the "whole album, individual songs and especially the final track are constructed in the five parts of tragedy. Like Greek drama, you know when the music's over because there is catharsis." Gene Youngblood of L.A. Free Press wrote a glowing review, noting the Doors musical style as a "more surreal than psychedelic, it is more anguish than acid." Robert Christgau called the album "muscular but misshapen" in a May 1968 column for Esquire, but went on to write that the Doors had come "from nowhere to reign as America's heaviest group".

Retrospective reviews to the album have been equally favourable. In 2007, on the occasion of the release of the 40th anniversary edition, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine, argued that "while The Doors had more frequent, obvious peaks, the quirky Strange Days is a more ambitious, unified work. There are fewer filler tracks and each song carries as much weight as the one before and after it" and called it "a document of a sometimes beautiful, sometimes scary, and often twisted era of fear and idealism." It has also been ranked highly in lists; in 2012, the record was listed at No. 409 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and the same magazine included it on their 2007 list "The 40 Essential Albums of 1967". Strange Days was placed in the twentieth position on Ultimate Classic Rock's list of the "Top 25 Psychedelic Rock Albums", while Q magazine ranked it 35th on their respective list.

Some critics feel it does not quite match up to its predecessor. The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote, "With the exceptions of hard blues, 'Love Me Two Times,' and the rock tango, 'Moonlight Drive,' Strange Days didn't have the power of The Doors". In his retrospective AllMusic review of the album, Richie Unterberger notes, "Many of the songs on Strange Days had been written around the same time as the ones that appeared on The Doors, and with hindsight one has the sense that the best of the batch had already been cherry picked for the debut album. For that reason, the band's second effort isn't as consistently stunning as their debut," but he also expressed that overall "it's a very successful continuation of the themes of their classic album."

Strange Days and its songs influenced paintings by artist George Condo in 2023.

Original album
All tracks are written by the Doors (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore). Details are taken from the 1967 U.S. Elektra release; other releases may show different information.

Personnel
The liner notes for the 1967 U.S. Elektra album and the 2007 Rhino Records CD 40th Anniversary Edition liner notes with accompanying essays by Bruce Botnick and Barney Hoskyns may differ from other sources.

The Doors
 * Jim Morrison – vocals, Moog synthesizer on "Strange Days"
 * Ray Manzarek – keyboards, marimba, harpsichord on "Love Me Two Times"
 * Robby Krieger – guitar
 * John Densmore – drums

Additional musicians
 * Doug Lubahn – bass guitar (except on "Unhappy Girl", "Horse Latitudes" and "When the Music's Over")
 * Paul Beaver – Moog synthesizer programming on "Strange Days"

Technical
 * Paul A. Rothchild – production
 * Bruce Botnick – engineering
 * Joel Brodsky – cover photography
 * William S. Harvey – cover concept and art direction

Charts
Album

Singles

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Strange Days (The Doors album)


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Johann David Michaelis

Johann David Michaelis (27 February 1717 – 22 August 1791) was a German biblical scholar and teacher. He was member of a family that was committed to solid discipline in Hebrew and the cognate languages, which distinguished the University of Halle in the period of Pietism. He was a member of the Göttingen school of history.

Life and work
Michaelis was born on 27 February 1717 in Halle an der Saale. His Pietistic Lutheran family placed a great deal of importance in the study of Oriental languages in fulfilling the Church's goal. He was trained for academic life under his father's eye. At Halle he was influenced, especially in philosophy, by Siegmund J. Baumgarten (1706–1757), the link between the old Pietism and J. S. Semler, while he cultivated his strong taste for history under Chancellor Ludwig.

In 1739, he completed his doctoral dissertation, where he defended the antiquity and divine authority of the vowel points in Hebrew. His scholarship still moved along the old traditional lines, and he was also much exercised by certain religious scruples, with some seeing a conflict between his independent mind and that of submission to authority - encouraged by the Lutheranism in which he had been trained. He visited England and the Netherlands in 1741–1742. In Holland, he became acquainted with Albert Schultens, whose philological views would influence him. In 1745 he became an assistant professor (Privatdozent) of oriental languages at the Göttingen. In 1746 he became professor extraordinarius and in 1750 ordinarius. He remained in Göttingen until his death in 1791. From 1771-1785 he was editor of the Orientalische Und Exegetische Bibliothek.

One of his works was a translation of four parts of Samuel Richardson's Clarissa; and translations of some of the then current English paraphrases on biblical books showed his sympathy with a school which attracted him by its freer air. His Oriental studies were reshaped by reading Schultens; for the Halle school, with all its learning, had no conception of the principles on which a fruitful connection between Biblical and Oriental learning could be established. His linguistic work was hampered by the lack of manuscript material, which is felt in his philological writings, e.g., in his valuable Supplementa to the Hebrew lexicons (1784–1792). He could not become such an Arabist as J. J. Reiske; and, though for many years the most famous teacher of Semitic languages in Europe, neither his grammatical nor his critical work has left a permanent mark, with the exception perhaps of his text-critical studies on the Peshitta. He had a particular interest for history, antiquities, and especially geography and natural science. He had in fact started his university course as a medicinae cultor, and in his autobiography he half regrets that he did not choose the medical profession. In geography he found a field hardly touched since Samuel Bochart, in whose footsteps he followed in the Spicilegium geographiae hebraeorum exterae post Bochartum (1769–1780).

Michaelis inspired the famous Danish Arabia Expedition (1761–67), conducted by Carsten Niebuhr and Peter Forsskål. The cuneiform inscriptions Niebuhr brought back from the expedition were the basis for the earliest attempts made to decipher cuneiform. In spite of his doctrinal writings—which at the time made no little noise, so that his Compendium of Dogmatic (1760) was confiscated in Sweden, and the Knighthood of the Polar Star was afterwards given him in reparation—it was the natural side of the Bible that really attracted him. Michaelis arguably contributed the most in introducing the method of studying Hebrew antiquity as an integral part of ancient Eastern life. The personal character of Michaelis can be read between the lines of his autobiography with the aid of the other materials collected by J. M. Hassencamp (J. D. Michaelis Lebensbeschreibung, etc., 1793). The same volume contains a full list of his works. Besides those already mentioned it is sufficient to refer to his Introduction to the New Testament (the first edition, 1750, preceded the full development of his powers, and is a very different book from the later editions), his reprint of Robert Lowth's Praelectiones with important additions (1758–1762), his German translation of the Bible with notes (1773–1792), his Orientalische und exegetische Bibliothek (1775–1785) and Neue O. und E. Bib. (1786–1791), his Mosaisches Recht (1770–1771) (quite influenced by Montesquieu's L'esprit des lois of 1748) and his edition of Edmund Castell's Lexicon syriacum (1787–1788). His Litterarischer Briefwechsel (1794–1796) contains much that is interesting for the history of learning in his time.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1789.

Family

 * Michaelis' great uncle Johann Heinrich Michaelis (1668–1738) was the chief director of A.H. Francke's Collegium orientale theologicum, a practical school of Biblical and Oriental philology then quite unique, and the author of an annotated Hebrew Bible and various exegetical works of reputation, especially the Adnotationes uberiores in hagiographos (1720).
 * Michaelis' daughter Luise Michaelis was briefly engaged to Gothic writer and philosopher Carl Grosse.
 * In his chief publications J. H. Michaelis had as fellow-worker his sister's son Christian Benedikt Michaelis (1680–1764), the father of Johann David, who was likewise influential as professor at the University of Halle, and a sound scholar, especially in Syriac.
 * Michaelis' daughter Caroline played an important role in early German Romanticism as the wife of critic August Wilhelm von Schlegel and later of philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling.

title: Johann David Michaelis


text:
Israeli Air Force

The Israeli Air Force (IAF; זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as, Kheil HaAvir, "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. , Aluf Tomer Bar has been serving as the Air Force commander.

The Israeli Air Force was established using commandeered or donated civilian aircraft and obsolete and surplus World War II combat aircraft. Eventually, more aircraft were procured, including Boeing B-17s, Bristol Beaufighters, de Havilland Mosquitoes and P-51D Mustangs. The Israeli Air Force played an important part in Operation Kadesh, Israel's part in the 1956 Suez Crisis, dropping paratroopers at the Mitla Pass. On June 5, 1967, the first day of the Six-Day War, the Israeli Air Force performed Operation Focus, debilitating the opposing Arab air forces and attaining air supremacy for the remainder of the war.

Shortly after the end of the Six-Day War, Egypt initiated the War of Attrition, and the Israeli Air Force performed repeated bombings of strategic targets deep within enemy territory. When the Yom Kippur War broke out on October 6, 1973, Egyptian and Syrian advances forced the IAF to abandon detailed plans for the destruction of enemy air defences. Forced to operate under the missile and anti-aircraft artillery threats, the close air support it provided allowed Israeli troops on the ground to stem the tide and eventually go on the offensive.

Since that war most of Israel's military aircraft have been obtained from the United States. Among these are the A-4 Skyhawk, F-4 Phantom II, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-35 Lightning II. The Israeli Air Force has operated a number of domestically produced types such as the IAI Nesher, and later, the more advanced IAI Kfir. On June 7, 1981, eight IAF F-16s covered by six F-15s carried out Operation Opera to destroy the Iraqi nuclear facilities at Osiraq. On June 9, 1982, the Israeli Air Force carried out Operation Mole Cricket 19, crippling Syrian air defences in Lebanon. On October 1, 1985, In response to a PLO terrorist attack which murdered three Israeli civilians in Cyprus, the Israeli air force carried out Operation Wooden Leg, bombing the PLO Headquarters in Tunis. In 1991, the IAF carried out Operation Solomon which brought Ethiopian Jews to Israel. In 1993 and 1996, the IAF participated in Operation Accountability and Operation Grapes of Wrath, respectively. It has taken part in many operations since, including the 2006 Lebanon War, Operation Cast Lead, Operation Pillar of Cloud, Operation Protective Edge, Operation Guardian of the Walls and Operation Swords of Iron. On September 6, 2007, the Israeli Air Force successfully bombed an alleged Syrian nuclear reactor in Operation Orchard.

Mission statement
The Israeli Air Force states the following as its functions:
 * 1) To protect the State of Israel from aerial attack and to defend the IDF's zone of operations
 * 2) To achieve air supremacy throughout the IDF's zone of operation
 * 3) To participate in the fighting on both ground and sea
 * 4) To hit targets deep in enemy territory
 * 5) To create the aerial intelligence picture and participate in the creation of the general intelligence picture and its assessment
 * 6) To transport troops, equipment and weapons systems
 * 7) To carry out search, rescue and aerial evacuation missions
 * 8) To execute special operations
 * 9) To continually build and improve itself, as part of the general plan for improving the IDF and in accordance with the authority vested in it

Insignia
The insignia / roundel of the Israeli Air Force consists of a blue Star of David on a white circle. Aircraft usually carry it painted in six positions – on the top and bottom of each wing, and on each side of the fuselage. A low-visibility variant – a blue Star of David without the white circle – exists, although its use is extremely rare. Squadron markings usually go on the tail fin.

Early years (1948–1967)
Forerunners of the Israeli Air Force were the Palestine Flying Service established by the Irgun in 1937, and Sherut Avir, the air wing of the Haganah. The Israeli Air Force formed on May 28, 1948, shortly after Israel declared statehood and found itself under attack. The force consisted of a hodge-podge of commandeered or donated civilian aircraft converted to military use. A variety of obsolete and surplus ex-World War II combat-aircraft were quickly sourced by various means to supplement this fleet. The backbone of the IAF consisted of 25 Avia S-199s purchased from Czechoslovakia, essentially Czechoslovak-built Messerschmitt Bf 109s, and 60 Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IXEs, the first of which, "Israel 1", was locally assembled from British abandoned spare parts and a salvaged engine from an Egyptian Air Force Spitfire, with most of the rest purchased from Czechoslovakia.

Creativity and resourcefulness were the foundations of early Israeli military success in the air, rather than technology, which, at the inception of the IAF, was generally inferior to that used by Israel's adversaries. The majority, 15 out of the first 18 pilots in 101 Squadron (Israel), of the IAF's first military-grade pilots in 1948 were foreign volunteers, both Jewish and non-Jewish, mainly World War II veterans who wanted to collaborate with Israel's struggle for independence. The rest of the military-grade pilots were Israeli WWII veterans. Pilots from Sherut Avir were mainly locals who flew light civilian aircraft for supply, reconnaissance, and makeshift ground attack with hand-thrown light bombs and hand fired light machine guns.

Israel's new fighter-arm first went into action on May 29, 1948, assisting efforts to halt the Egyptian advance from Gaza northwards. Four newly arrived Avia S-199s, flown by Lou Lenart, Modi Alon, Ezer Weizman and Eddie Cohen, struck Egyptian forces near Ashdod. Although damage to the enemy was minimal, two aircraft were lost and Cohen killed. The attack achieved its goal and stopped the Egyptians.

On May 30, after un-assembled planes were strafed on the ground at Ekron airfield, the fighters were moved to makeshift strip located around the current Herzliya Airport. The airfield was used as it was a bit back from the front-lines, and was clandestine since it was a purpose built strip, that was constructed after the beginning of hostilities, in between the orange orchards around Herzliya, and did not appear on published maps. The Israeli Air Force scored its first aerial victories on June 3 when Modi Alon, flying Avia D.112, shot down two Egyptian Air Force DC-3s which had just bombed Tel Aviv. The first dogfight against enemy fighters took place a few days later, on June 8, when Gideon Lichtaman shot down an Egyptian Spitfire.

During these initial operations, the squadron operated with a few planes versus almost complete Arab theater air supremacy. The airplanes were parked dispersed between the orange trees. The fighters were moved in October to Hatzor Airbase from the Herzliya strip due to its unsuitability in rainy conditions, probable loss of clandestine status, moving front lines which made former British bases safe for use, and a shift in the balance of air superiority towards the Israelis.

As the war progressed Israel procured more aircraft, including Boeing B-17s, Bristol Beaufighters, de Havilland Mosquitoes and P-51D Mustangs, leading to a shift in the balance of power.

Suez Crisis (1956)
The Israeli Air Force played an important part in Operation Kadesh, Israel's part in the 1956 Suez Crisis. At the launch of the operation, on October 29, Israeli P-51D Mustangs, some using their propeller blades, severed telephone lines in the Sinai. 16 IAF DC-3s – escorted by fighters – dropped Israeli paratroopers behind Egyptian lines at the Mitla Pass and Et-Tur. The Israeli Air Force conducted attacks on Egyptian ground units and assisted the Israeli Navy in capturing the Egyptian Navy destroyer Ibrahim el Awal, which had bombarded the Israeli city of Haifa – an airstrike damaged the Egyptian ship's engines, enabling Israeli ships to reach it and capture it.

Six-Day War (1967)
In three hours on the morning of June 5, 1967, the first day of the Six-Day War, the Israeli Air Force executed Operation Focus, crippling the opposing Arab air forces and attaining air supremacy for the remainder of the war. In a surprise attack, the IAF destroyed most of the Egyptian Air Force while its planes were still on the ground. By the end of the day, with surrounding Arab countries drawn into the fighting, the IAF had mauled the Syrian and Jordanian air forces, striking as far as Iraq. After six days of fighting, Israel claimed a total of 452 Arab aircraft destroyed, of which 49 were aerial victories.

After the IAF's impressive performance in the Six-Day War, the Lyndon Johnson administration decided to sell F-4 Phantom fighters to Israel in 1968, marking the first sale of American military equipment to Israel.

War of Attrition
Shortly after the end of the Six-Day War, Egypt initiated the War of Attrition, hoping to prevent Israel from consolidating its hold over the lands captured in 1967. Israel's goal in the fighting was to exact heavy losses on the opposing side, in order to facilitate a ceasefire. The Israeli Air Force undertook repeated bombings of strategic targets deep within enemy territory and repeatedly challenged Arab air forces for aerial supremacy, while supporting operations by Israel's ground and naval forces.

In late 1969 the Soviet Union began to deploy fighter aircraft units and surface-to-air missile units to Egypt. The Soviet surface-to-air missile units soon joined their Egyptian allies in direct confrontations with Israeli aircraft. Soviet fighters conducted patrols, but Israeli pilots were ordered not to engage them. On July 30, 1970, the tension peaked: An IAF ambush resulted in a large scale air brawl between IAF planes and MiGs flown by Soviet pilots—five MiGs were shot down, while the IAF suffered no losses.

Fear of further escalation and superpower involvement brought the war to a conclusion. By the end of August 1970, the Israeli Air Force had claimed 111 aerial kills while reporting losing only four aircraft to Arab fighters. Egyptian and Soviet forces claimed to shoot down approximately 20 Israeli Air Force planes with surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery units.

Yom Kippur War (1973)
On October 6, 1973, with war imminent, the IAF began preparing for a pre-emptive strike against Egyptian and Syrian airfields and anti-aircraft positions. The Israeli government decided against pre-emption. IAF aircraft were therefore in the process of re-armament to the air-to-air role when Yom Kippur War hostilities began at 14:00. The next morning began with Operation Tagar, a SEAD offensive against Egyptian air defences, beginning with strikes against Egyptian air bases. Tagar was quickly discontinued when the dire situation on the Golan Heights became apparent.

IAF efforts were redirected north, where the ill-fated Operation Model 5 was carried out. Flying with outdated intelligence and no electronic screening against mobile SAM batteries and heavy flak, 6 IAF Phantoms were lost. The sustained campaign required to defeat enemy air defences was abandoned in the face of Egyptian and Syrian advances and the IAF was forced to operate under the SAM threat. Nevertheless, the close air support it provided allowed Israeli troops on the ground to stem the tide and eventually go on the offensive, first in the north and later in the south.

After the failure of the Israeli counter-offensive in the Sinai on October 8, the southern front remained relatively static and the IAF focused its attention on the Syrian front. While A-4 Skyhawks provided much needed support to troops on the ground, at the cost of 31 aircraft by the end of fourth day of the war, IAF Phantoms repeatedly struck Syrian air fields. Following Syrian FROG-7 strikes on military and civilian targets in northern Israel, the IAF initiated a campaign to destroy the infrastructure on which Syria's war-making capacity depended, targeting strategic targets in Syria such as its oil industry and electricity generating system. By October 13 the Syrians had been pushed back and beyond their initial lines, Damascus had come within range of Israeli artillery and an Iraqi armored brigade, the vanguard of its expeditionary force, was destroyed.

On October 14 the Egyptian army launched an offensive along the entire front but was repulsed by the IDF. Israel followed on this success by attacking at the seam between the 2nd and 3rd Egyptian armies and crossing the Suez Canal into Egypt. Israeli forces fanned north and south, destroying Egyptian rear units and punching holes through its air defence array. This allowed the IAF the freedom of action it was previously denied and renewed attacks led to the collapse of the Egyptian Air Defence Force. This prompted increased diplomatic activity to resolve the war, coupled with increased activity by the Egyptian Air Force. From about October 18 to the end of the war, intensive air battles took place between Israeli and Egyptian aircraft.

Official Israeli Air Force losses of the Yom Kippur War were 102 aircraft, including 32 F-4 Phantoms, 53 A-4 Skyhawks, 11 Dassault Mirages, and 6 IAI Sa'ars, although other accounts suggest as many as 128 Israeli aircraft were lost. 91 air force personnel, of which 53 were airmen, were killed. 172 Egyptian aircraft were shot down in air-to-air combat, for a loss of between 5 and 21 for the Israelis, on all fronts. No official numbers were released on the Arab side, though total Egyptian losses were between 235 and 242 aircraft. Syria lost between 135 and 179.

Expansion (1973–1982)
Since the war, most of Israel's military aircraft have been obtained from the United States. Among these are the F-4 Phantom II, A-4 Skyhawk, F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. The Israeli Air Force has operated a number of domestically produced types such as the IAI Nesher, and later, the more advanced IAI Kfir, which were derivatives of the French Dassault Mirage 5. The Kfir was adapted to utilize a more powerful U.S. engine, produced under license in Israel. On July 4, 1976, four Israeli C-130 Hercules transport aircraft secretly flew to Entebbe Airport for a rescue operation. In March 1978, the Israeli Air Force participated in Operation Litani.

On June 7, 1981, eight IAF F-16A fighters covered by six F-15A jets carried out Operation Opera to destroy the Iraqi nuclear facilities at Osiraq. Among the pilots who took part in the attack was Ilan Ramon, later Israel's first astronaut.

1982 Lebanon War and aftermath
Prior to the 1982 Lebanon War, Syria, with the help of the Soviet Union, had built up an overlapping network of surface-to-air missiles in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley. On June 9, 1982, the IAF carried out Operation Mole Cricket 19, crippling the Syrian air defence array. In subsequent aerial battles against the Syrian Air Force, the IAF managed to shoot down 86 Syrian aircraft without losing a single fighter plane in an air-to-air combat. IAF AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships destroyed dozens of Syrian armored fighting vehicles and other ground targets, including some T-72 main battle tanks.

In the decades since the war's official conclusion (including the conflict that followed), the IAF has regularly conducted air strikes against targets in Southern Lebanon, namely Hezbollah positions.

On October 1, 1985, In response to a terrorist attack in Cyprus, in which three Israeli civilians were murdered by the PLO, the IAF carried out Operation Wooden Leg. The strike involved the bombing of the PLO Headquarters near Tunis, by 8 F-15B/D Eagle Baz. This was the longest combat mission ever undertaken by the IAF, a stretch of 2,300 kilometers, involving in-flight refueling by 2 Boeing 707 tankers and resulting in the destruction or damage of the targets.

1990s and beyond
Many of the IAF's electronics and weapons systems are developed and built in Israel by Israel Military Industries, Israel Aerospace Industries, Elbit, and others. Since the 1990s, the IAF has upgraded most of its aircraft with advanced Israeli-made systems, improving their performances. In 1990 the IAF began receiving the AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship and started equipping its aircraft with the Rafael Python 4, Popeye, and Derby missiles. During the first Gulf War of 1991, Israel was attacked by Iraqi Scud missiles. Israeli Air Force pilots were on constant stand-by in their cockpits throughout the conflict, ready to fly to Iraq to retaliate. Diplomatic pressure as well as denial of IFF transponder codes from the United States, kept the IAF grounded. Coalition air assets and Patriot missile batteries supplied by the US and the Netherlands sought to deal with the Scuds.

In 1991, the IAF carried out Operation Solomon which brought Ethiopian Jews to Israel. In 1993 and 1996, the IAF participated in Operation Accountability and Operation Grapes of Wrath, respectively. In the late 1990s, the IAF began acquiring the F-15I Ra'am (Thunder) and the F-16I Sufa (Storm), manufactured specially for Israel according to IAF requirements. The first of 102 F-16I Sufas arrived in April 2004, joining an F-16 fleet that had already been the largest outside the US Air Force. The IAF also purchased the advanced Israeli air-to-air missile Rafael Python 5, with full-sphere capability, as well as a special version of the Apache Longbow, designated AH-64DI or Saraph. In 2005 the Israeli Air Force received modified Gulfstream V jets ("Nachshon"), equipped with advanced intelligence systems made by Israel Military Industries. By 2013 Israel became the world's largest exporter of drones. In December 2016, Israel received its first pair of F-35 Lightning II from the United States.

Three months after the assassination of the leader of Hizbullah, Abbas al-Musawi, the IAF launched an offensive across South Lebanon with five air raids in six days. Some of the targets struck were as far north as Baalbek. On the final day, 26 May 1992, there were more than 40 missile strikes. Over 20 civilians were killed during the attacks.

The Israeli Air Force took an extensive part in IDF operations during the al-Aqsa Intifada, including the controversial targeted killings of Palestinian terrorist leaders, most notably Salah Shakhade, Ahmed Yassin and Abed al-Aziz Rantissi. While this policy was criticized due to the collateral damage caused in certain instances, Israel claims it is vital in its fight against terrorism and that IAF pilots do whatever they can to avoid civilian casualties, including aborting strikes. In 2007, Israel achieved a civilian casualty ratio of 1:30, or one civilian casualty for every thirty combatant casualties, in its airstrikes on militants in the Palestinian territories. Alan Dershowitz noted that "No army in history has ever had a better ratio of combatants to civilians killed in a comparable setting".

On October 5, 2003, the Israeli Air Force attacked an alleged Palestinian militant training camp in Ain es Saheb, Syria. A reaction to an earlier suicide bombing in Haifa, this was the first overt Israeli military operation in Syria since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

2006 Lebanon War
The IAF played a critical role in the 2006 Lebanon War. IAF strikes—mainly, though not exclusively, in southern Lebanon—were aimed at stopping rocket launches by Hezbollah's militia targeting Israeli towns. The IAF flew more than 12,000 combat missions during this war. The most notable, taking place during the second day of the war, resulted in the IAF destroying 59 Iranian-supplied medium- and long-range missile launchers in just 34 minutes.

Widespread condemnation followed the July 30 IAF airstrike on a building suspected to be a militant hideout near the village of Qana, in which 28 civilians were killed. Hezbollah shot down an IAF CH-53 Yas'ur helicopter on the last day of the war, killing five crew members. Israeli aircraft shot down three of Hezbollah's Iranian-made aerial drones during the conflict.

2007 Operation Outside the Box
In the 2007 Operation Outside the Box, the Israeli Air Force attacked a suspected Syrian nuclear weapons site. The IAF used electronic warfare (EW) system to take neutralize Syria's air defenses, feeding them a false sky-picture while IAF jets crossed much of Syria, bombed their targets and returned to Israel unchallenged.

Against Hamas
Since Hamas' takeover of Gaza in 2007, the Israeli Air Force has taken part in repeated bouts of violence between Israel and the Hamas-held Gaza Strip. In December 2008, the IAF spearheaded Operation Cast Lead, carrying out more than 2,360 air strikes. It had a principal role in destroying Hamas targets, and killed several senior Hamas commanders, including Said Seyam, Nizar Rayan, Tawfik Jaber, and Abu Zakaria al-Jamal.

According to a CBS news report, in January 2009 Israeli planes struck a convoy of trucks in Sudan headed for Egypt and carrying weapons apparently meant for the Gaza Strip. Seventeen trucks were bombed, and thirty-nine smugglers were killed in the strike. On April 5, 2011, a car driving from Port Sudan Airport to Port Sudan was destroyed by a missile. Both passengers were killed. one of whom may have been a senior Hamas military commander. The Sudanese Foreign Minister blamed the attack on Israel. Sudanese newspapers reported that Israeli aircraft attacked Gaza-bound arms convoys again in late 2011. On October 24, 2012, Sudan claimed that Israel had bombed a munitions factory south of Khartoum.

The Israeli Air Force also operates surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery units. Since 1990 their primary role has been the interception of surface-to-surface missiles and rockets fired into Israel. In 2011 the IAF began operating the 'Iron Dome' anti-rocket missile system, which within a year had successfully intercepted and destroyed 93 rockets fired at Israeli towns from Gaza.

In November 2012, the IAF participated in Operation Pillar of Defense, during which, according to the IDF Spokesperson, Israeli forces targeted more than 1,500 military sites in Gaza Strip, including rocket launching pads, smuggling tunnels, command centers, and weapons manufacturing and storage facilities. Many of these attacks were carried out by the Air Force.

Between July 8 and August 5, 2014, the IAF participated in Operation Protective Edge, during which, according to the IDF Spokesperson, Israeli forces targeted 4,762 terror sites across the Gaza Strip, including rocket launching sites, command and control centers, military administration facilities, weapons storage and manufacturing facilities and training and military compounds.

In May 2021, Israeli artillery and air force carried out 1,500 strikes on Gaza during Operation Guardian of the Walls. Starting in October 2023, the Israeli Air Force fulfilled a main role in the war against Hamas.

Incidents during the Syrian Civil War
The civil war raging within Israel's northern neighbor, has occasionally witnessed activity by the IAF, some overt, some unacknowledged and some merely attributed. Notable actions include:
 * The downing of a Syrian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 on September 23, 2014: The aircraft was shot down by an IAF MIM-104 Patriot air defense battery, after allegedly crossing the Syrian-Israeli ceasefire line during a ground attack mission against Syrian opposition forces.
 * On August 20 and 21, 2015, after four rockets hit the Golan Heights and Upper Galilee, Israel launched airstrikes in Syria, killing several militants.
 * The March 2017 Israeli airstrikes in Syria: On March 17, 2017, Israeli jet fighters attacked targets in Syria. Several S-200 missiles were fired at the jets, and one missile was shot down by an Arrow 2 missile; no aircraft were damaged.  The incident was the first clearly confirmed Israeli strike on Syrian territory during the Syrian Civil War.
 * On February 10, 2018, an Israeli AH-64 shot down an Iranian drone that entered Israel. 4 Israeli F-16's launched a strike into Syria while remaining in Israeli airspace, reportedly to strike Iranian drone control facilities, conducting a cross-border raid. One of the F-16s was shot down by Syrian surface to air missiles and crashed in northern Israel, the first Israeli jet to be shot down in combat since 1982. Both pilots managed to eject in Israeli territory. The pilots were injured but walked out of hospital around a week later. Israel subsequently attacked Syrian air defenses and Iranian targets.
 * On May 10, 2018, after Iranian elite forces on the Syrian-held side of the Golan Heights fired around 20 rockets towards Israeli army positions without causing damages or injuries, Israel responded with rounds of rocket fire into Syria. The Israeli Air Force confirmed the strikes. Twenty-three fighters, among them 18 foreigners, were killed. IAF commander Amikam Norkin said Israel used its F-35 stealth fighters for the first time.
 * On September 17, 2018, Syrian media reported several explosions over the city of Latakia after allegedly intercepting missiles fired from the Mediterranean Sea. Israel assumed responsibility for the attack on Latakia, following the shoot down of a Russian reconnaissance plane by Syrian air defense systems. SANA news agency claimed ten people were injured by the Israeli attack. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported two Syrian soldiers died, while 113 Iranian soldiers have been killed during the past month as a result of Israeli strikes in Syria.

Administrative organization

 * Chief of Air Staff Group
 * Fixed Wing Group
 * Helicopter Group
 * Intelligence Group

 * Equipment Group

 * Manpower Group
 * Chief Medical Officer

 * Unit Control Group
 * Air Special Forces Group
 * Shaldag – air force special operations unit
 * Unit 669 – medevac extraction unit
 * Air Defense Command
 * Northern Air Defense Regiment
 * Central Air Defense Regiment
 * Southern Air Defense Regiment (including Air Defense School)

Operational organization

 * Ramat David Airbase (Wing 1)
 * 101 "First Fighter" Squadron
 * 105 "Scorpion" Squadron
 * 109 "Valley" Squadron
 * 157 "Squadron in the valley"
 * 160 "Shadow Hunters" Squadron
 * 193 "Defenders of the West" Squadron
 * Sdot Micha Airbase (Wing 2)
 * 150 Squadron
 * 199 Squadron
 * 248 Squadron
 * Hatzor Airbase (Wing 4)
 * 100 "Flying Camel" Squadron
 * 144 "Phoenix" Squadron
 * 200 "First UAV" Squadron
 * Hatzerim Airbase (Air Force Base 6)
 * 69 "Hammers" Squadron
 * 102 "Flying Tiger" Squadron
 * IAF Aerobatic Team
 * 107 "Knights of the Orange Tail" Squadron
 * Air Force Infantry School
 * Tel Nof Airbase (Air Force Base 8)
 * 106 "Spearhead" Squadron
 * 118 "Night Riders" Squadron
 * 133 "Knight of the Twin Tail" Squadron
 * 210 "White Eagle" Squadron
 * 601 Squadron (Flight Test Center)
 * Unit 555 "Sky Crows" (electronic warfare unit)
 * Ovda Airbase (Air Force Base 10)RamatDavid 020517 Lavi 01.jpg
 * 115 "Flying Dragon" Squadron
 * Aviation Professions School
 * Air Force Officers School
 * Haifa Airbase (Air Force Base 21)
 * Technical Professions School
 * IAF Technological College
 * Ramon Airbase (Wing 25)
 * 113 "Hornet" Squadron
 * 119 "Bat" Squadron
 * 190 "Magic Touch" Squadron
 * 201 "The One" Squadron
 * 253 "Negev" Squadron
 * Nevatim Airbase (Air Force Base 28)
 * 103 "Elephants" Squadron
 * 116 "Lions of the South" Squadron
 * 117 "First Jet" Squadron
 * 120 "Desert Giants" SquadronIAI Heron( framed).jpg
 * 122 "Nahshon" Squadron
 * 131 "Knights of the Yellow Bird" Squadron
 * 140 "Golden Eagle" Squadron
 * Palmachim Airbase (Air Force Base 30)
 * 123 "Desert Birds" Squadron
 * 124 "Rolling Sword" Squadron
 * 147 "Goring Ram" Squadron
 * 151 Squadron (Missile Testing Squadron)
 * 161 "Black Snake" Squadron
 * 166 "Spark" Squadron

Pilot selection and training

Thirty nine Israeli pilots have been credited with ace status, having shot down at least 5 enemy aircraft. Of these, 10 have shot down at least eight jet planes. The top ranking Israeli ace is Colonel Giora Epstein, who shot down seventeen enemy planes. Epstein holds the world record for jet aircraft shot down, and the most aircraft of any type shot down since the Korean War.

Israel Defence Forces had until 1995 denied women the opportunity to become pilots. In 1995, civilian pilot and aeronautical engineer Alice Miller successfully petitioned the Israel High Court of Justice to take the Israeli Air Force pilot training exams, after being rejected on grounds of gender. The court in 1996 eventually ruled that the IAF could not exclude qualified women from pilot training. Even though Miller would not pass the exams, the ruling was a watershed, opening doors for women in new IDF roles. After the prohibition had been lifted, the first female graduate was F-16 navigator "Shari" in 1998, followed three years later by Roni Zuckerman, the first female jet fighter pilot in IAF history.

Ranks
IAF ranks are identical to other Israel Defense Forces ranks. The rank insignia are identical except for the use of silver against a dark blue background. The service's most senior-ranking active officer is the air force commander, which is the billet of a major general (aluf), and reports directly to the IDF Chief of Staff.

title: Israeli Air Force


text:
David Brown

David or Dave Brown may refer to:

Arts and entertainment

 * David Brown (British artist), British painter
 * David Robertson Brown (1869–1946), Canadian architect
 * David Brown (American artist), American visual artist based in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, active since 2004
 * Dave Brown (cartoonist) (born 1957), British cartoonist for The Independent in the UK
 * David Brown (producer) (1916–2010), American movie producer
 * Dave Brown (comedian) (born 1973), British actor and comedian
 * David Brown (radio host), American lawyer, radio personality and journalist
 * David Jay Brown (born 1961), American writer, interviewer, and consciousness researcher
 * David W. Brown, American author
 * David Brown, animator who serves as a main artist for the rhythm game Friday Night Funkin'

Business

 * David Brown (1734–1804), Scottish-Danish merchant and shipowner
 * David Brown (entrepreneur) (1904–1993), British entrepreneur (David Brown & Sons, Aston Martin, Vosper Thorneycroft)

Music

 * David Arthur Brown (born 1967), American vocalist and songwriter
 * David Brown (American musician) (1947–2000), American musician, bass player with Santana, 1966–1976
 * David Brown (Australian musician) (born 1956), Australian musician, active since 1978
 * David Brown (British musician) (born 1987), better known as Boyinaband, YouTube personality and musician
 * David Brown (double-bassist), American double-bassist with Rising Appalachia
 * David Brown, American guitarist with Billy Joel
 * David Brown, vocalist with Canadian band The New Cities
 * David Darnell Brown (born 1981), birth name of Young Buck, American Southern rapper
 * David Debrandon Brown (born 1985), singer/songwriter & American Idol season 4] semifinalist, a.k.a. pseudonym Lucky Daye

Politics and law

 * David Brown (Canadian politician) (born 1990), Ottawa city councillor
 * Dave Brown (Montana politician) (1948–1998), member of the Montana House of Representatives
 * Dave Brown (Minnesota politician) (born 1961), member of the Minnesota Senate
 * David Brown, mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia in 2004–2008
 * David Brown (Massachusetts protester) (1740–1812), convicted of sedition because of his criticism of the United States federal government
 * David Brown (police officer) (born 1960), superintendent of the Chicago Police Department 2020–2023
 * David Paul Brown, convicted kidnapper and child sexual assaulter, who changed his name to Nathaniel Bar-Jonah (1957–2008)

Religion

 * David Brown (East India Company chaplain) (1762–1812), English chaplain in Bengal
 * David Brown (Free Church of Scotland) (1803–1897), Scottish professor of theology at the University of Aberdeen
 * David Brown (bishop) (David Allan Brown, 1922–1982), Bishop of Guildford 1973–1982
 * David Brown (theologian) (David William Brown, born 1948), Scottish professor of theology, aesthetics, and culture, University of St. Andrews

Science

 * David Alexander Brown (1916–2009), Australian geologist
 * Dave Brown (meteorologist) (born 1946), American meteorologist at WMC-TV and former professional wrestling commentator
 * David Brown (meteorologist) (born 1959), Australian meteorologist
 * David R. Brown (neuroscientist) (born 1964), Australian-born research scientist
 * David Brown (geneticist) (born 1968), American geneticist
 * David J. Brown (computer scientist) (born 1957), American computer scientist
 * David R. Brown (engineer) (1923–2016), American computer scientist
 * David Brown (pharmacology professor) (1936 - 2023), English professor of pharmacology
 * David F. M. Brown, American physician

American football

 * Dave Brown (cornerback) (1953–2006), NFL cornerback
 * Dave Brown (quarterback) (born 1970), NFL quarterback for New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals, 1992–2001

Association football

 * Davey Brown (1898–1970), American soccer player
 * David Brown (footballer, born 1887) (1887–1970), Scottish striker for numerous clubs
 * David Brown (footballer, born 1889) (1889–?), Scottish footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur and Greenock Morton
 * David Brown (footballer, born 1963), defender for Tranmere Rovers
 * David Brown (footballer, born 1978), striker who plays for Wrexham Football Club
 * David Brown (footballer, born 1989), striker who plays for Bradford Park Avenue
 * David C. Brown, English footballer who played for Burnley in 1896–1897

Australian rules football

 * David Brown (footballer, born 1946), Australian rules footballer for Geelong
 * David Brown (footballer, born 1967), Australian rules footballer for Sydney Swans
 * David Brown (footballer, born 1969), Australian rules footballer for Adelaide and Port Adelaide

Cricket

 * David Brown (cricketer, born 1900) (1900–1951), Scottish cricketer
 * David Brown (Scottish cricketer) (1941–2011), Scottish cricketer
 * David J. Brown (cricketer) (born 1942), English Test cricketer
 * David W. J. Brown (1942–2021), English cricketer
 * David Owen Brown (born 1982), English cricketer

Ice hockey

 * Dave Brown (ice hockey) (born 1962), NHL ice hockey right winger
 * David Brown (ice hockey) (born 1985), Canadian ice hockey goaltender from Ontario

Rugby league

 * Dave Brown (rugby), rugby league and rugby union player in Australia
 * Dave Brown (rugby league, born 1913) (1913–1974), Australian rugby league footballer
 * Dave Brown (rugby league, born 1940), Australian rugby league footballer of the 1960s
 * Dave Brown (rugby league, born 1957), Australian rugby league footballer

Other sports

 * Dave Brown (baseball) (1895–?), Negro league baseball player
 * Dave Brown (basketball) (1933–2009), former basketball coach
 * David Brown (Canadian football) (born 1994), Canadian football offensive lineman
 * David Brown (golfer) (1861–1936), Scottish golfer
 * David Brown (rower, born 1928) (1928–2004), American rower and Olympic gold medalist
 * David Brown (rugby union) (1908–1983), Scottish rugby union player
 * David Brown (ski jumper) (born 1965), Canadian ski jumper
 * David Edward Brown (1858–?), British rower
 * David Brown (parathlete) (born 1992), American Paralympic champion
 * Dave Brown (bowls) (1939–2007), Canadian lawn bowler

Other people

 * David Brown (musicologist) (1929–2014), English musicologist, Tchaikovsky specialist
 * David R. Brown (graphic designer), American graphic designer and academic administrator
 * David S. Brown (born 1966), American historian
 * David K. Brown (1928–2008), British naval architect, author, and historian
 * David Tilden Brown (1823–1889), American psychiatrist
 * David Brown (Royal Navy officer) (1927–2005), British admiral
 * David M. Brown (1956–2003), American astronaut
 * David Brown (Scottish Jew), the first Jew known to have lived in Edinburgh in 1691
 * David Brown (translator) (c. 1806–1829), Cherokee translator and clergyman

Fictional characters

 * David Brown (Emmerdale), a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale

Businesses

 * David Brown Automotive (founded 2013), a British manufacturer of limited edition automobiles
 * David Brown Mini Remastered (2017–present), a city car produced by the British car manufacturer
 * David Brown Speedback (2014–present), a grand tourer produced by the British car manufacturer
 * David Brown Ltd. (founded 1860), an English engineering company

title: David Brown


text:
Michael Anderson

Michael Anderson may refer to:

Sport

 * Michael Anderson Pereira da Silva (born 1983), Brazilian footballer better known simply as Michael
 * Michael Anderson (basketball) (born 1966), American basketball player
 * Michael Anderson (cricketer, born 1960), cricketer for Northumberland
 * Michael Anderson (cricketer, born 1916) (1916–1940), first-class cricketer
 * Michael Anderson (swimmer) (born 1987), Australian Paralympian
 * Mikey Anderson (born 1999), American ice hockey player

Music

 * Michael Anderson (Building 429 drummer), Christian rock band drummer
 * Michael Anderson (Altered Images drummer), Scottish New Wave/post-punk band drummer

Other

 * Ghillar Michael Anderson (born 1951), Australian Aboriginal elder, namesake of asteroid 10040 Ghillar
 * Michael Anderson Jr. (born 1943), British actor, son of Michael Anderson (director)
 * Michael T. Anderson (born 1950), American mathematician
 * Michael Anderson (director) (1920–2018), British film director
 * Michael J. Anderson (born 1953), American actor, small person
 * Michael John Anderson (born 1988), convicted of murder in 2009
 * Michael P. Anderson (1959–2003), African-American astronaut killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003
 * Michael Anderson (historian) (born 1942), economic historian

title: Michael Anderson


text:
Albert Schultens

Albert Schultens (1686 – 26 January 1750) was a Dutch philologist.

Biography
He was born at Groningen, where he studied for the church. He went on to the University of Leiden, applying himself specially to Hebrew and the cognate tongues. His thesis Dissertatio theologico-philologica de utilitate linguae Arabicae in interpretenda sacra lingua ("The Use of Arabic in the Interpretation of Scripture") appeared in 1706. After a visit to Reland in Utrecht, he returned to Groningen (1708); then, having taken his degree in theology (1709), he returned to Leiden, and devoted himself to the study of the manuscript collections there until 1711, when he became pastor at Wassenaer.

He disdained parochial work and decided to accept the Hebrew chair at Franeker in 1713. He held this position until 1729, when he was transferred to Leiden as rector of the collegium theologicum, or seminary for poor students. From 1732 until his death (at Leiden) he was professor of Oriental languages at Leiden.

Schultens was the chief teacher of the Arabic language in the whole of the Europe during his lifetime. In some sense, he revived Arabic studies. He differed from J. J. Reiske and Silvestre de Sacy in regarding Arabic as a handmaid to Hebrew. Reiske considered Schultens' treatment of Arabic to be of little value, also maintaining that Arabic studies should not be taught as part of theology, but as a subject matter in its own right, as was mathematics, physics, geography and medicine. Schultens vindicated the value of comparative study of the Semitic tongues against those who, like Jacques Gousset, regarded Hebrew as a sacred tongue with which comparative philology has nothing to do.

His principal works were Institutiones ad Fundumenta Linguæ Hebraicæ (1737), Origines Hebraeae (2 vols., 1724, 1738), a second edition of which, with the De defectibus linguae Hebraeae (1731), appeared in 1761; Job (1737); Proverbs (1748); Vetus et regia via hebraezandi (1738); and Monumenta vetustiora Arabum (1740). He left unfinished Institutiones Aramææ (1745–49).

title: Albert Schultens


text:
Talk:Space Shuttle Columbia

STS-107 details
Is having the full details of the crew of STS-107 appropriate on this page, when they are given in the articles on STS-107 and on the Columbia disaster? - kiwiinapanic 03:32 Feb 2, 2003 (UTC)

 * Yes it is how dare you say this,Topgear23

Space Shuttle Buran
If Space Shuttle Buran doesn't relate to Columbia, then how does

 * Space Shuttle Challenger
 * Space Shuttle Enterprise
 * Space Shuttle Discovery
 * Space Shuttle Atlantis
 * Space Shuttle Endeavour

The only difference is the above are American, and the Buran was Soviet. It is not like there are 30 countries building space shuttles. There have only been a handful of shuttles sent into space by humans, and the Buran is one of them. To discount the Buran because it isn't NASA's, is being America-centric.
 * I've added Buran to the Space Shuttle template. The problem now is that the header in the template redirects to the NASA Space Shuttle program. A general definition on space shuttles should be in that page.--Andylkl 12:40, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Rakesh Sharma
Kalpana Chawla was not the first astronaut of Indian birth. The first was Rakesh Sharma who went into space in 1984. This fact is mentioned in wiki's Kalpana Chawla page. Jay 00:36, 11 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Integrating articles
I think it's time to integrate Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and Space Shuttle Columbia into a single article. There is a lack of parallelism between the way the Columbia and Challenger articles are handled and I see no reason the disaster info can't be included in the main article (with a redirect at the disaster article so nobody is dead-ended). I plan to do this soon if no major objections arise. Jgm 15:13, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * I very strongly disagree and am surprised I haven't seen your message until now. Having over two thirds of this article about one aspect of Columbia - her death - would unbalance this article. The summary here is a good overview of the event. --mav 23:46, 12 Jan 2004 (UTC)

 * Response to this at Talk:Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Jgm 02:12, 13 Jan 2004 (UTC)

why the shuttle is named "Columbia"
The shuttle was was named after Columbia University b/c scientist at the university were the ones to invented the ceramic tiles that protected the shuttle from the heat of entering/exiting orbit.

 * The above anonymous statement was written with someone with a particular interest in Columbia University, judging from the edit history. As a son of Right Stuff parents who worked for Rockwell, the company who manufactured the Space Shuttles here in Palmdale, I can tell you the above statement is patent nonsense.  The naming of the Columbia was to represent the United States as a whole, and "Columbia" is often used to represent the United States in manufactured things.   It's derived from the name of Christopher Columbus, explorer of the New World called the Americas - not Columbia University, which also is named after Columbus.  Unlike our anon friend above, I'm willing to sign and datestamp my contribution here.  --avnative 02:36, Aug 21, 2004 (UTC)

 * Actually, in reading the article, the Robert Gray sloop Columbia story is entirely plausible, but the Columbia University story is patent nonsense. Gray's sloop most likely was named after the explorer Columbus.  Still would like a cite one way or the other.  --avnative 02:42, Aug 21, 2004 (UTC)

 * See the external links - specifically, this one from a NASA site:

 * Columbia, the oldest orbiter in the Shuttle fleet, is named after the Boston, Massachusetts based sloop captained by American Robert Gray.

 * -- ALoan (Talk) 09:49, 31 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Changed the picture
I changed the picture of Columbia landing (in the history section) at the end of STS-73 to that of Columbia landing at the end of STS-1. The pictures are about the same quality but the historical significance of STS-1 seems greater than STS-73. It would seem, especially in the history section, that this image is a better fit. Triddle 02:49, 27 Feb 2005 (UTC)

This image?
Can someone post this picture in the article? It's a nice photo that shows the NASA meatball logo and American flag & "Columbia" on the wings. http://www.ccastronomy.org/photo_shuttle_Columbia_STS-107_launch_portrait.jpg

This one shows Columbia's wing markings, too: http://www.vesmirweb.net/galerie/raketoplany/ig05_sts107_launch_02.jpg —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.130.233.72 (talk • contribs) 04:09, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Song played at launch of STS-1?
I remember watching Columbia's first launch, but can't remember the song that was played. It was on the TV news broadcasts. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.136.146.36 (talk • contribs) 07:25, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Cowboy Bebop
The anachronism could be resolved by figuring the old fellow had a _really_ tough job finding all the parts and rebuilding Columbia. ;) The episode shows a novel method of launching the Shuttle horizontally using JATO rockets on either side of the nose and a jettisonable fuel tank in the cargo bay. Whether or not that would actually work... The show is set in the future, so one could presume more energetic fuels and a superlight composite material for the fuel tank. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.136.146.36 (talk • contribs) 07:25, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

William Langewiesche from "the Atlantic" article, Nov. 2003
" . . . The caib discovered that on the morning of January 17, the day after the launch, the low-level engineers at the Kennedy Space Center whose job was to review the launch videos and film were immediately concerned by the size and speed of the foam that had struck the shuttle. As expected of them, they compiled the imagery and disseminated it by e-mail to various shuttle engineers and managers—most significantly those in charge of the shuttle program at the Johnson Space Center. Realizing that their blurred or otherwise inadequate pictures showed nothing of the damage that might have been inflicted, and anticipating the need for such information by others, the engineers at Kennedy then went outside normal channels and on their own initiative approached the Department of Defense with a request that secret military satellites or ground-based high-resolution cameras be used to photograph the shuttle in orbit. After a delay of several days for the back-channel request to get through, the Air Force proved glad to oblige, and made the first moves to honor the request. Such images would probably have shown a large hole in the left wing—but they were never taken. . . "--the Atlantic, November 2003. [4th page, roughly a quarter to a third of the way down] http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/11/columbia-apos-s-last-flight/4204/4/

" .  .  .  What the Debris Assessment engineers could not imagine is that no photos had been taken, or ever would be—and essentially for lack of curiosity by NASA's imperious, self-convinced managers. What those managers in turn could not imagine was that people in their own house might really be concerned. The communication gap had nothing to do with security clearances, and it was complete.  .  .  " [roughly three-fourths of the way down http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/11/columbia-apos-s-last-flight/4204/4/

Space shuttle columbia
Space shuttleft columbia 106.200.187.169 (talk) 02:19, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

STS-118 mission patch with Columbia
The original patch has finally been unveiled, approved by NASA just one day before we lost Columbia. needs to be added to the article. The designer of many of the mission patches talked about it in this thread.

http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/000409.html 2600:1700:AB0:4210:84D:35F0:B3F2:C6FE (talk) 02:38, 10 May 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Space Shuttle Columbia


text:
Armadillo Aerospace

Armadillo Aerospace was an aerospace startup company based in Mesquite, Texas. Its initial goal was to build a crewed suborbital spacecraft capable of space tourism, and it had also stated long-term ambitions of orbital spaceflight. The company was founded by John Carmack, co-founder and former chief technical officer of id Software.

On October 24, 2008, Armadillo won $350,000 by succeeding in the Level 1 Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. On September 12, 2009, Armadillo won $500,000 by succeeding in Level 2 of the same challenge.

In 2010, they signed an exclusive deal with Space Adventures. Armadillo Aerospace was to provide a suborbital rocket to fly tourists into space, while Space Adventures would sell tickets for the experience.

In August 2013, Carmack announced that Armadillo Aerospace had been put in "hibernation mode", following setbacks including the crash of the STIG-B rocket in January 2013.

In May 2014, several former employees of Armadillo Aerospace formed a new company, Exos Aerospace, which was created to carry their former company's research into reusable commercial spacecraft. The new company set up their operations in one of Armadillo's former facilities at the Caddo Mills Municipal Airport, in Texas. Exos completed acquisition of Armadillo assets in early 2015, and intended to begin launches of the Suborbital Active Rocket with Guidance (SARGE) in 2016 from Spaceport America in New Mexico. SARGE will be an enhanced Armadillo STIG-B. The first flight of SARGE took place in 2018 from Spaceport America.

In September 2017, John Carmack retweeted a post about SpaceX rocket bloopers, along with his post "I showed all of our crashes at the beginning of Armadillo Aerospace, but everyone thought it was a terrible idea and talked me out of it." In the comment section, one person asked if there's chance of comeback for Armadillo Aerospace. He subsequently replied that there is the chance that he might "want to try at some point" with his own scheme, giving a sign that Armadillo Aerospace could someday return from hibernation mode.

Research and development principles
The company placed a strong emphasis on a rapid build and test cycle. Armadillo Aerospace designed and built more than 12 vehicles which used about 50 engine designs for over 100 rocket flights. Each design had several features in common. One was the use of modern computer technologies and electronics to simplify rocket control and reduce development costs. Another was the use of liquid propellants and VTVL to facilitate short launch-to-launch times.

X-Prize competition
The company was a competitor for the Ansari X-Prize. Armadillo's X-Prize vehicle was unorthodox among modern rockets in that instead of using stabilization fins, which complicate the design and increase drag, Armadillo used an aerodynamically unstable design, where the computer controlled jet vanes based on feedback from fibre optic gyroscopes. Armadillo stated a preference for simplicity and reliability over performance, which was evident in its choice of hydrogen peroxide (50% concentration in water) and methanol as a mixed monopropellant for the vehicle. A monopropellant-based engine requires only a single tank as well as greatly simplified plumbing and other hardware.

Wirefly X-Prize Cup 2006

Armadillo Aerospace competed in the 2006 X PRIZE Cup. Armadillo Aerospace was the only competitor in the Lunar Lander Challenge. The company took two similar vehicles, Pixel and Texel, to the event. The vehicles narrowly failed to win the Level 1 prize, after making three dramatic attempts totalling over 5 minutes in the air, finally crashing out on the final attempt. Persistent landing problems were the main cause of failure, with the undercarriage breaking several times, and landing slightly off the pad on one occasion due to guidance difficulties. These flights were a highlight of the Wirefly X-prize cup.

Quad vehicle
The quad vehicle design is pressure-fed in blow down mode from an initial pressure of 320 psi for level 1 (400 psi level 2). The roll thrusters are cross-fed by gas drawn from ullage space of the opposite tank. The vehicle is able to transfer propellant through connecting pipes between opposite tanks by controlling ullage pressures with the thrusters; this helps it balance, minimizing gas use. The main engine has two-axis thrust vectoring. The vehicle is fully computer controlled; with guidance from GPS and fiber optic gyroscopes.

Wirefly X-Prize Cup 2007
Armadillo Aerospace competed in the 2007 Lunar Lander Challenge event in the Wirefly X-Prize Cup 2007.

Testing
During testing one of the two Quad vehicles (named Texel) crashed on a tethered flight after a guidance problem caused the vehicle to rapidly gain altitude until 3 separate flight termination procedures were activated at approximately 20–30 feet. The vehicle fell, and the impact broke open one of the alcohol tanks and a large fireball engulfed the vehicle. The vehicle was irreparably damaged, and only its sister Pixel could compete in the upcoming event. The plan was to have the first module (of the next generation modular design) compete at level 1, and have Pixel compete at level 2 challenge.

Competition
In the level 1 events, Armadillo's craft MOD (actually, module #1) logged several attempts, including several successful first leg flights but was unable to complete the return trip during any attempt.

On its first attempt, a clogged igniter orifice prevented ignition. On the second attempt, the first leg flight was perfect; increased guidance and control capabilities allowed the module to, in Carmack's words, 'burn the X-mark off the target pad'. The return leg was delayed slightly, because the igniter had clogged again. When the second leg was attempted, a 'hard start' cracked the graphite combustion chamber. As the vehicle was still flying, Carmack flew the crippled vehicle through the course as quickly as possible and hovered 2–3 meters above the landing pad. With only a few seconds remaining in the required flight time, the damaged combustion chamber cracked again, which caused the vehicle to tilt enough to trigger a computer abort. The vehicle performed an auto-land, but the tilt caused the module to tip over on landing after only 82 seconds in the air.

The second attempt began with another perfect first leg, but the return was marred by another hard start. Seeing that the engine was badly damaged (although flying), the team commanded an abort. The module landed back on the pad after only a few seconds.

On the final attempt, MOD suffered a violent "hard start", resulting in engine explosion. The violence of the explosion embedded a piece of the graphite chamber in the ground 64 meters from the launch pad and ended their attempts in 2007 for the prize.

Lunar Lander Challenge 2008
The 2008 Lunar Lander Challenge took place October 24–25 at the Las Cruces International Airport in New Mexico. Armadillo Aerospace competed for the third year but for the first time had competition, from the TrueZer0 team. Both received waivers from the FAA to fly experimental rockets.

TrueZero attempted level 1, achieved hover, then lost roll control and was aborted and crashed.

Armadillo had an unsuccessful first attempt at level 1 and landed early due to inadequate thrust. On their second attempt they completed the first leg, but the second leg was cut short by the FAA closing the flight window. The second leg was held in the afternoon, and they were able to take the Level 1 top prize of $350,000.

Armadillo's attempt at the level 2 prize on October 25 was aborted due to their vehicle toppling over after the engine casing burned through due to a fuel-line problem.

Lunar Lander Challenge 2009
Armadillo attempted the Level 2 prize on September 12, 2009. Armadillo successfully flew both legs with their Mod vehicle, each flight lasting over 180 seconds, landing safely. However their landing accuracy was not sufficient to win the first prize, instead they won the US$500000 second prize while Masten Space Systems' Xoie lander won the US$1000000 Level 2 first prize.

Rocket Racing League
In 2008, the Rocket Racing League announced that Armadillo Aerospace engines would be used in a second generation of X-Racer aircraft. , the Rocket Racing League was utilizing a highly modified Velocity XL FG airframe and an Armadillo Aerospace 2,500 pound thrust liquid oxygen (LOX) and ethanol rocket engine in both the Mark-II X-Racer and Mark-III X-Racer demonstration vehicles. The Rocket Racing league never got out of its early development mode, and no racing season was ever held.

Super Mod
The Super Mod reusable launch vehicle is a vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing (VTVL) uncrewed rocket which was developed by Armadillo in 2010–2011. It was submitted to NASA as a potential suborbital vehicle for use as a suborbital reusable launch vehicle (sRLV) under NASA's Flight Opportunities Program. It added aerodynamic fairings, partially extendable landing legs with lower aerodynamic drag, and systems improvements to the basic Mod vehicle structure and systems.

Stig
In late 2010, Armadillo started development of a new, longer rocket design created for lower-drag, higher-speed high-altitude flights, which they named Stig in homage of the Top Gear driver The Stig. This rocket had similar systems, motors, and component weights as the Super Mod vehicles but was aerodynamically optimized for high-altitude flights with long 15 in diameter cylindrical tanks instead of larger spherical tanks. The second flight, which took place in 2012, reached 50 miles (82 kilometers), but the recovery chute did not work as planned.

The third flight took place in January 2013, and the vehicle experienced a hard landing following a parachute failure-to-deploy, though the launch was successful.

Staff and funding
Armadillo was headed, and largely funded, by John Carmack, a developer of video games including the Doom and Quake series. During its early days, all of its employees (including Carmack) had other, full-time jobs and contributed their efforts twice weekly to Armadillo on a voluntary basis. Armadillo had a relatively small budget and was not supported by aerospace companies or agencies like NASA, ESA, or Boeing. Armadillo Aerospace publicly declared itself fully self-funded.

In February 2006, Carmack stated that the program to date had cost slightly over $2 million. Even by the standards of X-Prize candidates, this is a low budget. Scaled Composites is estimated to have spent $25 million on its SpaceShipOne development program.

On August 8, 2006, Armadillo Aerospace announced that it had reached a sponsorship deal with Nvidia. While details were sparse, John Carmack said, "There is a chance at this point that I may have written the last personal cheque I need to for Armadillo."

In April 2008, Carmack offered an updated figure of "total cost to date, about $3.5 million." He estimated that another $2 million would be needed to achieve a crewed flight to 100 km using Armadillo's modular design in a "six-pack" configuration.

By 2010, Armadillo had 7 full-time employees and was profitable on ongoing operations (though Carmack was continuing to invest in development efforts).

The company mascot was an armadillo named Widget.

2013 "Hibernation mode" and sale of assets
In August 2013, Carmack indicated that following the crash of the STIG-B rocket earlier that year, he had wound down the company operations and had put the company in "hibernation mode." Armadillo had stopped accepting (profitable) contract R&D work two years prior in order to focus on development of a suborbital reusable rocket. During those two years, Armadillo operated at an approximately US$1 million per year burn rate funded personally by Carmack. Several reasons were offered for this outcome, including a failure to adopt a multi-test-vehicle build strategy, making the loss of a single rocket more significant than it would have otherwise been.

, Carmack was "actively looking for outside investors to restart work on the company’s rockets."

In 2015, the assets of Armadillo Aerospace were sold to EXOS Aerospace Systems & Technologies, Inc.

Future research
Carmack stated in his monthly reports and in forum posts that he expected his path to an orbital vehicle to include modular rockets similar to OTRAG technology. Lutz Kayser, the founding engineer of OTRAG, visited Armadillo in May 2006 and loaned Carmack some of their original research hardware.

"'I have been corresponding with Lutz for a few months now, and I have learned quite a few things. I seriously considered an OTRAG style massive-cluster-of-cheap-modules orbital design back when we had 98% peroxide (assumed to be a biprop with kerosene), and I have always considered it one of the viable routes to significant reduction in orbital launch costs. After really going over the trades and details with Lutz, I am quite convinced that this is the lowest development cost route to significant orbital capability. Eventually, reusable stages will take over, but I actually think that we can make it all the way to orbit on our current budget by following this path. The individual modules are less complicated than our current vehicles, and I am becoming more and more fond of high production methods over hand crafter prototypes.' -- June 2006 Armadillo Aerospace Update"

title: Armadillo Aerospace


text:
Talk:Kalpana Chawla

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 15 January 2019 and 2 May 2019. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Syssrq2016.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 01:35, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Beliefs
I'm curious about the part of User:216.119.134.146 edit where the part reading
 * "The administrator for the temple in Houston where Chawla attended when her schedule permitted said "She was a nice lady ... and very pious."

was replaced with
 * "Kalpana had no interest in religion and did not attend or participate in any such activities - especially after arriving in the United States."

These versions seem rather contradictary. Sources? Wondering, -- Infrogmation 17:44, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)of curse yes

 * It is easy to find, on the web, quotations from her husband, Jean-Pierre Harrison, that appear in newspaper articles after the 2003 groundbreaking ceremony for a university residence hall (at the University of Texas, Arlington) to be named after Kalpana Chawla. There was in his view, contrary to an agreement he felt he had made, a religious portion of this ceremony.  He states that he was not pleased by the ceremony -- because Kalpana "was not a religious person, not a Buddhist or a Hindu'".  I would expect him to be an authority on the religious views of his late wife.  This would contradict her religious characterization in the article.  So I must ask:  What is the source for the claim in the article that she attended Hindu religious services in Houston?Daqu 21:32, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

 * One Source: A Muse for Indian Women; Los Angeles Times; Feb 2, 2003:
 * "Chawla was a member of the Sri Meenakshi Temple Society near Houston, attending when her schedule permitted, temple officials said. The temple will hold a traditional service today to pray for the peace of her soul and those of the other astronauts killed, said P. Ramalingam, administrator for the temple. “She was a nice lady ... and very pious,” Ramalingam said."
 * (Just offering ref; not commenting on inclusion in article.) -- ToE 11:14, 21 February 2023 (UTC)

Kalpana had absolutely interest in and was at best antagonistic towards religion. As far as I know Kalpana never attended any religious temple in Houston; the only explanation I can come up with for the above-mentioned quote from the temple administrator is that this person/organization attempted to used Kalpana's name to promote their own agenda. Kalpana would on occasion leave any event in which any religious ceremony would occur.

Jean-Pierre Harrison

she was Sikh. her non-indian husband may not wanna to except that. Whether he like it or not, it's not gonna take away from her heritage.

Here heritage was Sikh, I'm sure her husband doesn't deny it), but she evidently was not religious and you should accept that. Plch (talk) 14:52, 14 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Her ethnic origins did not ensure that she remained religious in this regard - her husband's statements would trump your personal views. 104.169.17.29 (talk) 02:38, 1 February 2017 (UTC)

Citizenship
The phrase "became a naturalized United States citizen" has twice been removed by anon editor/s. Is the phrase false or inaccurate? Is there a reason it should not be in the article? Please explain. -- Infrogmation 16:15, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Is it for relevance? --Rj 20:37, Dec 14, 2004 (UTC)

Categories
Does she belong in the "Indian Astronauts" category? She was a naturalized US citizen, and was in NASA, the U.S. space corps, not the Indian space corps. -- FelineAvenger 05:26, 21 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Does she belong in the "Indian scientists" category? (Same reasoning as above). -- Zigzackly (talk) 22:45, 6 April 2014 (UTC)

"First..."
"...first astronaut to have been born in India."

This may cause some confusion. Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian in space. See: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/SPACE/space-human.html.

There is no confusion since Rakesh Sharma was India's first cosmonaut, so Chawla naturally is the first Indian born astronaut. -- PremKudva Talk  11:05, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

I propose that the above sentence be changed to:

"She was the first Indian-born woman in space."

I think this is clearer in stating Dr. Chawla's achievements.

Chawla was the first Indian to fly in the space shuttle. Vera Cruz

 * Probably. Some web sites like to say "first Indian-American" in space, but no doubt for any person in space, you can find some X that satisfies "first X in space", so these kinds of "records" are just pointless.  -(

I know this is a late reply...but Premkudva the English genius probably DOESN'T realise that cosmonaut is Russian for Astronaut.... --Rsrikanth05 (talk) 09:44, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

NPOV
This section at the end "She died a hero and a role-model for many young women, especially in India and particularly those in her hometown of Karnal where she serves to encourage young people to follow in her footsteps." seems way too opinionated for Wikipedia. I have not changed it, mind. Palnu 18:53, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)

STS-87
I took out:
 * ==Criticism==
 * Chawla was criticized for a 1996 accident which sent a satellite tumbling out of control.

I googled for her name + satellite + 1996 and couldn't find incident. Might this be a reference to her work with the Shuttle's robot arm on the Spartan Satellite during STS-87 in 1997? -- Infrogmation 21:38 Feb 1, 2003 (UTC)

 * http://msnbc.com/news/857733.asp?0cv=CA00#BODY Vera Cruz

 * On her only other space flight, in 1996, Chawla made mistakes that sent a satellite tumbling out of control, and two spacewalkers had to go out and capture it. Some saw this flight as her chance to redeem herself.

 * Perhaps MSN has the wrong date?

 * I guess so. Either way that sentance is no longer in that article when I just looked at it. All sources I checked said her previous mission was in '97.  -- Infrogmation 21:56 Feb 1, 2003 (UTC)

I re-integrated it into the STS-87 section.

74th Street
Perhaps the reference should be changed to 74th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens? I haven't seen the street sign there recently, so I won't make the change. As a former resident of Jackson Heights, changing that street name seems a higher probability than any of the many other 74th Streets in New York. An unadorned reference to New York City usually leads people to think of Manhattan. Eddieuny 19:55:32 27 Jul 2005 (UTC)

date of birth
While this article give the date of birth as 17 March 1962, other language versions say it's 1 Juli 1961, see fr:Kalpana Chawla. --Martinwilke1980 18:37, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Kalpana's date of birth was 7 March 1962. The 1 July 1961 date is quoted because that is what was used to enroll her in school at a younger than normal age. This manufactured date therefore became part of her official record.

Jean-Pierre Harrison

Why is her date of birth in the box listed as 17 March 1961, but the article body says "17 March 1962" was her actual date of birth?

GigaG (talk) 02:28, 5 May 2021 (UTC)

ISU Scholarship
This is now defunct. Still worth leaving there though, because I think there was one edition. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.224.246.155 (talk) 11:06, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Death
Possibly consider adding more information to her death. Adding a one to two sentence overview on the Columbia disaster could be beneficial for people finding quick information. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gerrittluoma (talk • contribs) 18:44, 16 November 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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Semi-protected edit request on 12 March 2018
change Punjab to Harayana. 68.181.88.1 (talk) 07:53, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

❌ Haryana did not exist until 1966 so, as Chawla was born in 1962, she could not have been born there. - Arjayay (talk) 13:30, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

Citizenship
Per MOS:OPENPARABIO we need to include her citizenship here, not her ethnicity. Unless there is reliably sourced evidence that she maintained an Indian passport as well as her US citizenship, she is considered an American, with ethnicity to be discussed in her early/personal life sections. Elizium23 (talk) 13:59, 1 February 2021 (UTC)

English reader topics is kalpana chawala
2402:8100:258F:DBF4:AAE5:7022:9C71:47C3 (talk) 13:10, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

 * I love Kalpana Chawla 5.112.57.191 (talk) 13:05, 1 November 2023 (UTC)

Quote
well, I don’t know much, but her quote sounds amazing, maybe. 216.133.149.18 (talk) 16:39, 1 May 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Kalpana Chawla