text:
Talk:Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Wikileaks and Aristide
Doesn't this section fall under the definition of original research, i.e. using source material in support of claims that, themselves, are not cited? 24.22.217.162 (talk) 02:12, 24 October 2011 (UTC)
 * It's not original research. It's factually accurate to say "President X of Country Y said this about Aristide in a 2005 cable revealed by through wikileaks." But The wiki policy is that secondary sources are preferred. I don't think most of this is really appropriate or necessary. We don't need the play-by-play of diplomatic discussions about his return to the country. Flyte35 (talk) 17:38, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

a different view
all the educated haitians i*ve spoken to say that a visit to haiti by c. rice just before the so-called coup made them deeply suspicious * ie it was a us backed ouster and not a home grown coup * this article totally lacks the depth deserved by a region with a long history of troubles * 75.147.48.65 (talk) 16:06, 29 February 2012 (UTC) grumpy the alien

 * This article is far worse than that. It is clearly written in the interests of the 2004 invader regimes -- principally the U.S. Government.
 * Pazouzou (talk) 14:43, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

Hardly Unbiased
This is probably one of the most biased articles I've seen on Wikipedia. The authors clearly believe that there is some conspiracy to keep Haiti down. Some of the sources are suspect at best and are little more than opinion pieces which are cited as "documented evidence." While contrary evidence is given lip service and often contains rebuttal evidence within the same section. Haiti has a long, long history of coups, revolts, high crime, major problems. While the rest of the Caribbean enjoys relative stability...why is that? If the US were some evil mastermind, wouldn't you see these things going on in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, etc? You really only see it in Haiti. Maybe it's not an imaginary cabal of international forces that is affecting Haiti, but bad elements within? Culmo80 (talk) 07:45, 5 February 2013 (UTC)Culmo80
 * Wikipedia isn't about presenting 'evidence' it is about giving sourced information. It is not investigation reports, but a kind of user-edited encyclopedia. If you dont like sources find others and add them to article.
 * This article is not about Haiti as a whole but about Aristide. Sources don't accuse US of affecting Haiti (although some may imply that) or masterminding its problems but of masterminding the forceful ouster of an elected president. Also, in fact there is no "imaginary cabal of international forces" in the article, only one international force.
 * Speaking of major problems of Haiti, United Nations Civilian Miision in Haiti found found that the human rights situation in Haiti improved dramatically following Aristide's return to power. And Amnesty International reported that, after Aristide's departure in 2004, Haiti was "descending into a severe humanitarian and human rights crisis." So even if foreign power influence isn't a root of internal problems, it is the cause of current situation. 94.41.46.85 (talk) 20:15, 20 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Why is not Haiti stable as its neighbors? Are you serious? It goes back to the "slave rebellion." France and the rest of the Western could not accept the loss of their "property" (the idea of free black men scared the living daylight out of Thomas Jefferson) and put Haiti under embargo. Haiti was then extorted to pay $90 million to France, which only worsened the situation: owing money while being isolated from the world. Haiti more or less paralleled the Dominican Republic during the first half of the 20th century. Then came Papa Doc and Baby Doc (the latter, ironically, got exile in France). The rest is covered in this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.253.73.146 (talk) 19:14, 19 April 2014 (UTC)
 * My, perhaps not unbiased, opinion is that attributing everything, or almost everything, that happens in and to Haiti to outside forces of whatever stripe ignores the fact that the Haitian people are entirely capable of handling their own business. This denial of the Haitian people's own agency is no less racist than many other attitudes some hold toward them. Not a criticism of the article necessarily, I'm just sayin'. 156.98.118.115 (talk) 18:51, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

Neutrality of language definitely needs to be cleaned up.
Aristide is a controversial figure, with strong supporters and detractors, but the tone of some segments, particularly (at least to my eye) regarding more recent events surrounding his return to Haiti, really needs to be cleaned up and presented in a neutral tone (e.g., "Former Haiti President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is once again in the cross-hairs of the US government" For all I know that's true, but that's not the tone of an encyclopedia entry). I could do it, but I'd really rather someone more familiar with the subject matter take a sweep through and tackle it. AndrewThespis (talk) 23:48, 23 February 2013 (UTC)

Removed "evidence indicates that the rebel groups against the Aristide were armed abroad by US intelligence operations" per WP:EXCEPTIONAL
The link anchoring this claim was dead, and the only sources I can find making this assertion are repeating claims made by Ira Kurzban, Aristide's lawyer. A single source is not sufficient to justify inclusion of an extraordinary claim. Please see Exceptional claims require exceptional sources. -- Rrburke (talk) 13:37, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

 * In fact, a quick search of "US support for Haiti rebels against Aristide" results in well over 100,000 results, the first of which is 2004 Haitian coup d'état. On the other hand, the New York Times refers to people 'dancing in the streets' after the 2004 coup - surprisingly, given that Aristide was Haiti's first democratically elected leader and maintained over 50% popularity in both periods of his government.  It does go on to quote a resident as saying "It's a violation of our Constitution. This president was elected for five years. It feels like we don't have any friends in the international community".

 * Then there's academic commentary, which baldly states that "The Haitian military and the Haitian National Intelligence Service, set up and funded by the CIA in the 1980s, were both key players in the coups against Aristide".

 * There is more than just a single source, in other words. The links here are simply three of the first five in the afore-mentioned search.  The last ends with a list of references.

 * Yes, the article is of low quality. No, the point that the CIA was involved in funding rebel groups is not just a random claim but fairly widely established.  Is it 'exceptional'?  Of course not - it flows directly from the Monroe Doctrine, and from clearly documented support by US agencies of international terrorist organisations from the Contras to the Mujahideen that became the Taliban.121.45.222.8 (talk)  —Preceding undated comment added 22:55, 7 December 2018 (UTC)

As others have stated, article needs to have a Neutral Point of View
Much of what the author(s) have said may be true, but the article needs to be re-written from a neutral point of view. Present the facts and let the readers draw their own conclusions. For example, accusations against the United States should not be in the first paragraph. Allegations of human rights abuses should not be qualified before they are actually presented. Phrases like "But more serious complaints," "Aristide is once again in the cross-hairs of the US government" "...the "little priest" was elected President in 1990 with 67% of the vote in what is generally recognized as the first honest election in Haitian history" - Well written for a book but not neutral. As opposed to "Aristide was elected President in 1990 with 67% of the vote in Haiti's first democratic election." "...he attempted to carry out substantial reforms" instead of "he attempted to carry out reforms such as bringing the military under civilian control..."

Etc., etc. Again this would work well for a book, but not as a neutral article for wikipedia. Thanks for writing it though. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.47.241.222 (talk) 17:25, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

 * Actually- "he attempted to carry out reforms such as bringing the military under civilian control..." is very informative and important. The KINDS of reforms he attempted to carry out are just as important as the fact that he tried to carry them out. Reform simply means to change, so "substantial reforms" could mean right-wing or left-wing changes. Understanding Aristide's policies and political stances is integral to understanding his place in history. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Vladimir Hendrix (talk • contribs) 20:42, 30 January 2014 (UTC)

Unsupported claims against the Dominican government
The phrase "the drug-affiliated government in the neighboring Dominican Republic" has been removed from the "1991 coup d'état" section. This is an extremely serious accusation that is made without support. Of course, there may well have been cases of specific people who, at the time, worked at various levels of the Dominican government, and were involved with illicit drugs (same could be said about most governments on earth). But even if that claim was supported by sources (it isn't), it would not make the government, any government, "drug affiliated", whatever that means. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Virgrod (talk • contribs) 11:55, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Recently ?
The article ends in 2011. So what has the subject been up to since then?  Smokey TheCat  18:58, 16 September 2014 (UTC)
 * That's good question. Charles Essie (talk) 17:10, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Not up tp date in 2021 5.198.19.146 (talk) 19:09, 20 August 2021 (UTC)

Aristide and voodoo
Aristide at the very least officially recognized voodoo as legitimate religion, and some online sources suggest he practices it himself. That's pretty notable, especially for a former Catholic priest. 76.119.30.87 (talk) 05:08, 5 October 2014 (UTC)

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What Do You Think
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl9ZqDhX2c4

I'm watching this documentary which covers Aristide. Do you think this is a good resource for the page? --174.62.105.153 (talk) 02:31, 10 December 2015 (UTC)

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Sources in the Introduction
The line "the United States helped orchestrate the coup against him" is not only rather vague, but also sourced only by what appear to be unreliable sources. Two are for the same Radiomundoreal article, and I was unable to find the Xinhua article. As I'm not particularly knowledgeable about the subject I rewrote the line in accordance with the remaining source in the sentence as a guide, in accordance with BLP. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable about the topic could expand on it in the article. Darthkayak (talk) 14:08, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Orphan reference to Nairn
The last paragraph at the end of the "1991 coup d'etat" section has two references to a source named Nairn, without an introduction. Who is this? Is it Allan Nairn, author of "Haiti Under the Gun"? If so, can this be cited? Halochip (talk) 22:25, 21 May 2022 (UTC)Halochip

title: Talk:Jean-Bertrand Aristide


text:
STS-33

STS-33 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Discovery deployed a payload for the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It was the 32nd shuttle mission overall, the ninth flight of Discovery, the fifth shuttle mission in support of the DoD, the seventh post-Space Shuttle Challenger disaster mission and the last Shuttle mission of the 1980s. Due to the nature of the mission, specific details remain classified. Discovery lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, on November 22, 1989, at 7:23:30 p.m. EST; it landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on November 27, 1989, at 7:30:16 p.m. EST.

The mission was officially designated STS-33R as the original STS-33 designator belonged to the ill-fated Challenger STS-51-L, the 25th Space Shuttle mission. Official documentation for that mission contained the designator STS-33 throughout. As STS-51-L was designated STS-33, future flights with the STS-26 through STS-33 designators would require the R in their documentation to avoid conflicts in tracking data from one mission to another.

Mission background

STS-33 was the original designation for the mission that became STS-51-L, the Challenger disaster. After Challenger's destruction, NASA recycled the mission numbering system back to STS-26, which was the 26th shuttle mission and the first to fly after the disaster.

S. David Griggs, a veteran of STS-51-D, was to have been the pilot of this mission. He was killed in the crash of a vintage World War II aircraft in June 1989 while training to serve as pilot on STS-33, and is commemorated on the mission insignia with a single gold star on the blue field. He was replaced by John Blaha. Sonny Carter, a mission specialist on this flight, was killed in a commercial plane crash on April 5, 1991 while training to fly on STS-42.

Mission summary
STS-33 was originally scheduled to launch on November 20, 1989, but was delayed because of problems with the integrated electronics assemblies which controlled the ignition and separation of the shuttle's solid rocket boosters (SRBs). STS-33 was the third night launch of the Space Shuttle program, and the first since shuttle flights resumed in 1988 following the Challenger disaster of 1986.

During the mission, Discovery deployed a single satellite, USA-48 (1989-090B). Experts believe that this was a secret Magnum ELINT (ELectronic INTtelligence) satellite headed for geosynchronous orbit, similar to that launched by STS-51-C in 1985, making this mission essentially a duplicate of that earlier mission. According to Jim Slade of ABC News, USA-48 was intended to eavesdrop on military and diplomatic communications from the Soviet Union, China, and other communist states. The satellite deployed by STS-33 was a replacement for the one launched by STS-51-C, which was running out of the maneuvering fuel required for keeping its station over the Indian Ocean. However, astronaut Gary E. Payton stated in 2009 that STS-51-C's payload is "still up there, and still operating".

Aviation Week claimed that during STS-33, the shuttle initially entered an 204 km x 519 km orbit at an inclination of 28.45° to the equator. It then executed three Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) burns, the last on its fourth orbit. The first burn was to circularize the orbit at 519 km. The satellite was deployed on the seventh orbit, and ignited its Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster at the ascending node of the eighth orbit, successfully placing it in a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). This was the eighth IUS launched aboard the shuttle, and the seventh successfully deployed.

STS-33 suffered a cabin leak in the Waste Collection System.

STS-33 was observed by the 1.6 m telescope of the U.S. Air Force Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing observatory (AMOS) during five passes over Hawaii. Spectrographic and infrared images of the shuttle obtained with the Enhanced Longwave Spectral Imager (ELSI) were aimed at studying the interactions between gases released by the shuttle's primary reaction control system (RCS) and residual atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen species in orbit.

The landing was initially scheduled for November 26, 1989, but was postponed for a day because of strong winds at the landing site. Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on November 27, 1989, at 7:30:16 p.m. EST, after a mission duration of 5 days, 0 hour, 6 minutes, and 46 seconds.

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

title: STS-33


text:
Kuldīga

Kuldīga (Goldingen) is a town in the Courland region of Latvia, in the western part of the country. It is the center of Kuldīga Municipality with a population of approximately 13,500.

Kuldīga was first mentioned in 1242. It joined the Hanseatic League in 1368. In the 17th century, Kuldīga (along with Jelgava) was one of the capitals of the Duchy of Courland from 1596 to 1616.

Kuldīga is an ancient town in Latvia's western region of Kurzeme with distinctive architecture, which is included in the list of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Saint Catherine is believed to be the patron saint of Kuldīga, and the oldest church of the town is named after St Catherine. The foundation of the building was laid as early as in 1252. The church has been remodeled a number of times. The small River Alekšupīte runs through the very centre of the Kuldīga old town, along the walls of the houses. The Old Town around the small river itself is the only remaining 17th–18th-century ensemble of this kind in the Baltic states. A 4.2 metres high waterfall on the Alekšupīte is the highest in Latvia. The Venta Rapid, a 240-meter wide natural rapid on the Venta River, is the widest in Europe. Not far from the rapid is the Kuldīga brick bridge built in 1874, which is the longest bridge of this type in Europe.

Kuldīga was recognized as an EDEN destination in 2007.

History
The origin of the ancient town Kuldīga can be explained by its location on the crossroads: the waterways of River Venta and land routes joining the Prussian lands with the lower reaches of River Daugava. The ancient Kuldiga town of Couronians – a fortified castle mound and a settlement were located 3,5 km to the North down the River Venta on its left bank. The castle mound still be seen today. It is located on a bank of the River Venta on the foreland between the deep gully of the River Veckuldīga and the ancient valley of the Venta. The Site of the Castle itself is located in the several hectare wide area, but together with the Old City of Kuldiga – the area of more than ten hectares. There might have been a port by the River Veckuldīga.

On April 19, 1242 the Livonian Order of Knights received the master's permission to build a castle on the banks of River Venta. As this is the oldest preserved written document where Kuldiga is mentioned, it is considered to be the year of the foundation of Kuldiga. The Castle of the Livonian Order of Knights was built on the left bank of River Venta by the ford, and the dolomite from the riverbed was used as the construction material. In 1263, the castle and settlements around it were already mentioned as the town Goldingen, and its rights as for a town were based on Riga city rights.

On April 28, 1355, the Order's master allocated new land areas. At the same time he attributed a new privilege to the town, as well as a coat of arms with the image of St. Catherine. From 1439 Kuldiga/Goldingen was given a privilege to arrange a market weekly. The town was established by joining the three main populated areas: the town, the small village of the castle (town of the Couronians) and the village on the hill (so called "Kalnamiests" in Latvian) (in the area of Kalna iela today). The Komtur lived in the Castle of Livonian Order together with his twelve brothers being knights and with so-called stepbrothers who took care of the economic life. The Komtur also led the Komturei of Kuldiga, which had also Durbe, Sabile, Skrunda, Aizpute, Alsunga and Saldus along with Kuldiga in possession.

After establishing the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia in 1561, a new period began in the history of Kuldiga. The first duke Gotthard Kettler chose the former order castle to be one of his residences. He and later also other dukes approved the former town rights of Kuldiga by supporting its economic development. When the duke Gotthard died, the dukedom was divided into two parts and till 1618 Kuldiga was the residence of his youngest son Wilhelm and a capital of Kurzeme. The town profited from trading with Riga and Jelgava because of taxes on all goods taken across the bridge. In 1615, the bridge was destroyed by floods, causing a great loss to the town. In the same year, there was a huge fire destroying the major part of the wooden constructions in the town. After reconstruction of the town, a new market place was established (the Square of the City Council nowadays) and a new Town Hall was built (Baznīcas iela 5 nowadays), which we now name as the old one. So the centre of the town was moved from the old place near by the St. Catherine's Church to the present Square of the City Council. The richest citizens and merchants built their houses around the new centre of the town. In the second part of the 19th century, small industrial companies began to be developed in the town. Some of them became factories with more than 100 workers. The largest factory in Kuldiga was the factory "Vulkāns" producing matches (established in 1878 and closed in 2004), and the label of matchboxes had an image of a deer on it. The second largest was the factory of Vintelers Tūki. Furthermore things such as needles, cigars, soap, vodka, liqueurs and mineral water were produced in Kuldiga. Beer brewing was the tradition with deep routes – beer was brewed in the order castle, in the duke's manors and in the town as well. Many new buildings were built in this period – not only residential, but also municipal and public buildings. After several centuries, Kuldiga got a new bridge across the River Venta (1873–74), a new Town Hall was built (1868), the Orthodox Parish House and a church in Liepājas iela, a prison (which is a post office nowadays), the House of Latvian Society (which is the Centre for Culture nowadays), the German 'Gymnasium' (secondary school) in Kalna iela 19 and other buildings as well. Soon the number of local inhabitants doubled, reaching 13,000 just before World War I.

During World War II, the town was under Soviet occupation from 1940, and then under German occupation from 1941 to 1944.

Sightseeing objects
Kuldīga is a small and attractive town in Kurzeme which has always been admired and praised by poets and painters. The 'historical city centre, which developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, has still preserved the old wooden buildings which form small and narrow streets. The oldest wooden building in Kurzeme put up in 1670 can be found near the Town square. The Old Town hall was built in the 17th century. The town square, since the very origins of the settlement, was a place where townspeople used to gather. The tradition has survived: the pulse of the town is best felt in the central square, a venue for weavers' exhibitions, traditional festivities and other events.

The Venta waterfall (Ventas rumba) is the widest waterfall in Europe. This 240 meter wide naturally formed waterfall is associated with a number of legends and historic events. In spring, one can watch the fish jumping up the ledge; due to this, Kuldīga was once famous as a "place where they catch salmon in the air".

The old brick bridge across the Venta was built in 1874 and is the longest bridge of this kind in Europe – 164 m. It was built according to 19th century standards – 500 feet long and 26 feet wide, allowing two carriages to pass each other. It consists of seven spans of brick vaults. During World War I two of the spans were blown up. The 'race of the naked' over the bridge has become an annual tradition for Midsummer nights.

The Alekšupīte River flows directly along the walls of many buildings which is why Kuldīga has been called the Venice of Latvia. Initially the buildings of the town centre were constructed as the suburb of Kuldīga. In 1701, during the Great Northern War, the Swedish army invaded Kuldīga Castle and in 1709 it became uninhabitable, but in the 19th century the castle ruins were relocated.

Alekšupīte Waterfall was created in the 17th century to use the stream to operate the first paper mill in Kurzeme. An annual race is held on the Alekšupīte, when the contestants run directly along the river bottom.

St Catherine's Church was originally built in 1252. However, it was built anew with baroque style wood carvings on the altar. The church was given the name of St Catherine, the patroness of the town. One of the most successful rulers of the Duchy of Courland, Duke Jacob was baptized in this church, and his wedding to Princess Louise Charlotte of Brandenburg also took place here.

Liepājas street is a pedestrian street with several 17th–20th-century buildings, interesting doors and special windows.

Sculptress Livija Rezevska's sculpture museum was founded in 2003. The visitors may see more than 15 sculptures characterizing Latvian nation, its strength, unity and love.

The Riežupe Sand Caves make up the longest cave labyrinth in Latvia (about 2 km total, 460 m can be toured). During Duke Jacob's reign the sand from Riežupe sand caves was taken by ships abroad for glass production.

Synagogue
One of the largest buildings in Kuldiga (1905 street 6) known for its splendorous interior in marble with gilded details, is the Jewish synagogue. Documents in ancient Hebrew describing the construction of the building in 1875 are located in the Kuldiga District Museum. It was built during the reign of the tsar Alexander II and was the centre of a vibrant Jewish community. The synagogue was part of a larger complex with an adjacent prayer house, the Jewish sepulchre, and Jewish school, which can still be seen today. The Jewish community had been active since the settlement in the duchy of Courtland in the 16th century. Most of the first immigrants came from north western German territories, but around the mid-17th century unrest in Poland caused an influx of Jews from that region. By the 18th century, the Jewish population of Kurzeme played an active role in the economic life of the province. In 1941 the synagogue became a trap when all of Kuldigas' Jews were imprisoned in the synagogue and held there for several days by Nazis and Latvian sympathizers, before being divided into smaller groups and shot in the nearby forests. Shortly after the extermination of Jews, Germans set up food storage in the synagogue. Later during the first years of the Soviet Union a grain house was set up inside, and later abandoned for a couple of years. In 1958 the synagogue was transformed into the cinema Kurzeme. It contained 450 seats and a reading room. It remained a cinema until 2003, after the reinstatement of Latvian independence. In later years there was also a café and night club. , the synagogue was completely transformed into the central library of Kuldiga and a performance space. The building in its present state is stately and pristine, but there are no exterior signs of the building's Jewish past (such as stars of David). The roof ornaments which can be seen in old photographs of the synagogue are still missing: three bare plinths, like chimneys, mark the gables on either side of the building. There is (as of August 2017) a plaque explaining the history of the building.

Sports
Kuldīga Half Marathon – an annual road marathon is held in Kuldīga since 2006.

Latvia's first indoor arena for athletics was opened in Kuldīga in 2008.

Notable residents

 * Jacob Kettler (1610–1682), the Duke of Courland and Semigallia
 * Zelig Kalmanovich (1885–1944), Jewish philologist, translator and historian
 * Ben-Zion Harel (1892–1972), Israeli doctor, politician
 * Max Weinreich (1894–1969), the linguist
 * James Martin Eder (1838-1921), Pioneer of the sugar industry in Colombia
 * Aivis Ronis (born 1968), politician, diplomat
 * Jānis Miņins (born 1980), bobsledder
 * Dana Reizniece-Ozola (born 1981), politician, chess player
 * Jānis Šmēdiņš (born 1987), beach volleyball player
 * Roberts Ozols (born 1995), footballer

Twin towns — sister cities
Kuldīga is twinned with:

 * 🇳🇴 Drøbak, Norway
 * 🇩🇪 Geesthacht, Germany
 * Mtskheta, Georgia

title: Kuldīga


text:
Cope

A cope (pluviale ("rain coat") or cappa ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour.

A cope may be worn by any rank of the Anglican clergy, and by licensed lay ministers on certain occasions. If worn by a bishop, it is generally accompanied by a mitre. The clasp, which is often highly ornamented, is called a morse. In art, angels are often shown wearing copes, especially in Early Netherlandish painting.

History
There has been little change in the character of the cope since it was first worn by the clergy. It was made of a semicircular piece of silk or other material, its shape distinguishing it from the chasuble, which had straight edges sewn together in front. Both garments are similar in form and origin to the Orthodox phelonion.

Modern copes no longer have a hood. Some early examples feature a triangular hood, which was intended to protect the head during processions, but over time the hood it came to represented by a shield-shaped piece of embroidery that sometimes adorned with a fringe or tassel. Early chasubles depicted in 8th- and 9th-century drawings, have a primitive style of hood, suggesting that the cope and the chasuble had a common origin.

The earliest mentions of a cappa is by the Gallo-Roman historian St. Gregory of Tours, and in the Miracula of St Fursey, when a hooded cloak is described. A letter written in 787 by the Benedictine abbot of Monte Cassino, Theodemar, in answer to a question by Charlemagne, King of the Franks, about monks' clothing. establishes that what in Gaul was styled cuculla (cowl) was known to the Cassinese monks as cappa. Moreover, the word occurs more than once in Alcuin's correspondence, apparently as denoting a garment for everyday wear. When Alcuin twice observes about a casula which was sent him, that he meant to wear it always at Mass, this suggests that such garments at this date were not distinctively liturgical owing to anything in their material or construction, but that they were set aside for the use of the altar at the choice of the owner, who might equally well have used them as part of his ordinary attire. In the case of the chasuble the process of liturgical specialization was completed at a comparatively early date, and before the end of the ninth century the maker of a casula probably knew quite well in most cases whether he intended his handiwork for a Mass vestment or for an everyday outer garment. But in the case of a cappa or cope, this period of specialization seems to have been delayed until much later. The two hundred cappae or copes which appear in a Saint-Riquier inventory in the year 801, a number increased to 377 by the year 831, were thought to be mere cloaks, for the most part of rude material and destined for common wear. It may be that their use in choir was believed to add to the decorum and solemnity of the Divine Office, especially in the winter season. In 831 one of the Saint-Riquier copes is specially mentioned as being of chestnut colour and embroidered with gold. This, no doubt, implies use by a dignitary, but it does not prove that it was as yet regarded as a sacred vestment. In fact, according to the conclusions of Edmund Bishop, who was the first to sift the evidence thoroughly, it was not until the twelfth century that the cope, made of rich material, was in general use in the ceremonies of the Church, at which time it had come to be regarded as the special vestment of cantors. Still, an ornamental cope was even then considered a vestment that might be used by any member of the clergy from the highest to the lowest, in fact even by one who was only about to be tonsured.

Amongst monks it was the practice to vest the whole community, except the celebrant and the sacred ministers who assisted the celebrant, in copes at High Mass on the greatest festivals, whereas on feasts of somewhat lower grade, the community were usually vested in albs. Surviving inventories show that the Netherlands, France, and Germany had taken the lead in this movement. For example, already in 870, the Abbey of Saint Trond lists "thirty-three precious copes of silk" as against only twelve chasubles, and it was clearly the Cluny practice in the latter part of the tenth century to vest all the monks in copes during high Mass on the great feasts, though in England the regulations of Saint Dunstan and Saint Aethelwold show no signs of any such observance. The custom spread to the secular canons of such cathedrals as Rouen, and cantors nearly everywhere used copes of silk as their own peculiar adornment in the exercise of their functions.

Meanwhile, the old cappa nigra ("black cape"), or cappa choralis, a choir cape of black material, open or partly open in front, and commonly provided with a functioning hood, still continued in use. While the cope was a liturgical vestment, made of rich, colorful fabric and often highly decorated, the cappa nigra was a practical garment, made of heavy plain black wool and designed to provide warmth in cold weather. Whereas the cope's hood had long since become a non-functional decorative item, the hood of the cappa nigra remained functional. The cappa nigra was worn at the [Divine Office by the clergy of cathedral and collegiate churches and also by many religious, as, for example, it is retained by the Dominicans during the winter months down to the present day. No doubt the "copes" of the friars, to which so many references in the Wycliffite literature and in the writings of Chaucer and Langland are found, designate their open mantles, which were part of their full dress, though not always black in colour. On the other hand, it is worth a note that the cappa clausa, or close cope, was simply a cope or cape sewn up in front for common outdoor use. "The wearing of this", says Bishop, "instead of the cappa scissa, the same cope not sewn up, is again and again enjoined on the clergy by synods and statutes during the late Middle Ages."

Catholic Church

Under all these different forms the cope has not substantially changed its character or shape. The cope is a vestment for processions worn by all ranks of the clergy when assisting at a liturgical function, but it is never worn by the priest and his sacred ministers in celebrating the Mass. At a Pontifical High Mass the cope was worn by the "assistant priest," a priest who assists the bishop who is the actual celebrant. In the Sarum Rite, the Cope was also prescribed for members of the choir at various times.

It is now the vestment assigned to the celebrant, whether priest or bishop, for almost all functions except the Mass when the celebrant wears the chasuble instead. The cope is used, for example, in processions, in the greater blessings and consecrations, at the solemnly celebrated Liturgy of the Hours, in giving Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and the celebration of other sacraments outside of Mass. For most of these the celebrant may instead wear simply cassock and surplice or alb, both with the stole, for simpler celebrations. The chasuble, which is properly only worn for Mass, may also be worn during processions and other ceremonies that occur directly before or after Mass, such as the absolutions and burial of the dead, at the Asperges before Mass, and at the blessing and imposition of the ashes on Ash Wednesday, to avoid the need for the celebrant to change vestments.

The Cæremoniale Episcoporum envisages its use by a bishop if presiding at but not celebrating Mass, for the Liturgy of the Hours, for processions, at the special ceremonies on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Lenten gatherings modelled on the "stations" in Rome, Palm Sunday and Corpus Christi. The bishop may use a cope when celebrating outside of Mass the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, matrimony, penance in solemn form, ordination (if not concelebrating), and anointing of the sick. The list in the index of the Cæremoniale Episcoporum continues with several more cases.

As regards liturgical colours, the cope usually follows the color assigned to that day in the liturgical calendar, although white may always be worn for celebrations of a joyful character or before the Blessed Sacrament, and violet may always be worn for celebrations of a penitential character. It may be made of any rich or becoming material, including cloth of gold (which may be used in place of any colour except violet or black). Owing to its ample dimensions and unvarying shape, ancient copes have been preserved in proportionately greater numbers than other vestments and provide the finest surviving specimens of medieval embroidery. Among these the "Syon Cope" in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the "Ascoli Cope" in the Pinacoteca Civica, Ascoli Piceno, are remarkable as representing the highest excellence of that specially English thirteenth-century embroidery known as the opus anglicanum ('English work'). Copes also provide some magnificent specimens of the jeweller's craft. The brooch or clasp, meant to fasten the cope in front, and variously called morse, pectoral, bottone, etc., was an object often in the highest degree precious and costly. The work which was the foundation of all the fortunes of Benvenuto Cellini was the magnificent morse which he made for Pope Clement VII. Some admirable examples of these morses still survive.

The mantum is longer than a cope, and is fastened in the front by an elaborate morse. In earlier centuries it was red, at the time the papal colour. In the 11th and 12th centuries the immantatio, or bestowal of the mantum on the newly-elected pope, was regarded as specially symbolical of investiture with papal authority. After the Second Vatican Council and the pontificate of Pope Paul VI, the mantum fell out of use. Some old mantums have been made into copes by being shortened.

Cappa magna
The cappa magna ("great cape") is a voluminous mantle with a long train, proper to cardinals, bishops, and other honorary prelates. It is a jurisdictional garment.

The cappa magna is not strictly a liturgical vestment, but only a glorified cappa choralis, or choir cope. It is worn in processions or in choir by those attending but not celebrating services. Its colour for cardinals is ordinarily red; for bishops it is violet. Cardinals and papal nuncios are entitled to wear a cappa magna of watered silk.

The cappa magna has a large hood, lined with ermine in winter and silk in summer. It is made to cover not only the back, breast, and shoulders. The hood is functional and was in the past placed on the head and covered with the galero, as when the pope created a new cardinal at a consistory. The hood is normally worn over the head only during penitential rites. The few remaining cardinals who still use this garment wear red.

The motu proprio Valde solliciti of 30 November 1952 decreed that the train of the cappa magna should be shortened by about half, from 15 to 7 m. The 1969 "Instruction on the Dress, Titles and Coats-of-arms of Cardinals, Bishops and Lesser Prelates" laid down that:

"The cappa magna, always without ermine, is no longer obligatory; it can be used only outside of Rome, in circumstances of very special solemnity."

It is hardly ever used, except in celebrations according to pre-1969 liturgical books, as when deacons of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest were ordained in 2009. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem uses the ermine-lined winter cappa, because he is bound by the complex and unalterable rules of the Status quo, an 1852 Ottoman firman which regulates the delicate relations between the various religious groups that care for the religious sites in the Holy Land. This anomaly is most evident at the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in Bethlehem.

Anglican Communion
The earliest Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England contemplated the continued use of the cope, with the post-English Reformation 1549 Prayer Book specifying that the priest at Holy Communion should wear "a vestment or cope". It was common, particularly in English cathedrals, for the priest or bishop to wear a cope for Holy Communion. In the contemporary Anglican Communion, the cope can be worn. Lay ministers, such as readers, are permitted to wear copes on certain occasions, and it is also a tradition for clergy to wear copes on diocesan occasions.

A cope is worn by the Archbishop of Canterbury during the coronation of the Sovereign. Queen Elizabeth II presented a set of ornate copes to the Canons of Westminster Abbey as a coronation gift.

Lutheran denominations

The cope is usually worn only for processions and services of the Divine Office (morning and evening prayers) in most Lutheran denominations. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a cope is usually worn by the bishop when not serving as the presiding minister at Holy Communion. In the Church of Norway and the Church of Denmark the cope is reserved for use by bishops. It is infrequently worn by clerics in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod or other Lutheran denominations, although its use has increased in recent decades.

In the Church of Sweden, bishops regularly wear the cope together with a mitre, crosier and pectoral cross. A cope can also be worn by priests on solemn and ceremonial occasions, such as when presiding over baptisms, weddings and funerals. Copes are not worn as a eucharistic vestment by either bishops or priests, when the chasuble is instead prescribed for both.

Universities
As part of academic dress, the University of Cambridge uses a cope known as a cappa clausa, made of scarlet superfine cloth with the cowl lined and the cape opening edged with white fur. This was once the congregation robe of a Doctor of Divinity, but has now come to be the Vice-Chancellor's official congregation dress when conferring degrees. Professors, chairs of degree boards, and their deputies also wear a cope presenting candidates for higher doctoral degrees. The only other place that uses a cope is the University of the South (United States), where the cape hem is edged in fur.

title: Cope


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Weapons of Mass Distraction

Weapons of Mass Distraction is a 1997 television film directed by Stephen Surjik and written by Larry Gelbart, about two media moguls and their fight over ownership of a professional American football team. The film starred Gabriel Byrne and Ben Kingsley, with an ensemble supporting cast including Illeana Douglas, Mimi Rogers, and Jeffrey Tambor.

The film was nominated for four awards at the 49th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Special for Gelbart.

Plot
Lionel Powers and Julian Messenger are filthy rich men with dirty family secrets. They play dirty as well, fighting for control over a professional football team in Los Angeles with every weapon at their disposal.

While the billionaires scheme and squabble, the married couple Rita and Jerry Pascoe can barely make ends meet. Their marriage becomes strained with Jerry's continuing inability to hold or find a job. While rich people blackmail one another, homeless people look for handouts and Jerry Pascoe is reduced to cleaning stadium restrooms and applying for a job as a peanut vendor.

The tabloid-worthy secrets in the lives of Powers' wife Ariel and right-hand man Alan Blanchard lead to dire consequences for all. The marriage of the Pascoes, meanwhile, turns tragi-comically from a terrible climax to fodder for reality TV.

Cast

 * Gabriel Byrne as Lionel Powers
 * Ben Kingsley as Julian Messenger
 * Mimi Rogers as Ariel Powers
 * Jeffrey Tambor as Alan Blanchard
 * Illeana Douglas as Rita Pascoe
 * Paul Mazursky as 	Dr. Jonathon Cummings
 * Chris Mulkey as Jerry Pascoe
 * R. Lee Ermey as Billy Paxton
 * Caroline Aaron as Robin Zimmer
 * Jason Lee as Philip Messenger

title: Weapons of Mass Distraction


text:
STS-36

STS-36 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Atlantis carried a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) (believed to have been a Misty reconnaissance satellite) into orbit. STS-36 was the 34th shuttle mission overall, the sixth flight for Atlantis, and the fourth night launch of the shuttle program. It launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on February 28, 1990, and landed on March 4, 1990.

Mission summary

Atlantis launched on the STS-36 mission on February 28, 1990, at 2:50:22 EST. The launch was originally set for February 22, 1990, but was postponed repeatedly due to the illness of the crew commander and poor weather conditions. This was the first time since Apollo 13 in 1970 that a crewed space mission was affected by the illness of a crew member. The first rescheduled launch attempt, set for February 25, 1990, was scrubbed due to a range safety computer malfunction. Another attempt, set for February 26, 1990, was scrubbed due to weather conditions. The successful launch on February 28, 1990, was set for a classified launch window, lying within a launch period extending from 00:00 to 04:00 EST. The launch weight for this mission was classified.

The launch trajectory was unique to this flight, and allowed the mission to reach an orbital inclination of 62.00°, the deployment orbit of its payload — the normal maximum inclination for a shuttle flight was 57.00°. This so-called "dog-leg" trajectory saw Atlantis fly downrange on a normal launch azimuth, and then maneuver to a higher launch azimuth once out over the water. Although the maneuver resulted in a reduction of vehicle performance, it was the only way to reach the required deployment orbit from Kennedy Space Center (originally, the flight had been slated to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, until the shuttle launch facilities there were mothballed in 1989). Flight rules that prohibited overflight of land were suspended, with the trajectory taking the vehicle over or near Cape Hatteras, Cape Cod, and parts of Canada. The payload was considered to be of importance to national security, hence the suspension of normal flight rules.

As a Department of Defense operation, STS-36's payload remains officially classified. STS-36 launched a single satellite, also described as AFP-731. Other objects (1990-019C-G) reportedly appeared in orbit following its deployment.

It was reported that USA-53 was an Advanced KH-11 photo-reconnaissance satellite, using an all-digital imaging system to return pictures. KH-11 satellites are believed to resemble the Hubble Space Telescope in size and shape, as the satellites were shipped in similar containers, and had comparable primary mirror diameters. USA-53, nicknamed "Misty", was tracked briefly by amateur satellite observers in October and November 1990.

The mission marked another flight of an 5 kg human skull, which served as the primary element of "Detailed Secondary Objective 469", also known as the "In-flight Radiation Dose Distribution Experiment" (IDRD). This joint NASA/DoD experiment was designed to examine the penetration of radiation into the human cranium during spaceflight. The female skull was seated in a plastic matrix, representative of tissue, and sliced into ten layers. Hundreds of thermo-luminescent dosimeters were mounted in the skull's layers to record radiation levels at multiple depths. This experiment, which also flew on STS-28 and STS-31, was located in the shuttle's mid-deck lockers on all three flights, recording radiation levels at different orbital inclinations.

Atlantis landed at 10:08:04 PST on March 4, 1990, at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on runway 23 ending the STS-36. The orbiter's rollout distance was 2.41 km. Atlantis was towed to the Mate-Demate Device by around 15:00 PST.

About 62 impacts in the shuttle's Thermal Protection System (TPS) tiles were counted by the debris team after the mission. Tile engineers reported that only one tile required replacement. The brakes and tires performed nominally. Drops of hydraulic fluid were observed in the right main landing gear wheel well, the liquid hydrogen 43 cm disconnect cavity and possibly around two of the main engines.

Mission insignia
The thirty-six stars on the insignia symbolize the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence; the stars also form part of a stylized American flag, forming the background to an image of a bald eagle, the American national bird.

title: STS-36


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Portal:Current events/March 2004

March 2004 was the third month of that leap year. The month, which began on a Monday, ended on a Wednesday after 31 days.

Portal:Current events
This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from March 2004.

title: Portal:Current events/March 2004


text:
STS-41

STS-41 was the 36th Space Shuttle mission and the eleventh mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The four-day mission had a primary objective of launching the Ulysses probe as part of the "International Solar Polar Mission" (ISPM).

Mission highlights

Discovery lifted off on October61990 at 7:47:16a.m. EDT. Liftoff occurred 12minutes after a two-and-a-half-hour launch window opened that day at 7:35a.m. EDT. STS-41 featured the heaviest payload to date; Discovery weighed 117749 kg.

The primary payload was the European Space Agency (ESA)-built Ulysses spacecraft to explore the polar regions of Sun. Attached to Ulysses were two upper stages, the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) and a mission-specific Payload Assist Module-S (PAM-S), combined for first time to send Ulysses toward an out-of-ecliptic trajectory. Other payloads and experiments included the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment, Intelsat Solar Array Coupon (ISAC), Chromosome and Plant Cell Division Experiment (CHROMEX), Voice Command System (VCS), Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE), Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP), Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE), Radiation Monitoring Experiment III (RME III), Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) and Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS).

Six hours after Discovery's launch, Ulysses was deployed from the payload bay. Ulysses, a joint project between the European Space Agency and NASA, was the first spacecraft to study the Sun's polar regions. Its voyage to the Sun began with a sixteen month trip to Jupiter where the planet's gravitational energy was used to fling Ulysses southward out of the orbital plane of the planets and on toward a solar south pole passage in 1994. The spacecraft crossed back over the orbital plane and made a solar north pole passage in 1995. By the time Discovery touched down at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Ulysses had already traversed 1600000 km on its five-year mission.

With Ulysses on its way, the STS-41 crew began an ambitious schedule of science experiments. Flowering plant samples were grown in the CHROMEX-2 module in a Kennedy Space Center and Stony Brook University experiment. An earlier version of the experiment flown on STS-29 revealed chromosome damage in root tip cells but no damage to control plants on Earth. By studying plant samples carried on Discovery, researchers hoped to determine how the genetic material in the root cells respond to microgravity. The information gained was of importance to future space travelers on long-term expeditions, researchers on the planned Space Station Freedom, and may contribute to advances in intensive farming practices on Earth.

Understanding fire behavior in microgravity was part of the continuing research to improve Space Shuttle safety. In a specially designed chamber, called the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE), a strip of paper was burned and filmed to gain an understanding of the development of flame and its movement in the absence of convection currents. This experiment was sponsored by the Lewis Research Center (LeRC) and Mississippi State University.

Atmospheric ozone depletion is an environmental problem of worldwide concern. At the time, NASA's Nimbus 7 satellite and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) satellites provided daily data to permit researchers to detect ozone trends. The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) instrument, from the Goddard Space Flight Center, carried an ozone detector instrument identical to those on the satellites. By comparing Discovery's measurements with coordinated satellite observations, scientists were able to calibrate their satellite instruments to insure the most accurate readings possible.

In 1990, a commercial expendable launch vehicle stranded an INTELSAT VI communications satellite in low Earth orbit. Before STS-41, NASA was evaluating a possible Shuttle rescue mission in 1992. In preparation for this rescue, solar arrays, similar to those on the satellite, were exposed to the conditions of low orbit to determine if they were in any way altered by the atomic oxygen present. When the returned arrays were closely examined, it was found that the arrays were not significantly damaged. Based on this finding, NASA went ahead and carried out STS-49 in 1992.

Until STS-41, previous research had shown that during the process of adapting to microgravity, animals and humans experienced loss of bone mass, cardiac deconditioning, and after prolonged periods (over 30 days), developed symptoms similar to that of terrestrial disuse osteoporosis. The goal of the STS-41 Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE), sponsored by the Ames Research Center and Pennsylvania State University's Center for Cell Research, was to determine if pharmacological treatments would be effective in reducing or eliminating some of these disorders. Proteins, developed by Genentech of San Francisco, California, were administered to eight rats during the flight while another eight rats accompanying them on the flight did not receive the treatment.

The Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP) experiment was conducted to determine the role convection currents play in membrane formation. Membranes are used in commercial applications for purification of medicines, kidney dialysis, and water desalination. This experiment was sponsored in part by the Battelle Advanced Materials Center for the Commercial Development of Space in Columbus, Ohio.

During open periods in the STS-41 crew schedule, the astronauts video taped a number of demonstrations as part of an effort to create an educational video tape for middle school level students. The tape was later distributed nationwide through NASA's Teacher Resource Center network.

The astronauts evaluated the suitability of graphical user interfaces. Previous shuttle crews used Grid Systems laptop computers with command-line interfaces. The evaluation used mostly commercially available hardware and software, including a Macintosh Portable laptop. The astronauts found the Portable's trackball did not work well in weightlessness. The evaluation was continued on STS-43, this time using a Macintosh Portable with a modified trackball.

Additional crew activities included experimenting with a voice command system (VCS) to control onboard television cameras and monitoring ionizing radiation exposure to the crew within the orbiter cabin.

On October10,1990, at 6:57:19a.m. PDT, Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on runway 22. Rollout distance was 2523 m and the rollout time was 49 seconds (including a braking test). Discovery was returned to Kennedy Space Center on October16,1990.

Wake-up calls
NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini, which was first used to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by their families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.

title: STS-41


text:
Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn, and Berman

Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn, and Berman was a New York City law firm which practiced from 1950 to 2002. At its height, the firm employed 170 attorneys.

History
The firm was founded in 1950. One partner, Edward I. Koch, served as the mayor of New York from 1978 through 1989. and joined the law firm in 1990. An associate, Mildred Trouillot, later became the first lady of Haiti. Another associate, Rand Levin, began as a litigator for the firm before later becoming the Vice Senior President, Business & Legal Affairs at Universal Music Group. U. S. federal judge Leonard B. Sand was a partner for 19 years when the firm was called Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn, Sand and Berman.

One of the name partners, Alan J. B. Aronsohn, died in 2008.

Merger
In July 2002, it merged with St. Louis–based Bryan Cave LLP to become Bryan Cave Robinson Silverman. In January 2003, the firm's name officially reverted to Bryan Cave.


text:
STS-38

STS-38 was a Space Shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle Atlantis. It was the 37th shuttle mission, and carried a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). It was the seventh flight for Atlantis and the seventh flight dedicated to the Department of Defense. The mission was a 4-day mission that traveled 3291199 km and completed 79 revolutions. Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility's runway 33. The launch was originally scheduled for July 1990, but was rescheduled due to a hydrogen leak found on during the STS-35 countdown. During a rollback to the Orbiter Processing Facility Atlantis was damaged during a hail storm. The eventual launch date of November 15, 1990, was set due to a payload problem. The launch window was between 18:30 and 22:30 EST. The launch occurred at 18:48:13 EST.

Preparations and launch
The launch occurred on November 15, 1990, 18:48:13 EST. It was originally scheduled for July 9, 1990, however, a liquid hydrogen leak found on Columbia during the STS-35 countdown prompted three precautionary tanking tests on Atlantis at the pad on June 29, 1990, on July 13, and on July 25, 1990. Tests confirmed the hydrogen fuel leak on the external tank side of the external tank/orbiter 43.2 cm quick disconnect umbilical. This could not be repaired at the pad and Atlantis was rolled back to the VAB on August 9, 1990, demated, then transferred to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF). During rollback, the vehicle remained parked outside the VAB for about a day while the Columbia/STS-35 stack was transferred to the pad for launch. While outside, Atlantis suffered minor hail damage to its tiles during a thunderstorm. After repairs were made in the OPF, Atlantis was transferred to the VAB for mating on October 2, 1990. During hoisting operations, the platform beam that was to have been removed from the orbiter's aft compartment fell and caused minor damage, which was repaired. The vehicle rolled out to Pad A on October 12, 1990. The fourth mini-tanking test was performed on October 24, 1990, with no excessive hydrogen or oxygen leakage detected. During the Flight Readiness Review (FRR), the launch date was set for November 9, 1990. The launch was reset for November 15 due to payload problems. Liftoff occurred during a classified launch window lying within a launch period extending from 18:30 to 22:30 EST on November 15, 1990.

Classified payload
According to Aviation Week, the shuttle initially entered a 204 km x 519 km orbit at an inclination of 28.45° to the equator. It then executed three orbital maneuvering system (OMS) burns, the last on orbit #4. The first of these circularized the orbit at 519 km.

The first classified payload was code-named USA-67, which was deployed from Atlantis' cargo bay on the seventh orbit and ignited its rocket motor at the ascending node of the eighth orbit to place it in a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). Aviation Week reported that USA-67 was a secret ELINT gathering satellite headed for geosynchronous orbit and launched to monitor the events during the first Gulf War in 1990. As a result of there being two upper stages aboard STS-38, USA-67 was originally believed to be a Magnum satellite like those deployed on STS-51-C and STS-33, which were launched via a two-stage Inertial Upper Stage (IUS). Today it is believed that USA-67 was instead a secret Satellite Data System (SDS-2) military communications satellite, like those deployed on STS-28 and STS-53.

It is also believed that USA-67 was not the only satellite deployed during STS-38. A publicly released image of Atlantis' vertical stabilizer and upper aft bulkhead, similar to the one released from STS-53, confirms that the ASE (Airborne Support Equipment) for the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) was absent from this flight. An explanation is that two separate satellites were deployed, using single-stage Payload Assist Module (PAM-D). Rumors that appear to have been substantiated by the identification of an "unknown" geostationary satellite by amateur observers insist that the second payload was a stealth satellite known as Prowler, reportedly intended to covertly inspect other nation's geostationary satellites.

Landing
The mission was extended by one day due to unacceptable crosswinds at the original planned landing site of Edwards Air Force Base. Continued adverse conditions led to a decision to shift the landing to KSC. Landing occurred on November 20, 1990, 16:42:42 EST, Runway 33, at the Kennedy Space Center. The rollout distance was 2753 m and rollout time was 57 seconds. STS-38 marked the first KSC landing for Atlantis, and the first shuttle landing at KSC since April 1985 (the last being STS-51-D). Atlantis weighed 86677 kg at landing.

title: STS-38


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STS-35

STS-35 was the tenth flight of Space Shuttle Columbia, the 38th shuttle mission. It was devoted to astronomical observations with ASTRO-1, a Spacelab observatory consisting of four telescopes. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 2, 1990.

Crew notes
Prior to the Challenger disaster, this mission was slated to launch in March 1986 as STS-61-E. Jon A. McBride was originally assigned to command this mission, which would have been his second spaceflight. He chose to retire from NASA in May 1989 and was replaced as mission commander by Vance D. Brand. In addition, Richard N. Richards (as pilot) and David C. Leestma (as mission specialist), were replaced by Guy S. Gardner and John M. Lounge respectively. Fifty-nine year-old Brand was the oldest astronaut to fly into space until F. Story Musgrave, 61 on STS-80 in 1996, and U.S. Senator John H. Glenn Jr., 77 when he flew on STS-95 in 1998.

Preparations and launch

The much-delayed ASTRO-1 had originally been manifested to fly on what would have been the next shuttle mission after Challenger's ill-fated STS-51-L as STS-61-E in March 1986. The mission was remanifested as STS-35 during the long stand-down after the accident with the addition of the Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT-01), and the original ASTRO-1 payload was brought out of storage and recertified for flight. Columbia rolled out to Pad 39A in late April 1990 for a scheduled launch date of May 16, 1990. Following the Flight Readiness Review (FRR), announcement of a firm launch date was delayed to change a faulty freon coolant loop proportional valve in the orbiter's coolant system. At the subsequent Delta FRR, the date was set for May 30, 1990. Launch on May 30 was scrubbed during tanking due to a minor hydrogen leak in the tail service mast on the mobile launcher platform and a major leak in the external tank/orbiter quick disconnect assembly. Hydrogen was also detected in the orbiter's aft compartment and believed to be associated with a leak involving the 43 cm umbilical assembly.

Leakage at the 43 cm umbilical was confirmed by a mini-tanking test on June 6, 1990. The leakage could not be repaired at the pad, and the vehicle was rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) June 12, 1990, demated, and transferred to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF). The orbiter-side 43 cm umbilical assembly was replaced with one borrowed from Endeavour, then still under construction. The external tank (ET) was then fitted with new umbilical hardware. The ASTRO-1 payload was reserviced regularly and remained in Columbia's cargo bay during orbiter repairs and reprocessing.

Columbia was rolled out to Pad A for the second time on August 9, 1990, to support a September 1, 1990, launch date. Two days before launch, the avionics box on the BBXRT-01 portion of the ASTRO-1 payload malfunctioned and had to be changed and retested. Launch was rescheduled for September 6, 1990. During tanking, high concentrations of hydrogen were again detected in the orbiter's aft compartment, forcing another postponement. NASA managers concluded that Columbia had experienced separate hydrogen leaks from the beginning: one of the umbilical assembly (now replaced) and one or more which had resurfaced in the aft compartment. Suspicion focused on the package of three hydrogen recirculation pumps in the aft compartment. These were replaced and retested. A damaged Teflon cover seal in the main engine number three hydrogen prevalve was replaced. Launch was rescheduled for September 18, 1990. The fuel leak in the aft compartment resurfaced during tanking, and the launch was scrubbed again. The STS-35 mission was put on hold until problem resolved by a special tiger team assigned by the Space Shuttle director.

Columbia was transferred to Pad B on October 8, 1990, to make room for Atlantis on Mission STS-38. Tropical storm Klaus forced another rollback to the VAB on October 9, 1990. The vehicle was transferred to Pad B again on October 14, 1990. Another mini-tanking test was conducted on October 30, 1990, using special sensors and video cameras and employing a see-through Plexiglas aft compartment door. No excessive hydrogen leakage was detected. With the problem resolved, the flight had only to wait for the completion of STS-38, imparting another four-week delay. A scheduled launch date of November 30, 1990, was moved by several days due to concerns that observations of astronomical targets would be adversely affected. Liftoff on December 2, 1990, was delayed by 21 minutes to allow the U.S. Air Force time to observe low-level clouds that might impede the tracking of the Shuttle's ascent. Liftoff finally occurred on December 2, 1990, 1:49:01 a.m. EST, the ninth night launch in shuttle history and the second for Columbia. A nominal ascent to orbit followed. This was one of the most delayed launches of the Space Shuttle program.

Mission highlights

The primary payload of mission STS-35 was ASTRO-1, the fifth flight of the Spacelab system and the second with the Igloo and two pallets train configuration. The primary objectives were round-the-clock observations of the celestial sphere in ultraviolet and X-ray spectral wavelengths with the ASTRO-1 observatory, consisting of four telescopes: Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT); Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE); Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT), mounted on the Instrument Pointing System (IPS). The Instrument Pointing System consisted of a three-axis gimbal system mounted on a gimbal support structure connected to a Spacelab pallet at one end and the aft end of the payload at the other, a payload clamping system for support of the mounted experiment during launch and landing, and a control system based on the inertial reference of a three-axis gyro package and operated by a gimbal-mounted microcomputer. The Broad-Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT) and its Two-Axis Pointing System (TAPS) rounded out the instrument complement in the aft payload bay.

The crew split into shifts after reaching orbit, with Gardner, Parker, and Parise comprising the Red Team; the Blue Team consisted of Hoffman, Durrance, and Lounge. Commander Brand was unassigned to either team and helped coordinate mission activities. The telescopes were powered up and raised from their stowed position by the Red Team 11 hours into the flight. Observations began under the Blue Team 16 hours into the mission after the instruments were checked out. In a typical ASTRO-1 ultraviolet observation, the flight crew member on duty maneuvered the Shuttle to point the cargo bay in the general direction of the astronomical object to be observed. The mission specialist commanded the pointing system to aim the telescopes toward the target. They also locked on to guide stars to help the pointing system remain stable despite orbiter thruster firings. The payload specialist set up each instrument for the upcoming observation, identified the celestial target on the guide television, and provided the necessary pointing corrections for placing the object precisely in the telescope's field of view. He then started the instrument observation sequences and monitored the data being recorded. Because the many observations created a heavy workload, the payload and mission specialists worked together to perform these complicated operations and evaluate the quality of observations. Each observation took between 10 minutes to a little over an hour.

Issues with the pointing precision of the IPS and the sequential overheating failures of both data display units (used for pointing telescopes and operating experiments) during the mission impacted crew-aiming procedures and forced ground teams at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to aim the telescopes with fine-tuning by the flight crew. BBXRT-01 was directed from the outset by ground-based operators at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and was not affected. The X-ray telescope required little attention from the crew. A crew member would turn on the BBXRT and the TAPS at the beginning of operations and then turn them off when the operations concluded. After the telescope was activated, researchers at Goddard could "talk" to the telescope via computer. Before science operations began, stored commands were loaded into the BBXRT computer system. Then, when the astronauts positioned the Shuttle in the general direction of the source, the TAPS automatically pointed the BBXRT at the object. Since the Shuttle could be oriented in only one direction at a time, X-ray observations had to be coordinated carefully with ultraviolet observations. Despite the pointing problems, the full suite of telescopes obtained 231 observations of 130 celestial objects over a combined span of 143 hours. Science teams at Marshall and Goddard estimated that 70% of the mission objectives were completed. ASTRO-1 was the first shuttle mission controlled in part from the Spacelab Mission Operations Control facility at MSFC in Huntsville, Alabama.

During the flight, the crew experienced trouble dumping waste water due to a blocked waste water line, but managed to compensate using spare containers. Problems also affected one RCC thruster and an onboard text and graphics teleprinter used for receiving flight plan updates.

Additional payloads and experiments

Conducting short-wave radio transmissions between ground-based amateur radio operators and a Shuttle-based amateur radio operator was the basis for the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX-II). SAREX communicated with amateur stations in line-of-sight of the orbiter in one of four transmission modes: voice, Slow-scan television (SSTV), data or (uplink only) Fast scan television (FSTV). The voice mode was operated in the attended mode while SSTV, data or FSTV could be operated in either attended or unattended modes. During the mission, SAREX was operated by Payload Specialist Ron Parise, a licensed operator (WA4SIR), during periods when he was not scheduled for orbiter or other payload activities. A ground-based experiment to calibrate electro-optical sensors at Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) in Hawaii was also conducted during the mission. The Space Classroom Program, Assignment: The Stars project was carried out to spark student interest in science, mathematics and technology. Mission Specialist Hoffman conducted the first classroom lesson taught from space on December 7, 1990, in support of this objective, covering material on the electromagnetic spectrum and the ASTRO-1 observatory. A supporting lesson was taught from the ASTRO-1 control center in Huntsville.

Landing

The mission was cut short by one day due to impending bad weather at the primary landing site, Edwards Air Force Base, California. The Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines were fired at 8:48 p.m. PST over the Indian Ocean to deorbit the spacecraft, which landed on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, at 9:54 p.m. PST, on December 10, 1990, after a mission duration of 8 days, 23 hours, 5 minutes, and 8 seconds. This was the fourth night landing of the shuttle program. Rollout distance: 3.184 km). Rollout time: 58 seconds. Columbia returned to KSC on December 20, 1990, on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). Landing weight: 102208 kg.

title: STS-35


text:
Terminator (genetics)

In genetics, a transcription terminator is a section of nucleic acid sequence that marks the end of a gene or operon in genomic DNA during transcription. This sequence mediates transcriptional termination by providing signals in the newly synthesized transcript RNA that trigger processes which release the transcript RNA from the transcriptional complex. These processes include the direct interaction of the mRNA secondary structure with the complex and/or the indirect activities of recruited termination factors. Release of the transcriptional complex frees RNA polymerase and related transcriptional machinery to begin transcription of new mRNAs.

In prokaryotes
Two classes of transcription terminators, Rho-dependent and Rho-independent, have been identified throughout prokaryotic genomes. These widely distributed sequences are responsible for triggering the end of transcription upon normal completion of gene or operon transcription, mediating early termination of transcripts as a means of regulation such as that observed in transcriptional attenuation, and to ensure the termination of runaway transcriptional complexes that manage to escape earlier terminators by chance, which prevents unnecessary energy expenditure for the cell.

Rho-dependent terminators
Rho-dependent transcription terminators require a large protein called a Rho factor which exhibits RNA helicase activity to disrupt the mRNA-DNA-RNA polymerase transcriptional complex. Rho-dependent terminators are found in bacteria and phages. The Rho-dependent terminator occurs downstream of translational stop codons and consists of an unstructured, cytosine-rich sequence on the mRNA known as a Rho utilization site (rut), and a downstream transcription stop point (tsp). The rut serves as a mRNA loading site and as an activator for Rho; activation enables Rho to efficiently hydrolyze ATP and translocate down the mRNA while it maintains contact with the rut site. Rho is able to catch up with the RNA polymerase because it is being stalled at the downstream tsp sites. Multiple different sequences can function as a tsp site. Contact between Rho and the RNA polymerase complex stimulates dissociation of the transcriptional complex through a mechanism involving allosteric effects of Rho on RNA polymerase.

Rho-independent terminators
Intrinsic transcription terminators or Rho-independent terminators require the formation of a self-annealing hairpin structure on the elongating transcript, which results in the disruption of the mRNA-DNA-RNA polymerase ternary complex. The terminator sequence in DNA contains a 20 basepair GC-rich region of dyad symmetry followed by a short poly-A tract or "A stretch" which is transcribed to form the terminating hairpin and a 7–9 nucleotide "U tract" respectively. The mechanism of termination is hypothesized to occur through a combination of direct promotion of dissociation through allosteric effects of hairpin binding interactions with the RNA polymerase and "competitive kinetics". The hairpin formation causes RNA polymerase stalling and destabilization, leading to a greater likelihood that dissociation of the complex will occur at that location due to increased time spent paused at that site and reduced stability of the complex. Additionally, the elongation protein factor NusA interacts with the RNA polymerase and the hairpin structure to stimulate transcriptional termination.

In eukaryotes
In eukaryotic transcription of mRNAs, terminator signals are recognized by protein factors that are associated with the RNA polymerase II and which trigger the termination process. The genome encodes one or more polyadenylation signals. Once the signals are transcribed into the mRNA, the proteins cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF) and cleavage stimulation factor (CstF) transfer from the carboxyl terminal domain of RNA polymerase II to the poly-A signal. These two factors then recruit other proteins to the site to cleave the transcript, freeing the mRNA from the transcription complex, and add a string of about 200 A-repeats to the 3' end of the mRNA in a process known as polyadenylation. During these processing steps, the RNA polymerase continues to transcribe for several hundred to a few thousand bases and eventually dissociates from the DNA and downstream transcript through an unclear mechanism; there are two basic models for this event known as the torpedo and allosteric models.

Torpedo model
After the mRNA is completed and cleaved off at the poly-A signal sequence, the left-over (residual) RNA strand remains bound to the DNA template and the RNA polymerase II unit, continuing to be transcribed. After this cleavage, a so-called exonuclease binds to the residual RNA strand and removes the freshly transcribed nucleotides one at a time (also called 'degrading' the RNA), moving towards the bound RNA polymerase II. This exonuclease is XRN2 (5'-3' Exoribonuclease 2) in humans. This model proposes that XRN2 proceeds to degrade the uncapped residual RNA from 5' to 3' until it reaches the RNA pol II unit. This causes the exonuclease to 'push off' the RNA pol II unit as it moves past it, terminating the transcription while also cleaning up the residual RNA strand.

Similar to Rho-dependent termination, XRN2 triggers the dissociation of RNA polymerase II by either pushing the polymerase off of the DNA template or pulling the template out of the RNA polymerase. The mechanism by which this happens remains unclear, however, and has been challenged not to be the sole cause of the dissociation.

In order to protect the transcribed mRNA from degradation by the exonuclease, a 5' cap is added to the strand. This is a modified guanine added to the front of mRNA, which prevents the exonuclease from binding and degrading the RNA strand. A 3' poly(A) tail is added to the end of a mRNA strand for protection from other exonucleases as well.

Allosteric model
The allosteric model suggests that termination occurs due to the structural change of the RNA polymerase unit after binding to or losing some of its associated proteins, making it detach from the DNA strand after the signal. This would occur after the RNA pol II unit has transcribed the poly-A signal sequence, which acts as a terminator signal.

RNA polymerase is normally capable of transcribing DNA into single-stranded mRNA efficiently. However, upon transcribing over the poly-A signals on the DNA template, a conformational shift is induced in the RNA polymerase from the proposed loss of associated proteins from its carboxyl terminal domain. This change of conformation reduces RNA polymerase's processivity making the enzyme more prone to dissociating from its DNA-RNA substrate. In this case, termination is not completed by degradation of mRNA but instead is mediated by limiting the elongation efficiency of RNA polymerase and thus increasing the likelihood that the polymerase will dissociate and end its current cycle of transcription.

Non-mRNAs
The several RNA polymerases in eukaryotes each have their own means of termination. Pol I is stopped by TTF1 (yeast Nsi1), which recognizes a downstream DNA sequence; the endonuclease is XRN2 (yeast Rat1). Pol III is able to terminate on its on on a stretch of As on the template strand.

Finally, Pol II also have poly(A)-independent modes of termination, which is required when it transcribes snRNA and snoRNA genes in yeast. The yeast protein Nrd1 is responsible. Some human mechanism, possibly PCF11, seems to cause premature termination when pol II transcribes HIV genes.

title: Terminator (genetics)


text:
STS-37

STS-37, the thirty-ninth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the eighth flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, was a six-day mission with the primary objective of launching the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), the second of the Great Observatories program which included the visible-spectrum Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) and the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope. The mission also featured two spacewalks, the first since 1985.

Spacewalks

 *  Ross and Apt  – EVA 1
 * EVA 1 Start: April 7, 1991
 * EVA 1 End: April 7, 1991
 * Duration: 4 hours, 32 minutes

 *  Ross and Apt  – EVA 2
 * EVA 2 Start: April 8, 1991
 * EVA 2 End: April 8, 1991
 * Duration: 5 hours, 57 minutes

Preparations and launch

The STS-37 mission was successfully launched from launch pad 39B at 9:22:44 a.m. EST on April 5, 1991, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Resumption of the countdown after the T-9-minute hold was delayed about 4 minutes 45 seconds because of two possible weather-condition violations of the launch commit criteria (LCC). The first concerned the cloud ceiling being 150 m less than the minimum of 2400 m for a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) abort, and the second concerned the possible weather-condition (wind) effects on blast propagation. Both conditions were found acceptable and the launch countdown proceeded to a satisfactory launch to an inclination of 28.45°. Launch weight: 116040 kg.

Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
The primary payload, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), was deployed on flight day 3. CGRO's high-gain antenna failed to deploy on command; it was finally freed and manually deployed by Ross and Apt during an unscheduled contingency spacewalk, the first since April 1985. The following day, the two astronauts performed the first scheduled spacewalk since November 1985 to test means for astronauts to move themselves and equipment about while maintaining the then-planned Space Station Freedom. CGRO science instruments were Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), imaging Compton Telescope (COMPTEL), Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) and Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE). CGRO was the second of NASA's four Great Observatories. The Hubble Space Telescope, deployed during Mission STS-31 in April 1990, was the first. CGRO was launched on a two-year mission to search for the high-energy celestial gamma ray emissions, which cannot penetrate Earth's atmosphere. At about 16000 kg, CGRO was the heaviest satellite to be deployed into low Earth orbit from the Shuttle. It was also designed to be the first satellite that could be refueled in orbit by Shuttle crews. Five months after deployment, NASA renamed the satellite the Arthur Holly Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, or Compton Observatory, after the Nobel Prize-winning physicist who did important work in gamma-ray astronomy.

Spacewalks

The first U.S. extravehicular activity (EVA) or spacewalk since 1985 was performed by Mission Specialists Ross and Apt after six failed attempts to deploy the satellite's high-gain antenna. Repeated commands by ground controllers at the Payload Operations Control Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, and maneuvering of Atlantis and its Remote Manipulator System (Canadarm) robot arm, as well as CGRO's antenna dish, were to no avail in dislodging the boom. Ross and Apt were prepared for such a contingency, and Ross freed the antenna boom within 17 minutes after beginning the spacewalk. It was the first unscheduled contingency EVA since STS-51-D in April 1985. Deployment occurred about 18:35 EST, approximately 4$1/2$ hours after it was scheduled.

The following day, on April 8, 1991, Ross and Apt made the first scheduled EVA since Mission STS-61-B in November 1985. The spacewalk was to test methods of moving crew members and equipment around the future Space Station Freedom. One of the experiments was to evaluate manual, mechanical and electrical power methods of moving carts around the outside of large structures in space. Although all three methods worked, the astronauts reported that propelling the cart manually or hand-over-hand worked best. With both EVAs, Ross and Apt logged 10 hours and 29 minutes walking in space during STS-37. Crew members also reported success with secondary experiments.

During the second EVA, a stainless steel palm restraint bar punctured the pressure bladder of Apt's right glove. However, the astronaut's hand and silk comfort glove partially sealed the hole, resulting in no detectable depressurization. In fact, the puncture was not noticed until postflight examination.

Additional payloads and experiments
Secondary payloads included Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA), which involved scheduled six-hour spacewalk by astronauts Ross and Apt (see above); Ascent Particle Monitor (APM); Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX II); Protein Crystal Growth (PCG); Bioserve/Instrumentation Technology Associates Materials Dispersion Apparatus (BIMDA); Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME Ill); and Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment. Among the other payloads flown was the first flight of the Bioserve/Instrumentation Technology Associates Materials Dispersion Apparatus (BIMDA) to explore the commercial potential of experiments in the biomedical, manufacturing processes and fluid sciences fields, and the Protein Crystal Growth experiment, which has flown eight times before in various forms. Astronaut Pilot Kenneth D. Cameron was the primary operator of the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX), although all five crew members participated as amateur radio operators. It was arguably the first time that the astronauts received fast scan amateur television video from the ham radio club station (W5RRR) at Johnson Space Center (JSC).

During the spaceflight, the crew was additionally able to photograph the Kuwaiti oil fires on April 7, 1991, as the Gulf War was ongoing during the spaceflight.

Landing

On April 11, 1991, at 06:55:29 PDT, Atlantis landed on runway 33 at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The rollout distance was 1940 m, and the rollout time was 56 seconds. The landing was originally scheduled for April 10, 1991, but was delayed one day by weather conditions at Edwards and Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The orbiter returned to KSC on April 18, 1991. The landing weight was 86227 kg.

An incorrect call on winds aloft caused Atlantis to land 623 feet (190 metres) short of the lakebed runway's threshold marking. This did not present a problem, since the orbiter landed on the dry lakebed of Edwards, and was not obvious to most viewers. Had the landing been attempted at the Kennedy Space Center, the result would have been a touchdown on the paved underrun preceding the runway and would have been much more obvious. The landing speed was 168 knots equivalent airspeed (KEAS), 13 knots faster than the slowest landing of the Shuttle program, STS-28's 155 KEAS.

Mission insignia
The three stars on the top and seven stars on the bottom of the insignia symbolize the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence. The stars also represented the Amateur Radio term "73" or "Best regards", consistent with the fact that the entire crew had become licensed and operated the SAREX-II experiment while on orbit.

Wake-up calls
NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during the Project Gemini, and first used music to wake up a flight crew during Apollo 15. Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.

title: STS-37


text:
Talk:2004 in sports

Untitled
What's the consensus for the cutoff point for obscurity/excessiveness with this page? We seem to be listing another golf tournament every week - will we be listing the winner of every Formula One race, or major tennis tournament as well, or does that seem excessive to people? Average Earthman 21:02, 1 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I propose listing only the 4 major European league winners (major as defined by qualification spots for the Champions League) - those of the Premier League, Primera League, Serie A and Bundesliga. Average Earthman 11:55, 26 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Right, since nobody has actually asked me not to (and I've asked here, and at Village Pump), and Wikipedia complains about the sheer size of this article, I'm going to do a bit of housekeeping. Firstly, nothing is being thrown away. Not by me, anyway. Secondly, I'm starting by using a simple rule of thumb - if any one sport covers more than a page on my web browser, I'm going to give it it's own 2004 in XXXX article, since it's a lot longer than it has been on any of the previous year in sports pages. Thirdly, no I'm not picking on your favourite sport of baseball/cricket/figure skating/international tiddlywinks. I'm just streamlining the 2004 in sports page, the sport itself will keep its entry on the main page, just a bit shorter. I'm only doing the first couple now to see if anyone screams. You'll notice from the entries above that I've been considering this for some time. If you think that some other insignificant sport has far too much detail on it as well, suggest here that it gets its own year in that sport page, and if nobody objects, we'll shift it. But I don't want to cut out anything that is accurate, since there hasn't been enough discussion on that. Average Earthman 12:53, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)

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Just to let everyone know, I've added the the info regarding the 2004 24 Hours of LeMans to the Auto-Racing section. Enjoy. Captain Spyro 3:52, February 20 2005

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The medal count for the 2004 Summer Olympics disagrees with the count on the linked-to page. Someone needs to figure out why they're different. (I suspect that this page is wrong; my guess is that the count changed due to disqualifications and such that were settled after the games--just a guess.)

title: Talk:2004 in sports