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Goosebumps

Goosebumps is a series of horror novels written by American author R. L. Stine. The protagonists in these stories are teens or pre-teens who find themselves in frightening circumstances, often involving the supernatural, the paranormal or the occult. Between 1992 and 1997, sixty-two books were published under the Goosebumps umbrella title. R. L. Stine also wrote various spin-off series, including, Goosebumps Series 2000, Give Yourself Goosebumps, Tales to Give You Goosebumps, Goosebumps Triple Header, Goosebumps HorrorLand, Goosebumps Most Wanted and Goosebumps SlappyWorld. Additionally, there was a series called Goosebumps Gold that was never released.

Goosebumps has spawned a pair of television series, a video games series, a comic series and merchandise, as well as a pair of feature films, which star Jack Black as a fictionalized version of Stine.

The series was originally published in English by Scholastic Press in the United States and Scholastic Hippo in the United Kingdom. Spanning various genres, including horror, comedy, fantasy, adventure, supernatural fiction, thriller and mystery, the world of Goosebumps explores a multitude of themes.

Since the release of its first novel, Welcome to Dead House, in July 1992, the books have achieved immense popularity, garnered positive reviews, and achieved commercial success worldwide. They have captivated a diverse audience, including children and older readers, and have sold over 400 million copies globally in 35 languages as of October 2022, becoming the second-best-selling book series in history (behind Harry Potter). At one point, the series held the distinction of being the best-selling book series of all time, selling over 4 million books a month during its prime. Individual books in the series have been listed in several bestseller lists, including the New York Times Best Seller list for children.

Structure and genre

The Goosebumps series falls under many genres but mainly horror and thriller, although Stine characterizes the series as 'scary books that are also funny'. Each book features different child characters and settings. The primary protagonists are middle class and can be either male or female. In Goosebumps stories, the central characters are often placed in remote or isolated locations, diverging from common societal conventions. This can range anywhere from comfortable suburban areas to boarding schools, foreign villages or campsites. Books typically feature characters who either recently moved to a new neighborhood or are sent to stay with relatives. The books in the Goosebumps series feature similar plot structures with children being involved in scary situations. At his peak, Stine was known to complete these stories extremely quickly, some of which were written in only six days. The books are mostly written in first person narrative, often concluding with twist endings. They contain surreal horror, with characters encountering the strange and supernatural.

The author has plot devices he follows throughout his Goosebumps books. Stine says he does not have any death in his stories, and the children in his novels are never put into situations that would be considered too serious. He attributed the success of his books to their absence of drugs, depravity and violence.

All Goosebumps books are written at a reading level ranging from 3rd to 7th grade.

Inspiration and themes
According to the documentary Tales from the Crypt: From Comic Books to Television, R.L. Stine said that he remembered reading the popular/infamous Tales from the Crypt comic books when he was young and credited as one of his inspirations. Books and characters in the series were inspired by books and films. For example, the character Slappy the Dummy was inspired by the literary classic The Adventures of Pinocchio. Some of Stine's ideas for the books also came from real life; Stine got the idea for the book The Haunted Mask after his son, Matt, had a Halloween mask he had trouble getting off. Stine also uses his childhood fears to help him write his books. The author said, "Luckily, I have a great memory. As I write a story, I can remember what it feels like to be afraid and panicky". Stine states he often thinks of a title to a novel first, then lets the title lead him to a story.

Two common themes in the series are children triumphing over evil and children facing horrid or frightening situations and using their own wit and imagination to escape them. Stine does not attempt to incorporate moral lessons into his novels, and says his books are "strictly reading motivation".

Characters
Recurring characters who appear in multiple books and media.

 * Slappy the Dummy is the main villain of the Night of the Living Dummy saga and the mascot of the series.
 * The Haunted Mask is the villain of the book saga of the same name.
 * The Horrors serve as the main villain(s) of Goosebumps #16: One Day at Horrorland and the HorrorLand book series.
 * The Monster Blood is the titular monster of the book series of the same name.
 * Amanda Benson is the protagonist of the first Goosebumps book, Welcome to Dead House.
 * Carly Beth Caldwell is one of the recurring protagonists of the Haunted Mask series.
 * Evan Ross is the main protagonist of the first four books of Monster Blood.
 * Lizzy Morris is the protagonist of the first two HorrorLand books and a major protagonist of the HorrorLand series.
 * The Menace is the main villain of the first story arc of the HorrorLand series.
 * Jonathan Chiller is the main villain of the second arc of the Goosebumps HorrorLand series.
 * Ray Gordon is the narrator character of the last part of the second arc of Goosebumps HorrorLand.
 * Billy Deep is the protagonist of the Deep Trouble series.

Original Goosebumps series

Following the success of Stine's young adult horror novels, the co-founder of Parachute Press (the company that developed the series), Joan Waricha, persuaded him to write scary books for younger children. Stine says the name for the book series came to him after he saw a TV station's ad in TV Guide that stated "It's goosebumps week on Channel 11". He originally signed a six-book deal with the publisher Scholastic, but went on to write 62 books in the original series, the first book being Welcome to Dead House, released in July 1992. The series was originally aimed at girls, but both boys and girls enjoyed the series equally with half of Stine's fan mail being sent from boys. The cover illustrations for this series was done primarily by Tim Jacobus. Thirty-two of the books from the original series were later re-released with new artwork under the Classic Goosebumps rename.

Spin-off series
The books in the Tales to Give You Goosebumps and Goosebumps Triple Header series were written as short story anthologies, featuring a collection of stories in each book. From 1994 to 1997, six Tales to Give You Goosebumps books were published. Two Goosebumps Triple Header books were released from 1997 to 1998, beginning with Three Shocking Tales of Terror: Book 1.

Fifty Give Yourself Goosebumps books were published from 1995 to 2000, starting with Escape from the Carnival of Horrors. The books in this series were written as gamebooks, featuring multiple endings. The books in this series were ghostwritten by several authors, including Kathryn Lance and Stine's sister-in-law Megan Stine. Many of the cover illustrations for this series were done by Mark Nagata.

Due to declining Goosebumps sales and increasing competition (primarily from another series from Scholastic, Animorphs), Scholastic and R. L. Stine decided to create Goosebumps Series 2000. From 1998 to 2000, 25 books in the series were published, beginning with Cry of the Cat. The books in this series were written in a similar format and featured similar content to the original series, but Stine classified them as being "much scarier." The covers in this series were illustrated by Tim Jacobus.

The books in the Goosebumps Gold series appeared on illustrator Tim Jacobus's website and marketing sites but were never released. In this series, Stine intended to write a sequel to The Haunted Mask II (The Haunted Mask Lives!), and a sequel to Welcome to Dead House (Happy Holidays from Dead House). It was one of the two-book series by Stine that was planned to be released in 2000 (the other was The Nightmare Room).

The series was renewed in 2008 following the release of the first book in the Goosebumps HorrorLand series, Revenge of the Living Dummy, that was published on April 1, 2008. Before the 2008 release of Revenge of the Living Dummy, there had not been a Goosebumps book published in almost 10 years. Stine decided to start writing Goosebumps books again after receiving mail asking him to write new books in the series. Nineteen Goosebumps HorrorLand books were published, and books in the series mainly featured two stories. The series continued in 2012 with new stories featuring some of the series' most memorable villains, including Slappy the Dummy, the Lawn Gnomes and others. The first book of the spin-off series Goosebumps Most Wanted, Planet of the Lawn Gnomes, was released in October 2012.

Achievements
Following the release of the first novel in the series, the books quickly became popular, selling a million copies a month soon after they first appeared, and four million copies a month by the mid-1990s. Individual Goosebumps books appeared in the New York Times Best Seller list for children and the USA Today bestseller list. In 2001, Publishers Weekly listed 46 books in the series in its list of bestselling children's paperback books of all time. Goosebumps was a bestseller in many countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

In 1996, the book series accounted for almost 15% of Scholastic's annual revenue. Following the decline of Goosebumps sales next year, Scholastic's sales had dropped 40%. The decline in Goosebumps book sales had made front-page news of most newspaper business sections, which Patrick Jones stated "demonstrates the impact and importance of R. L. Stine. One writer, it seems, influences the fate of an entire company".

As of 2008, the Goosebumps series maintains an 82% brand awareness among children 7–12. It is listed as the number two bestselling children's book series of all time and as Scholastic's bestselling children's book series of all time. By 2014, according to Scholastic, there were 350 million copies of Goosebumps books sold in 32 languages, including Chinese, Czech, Spanish, and Hebrew. As of 2008, the book series sells about two million copies annually.

Three books from the Goosebumps series have won the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Book: Deep Trouble in 1995 (the award category's first year), the book Tales to Give You Goosebumps in 1996, and Deep Trouble II in 1998. In 2000, the series was ranked as the number two children's books by the National Education Association, as chosen by children. In 2003 Goosebumps was listed at number 188 on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's 200 "best-loved novels."

Reception
Upon the release of the first book, Welcome to Dead House, Goosebumps received critical acclaim with many critics and readers praising the series for its dark nature, villains, likable protagonists and for being much more mature compared to other children's book series at the time. Slate's Katy Waldman classified a classic Goosebumps story as "funny, icky, and just a bit menacing". Following the release of the first Goosebumps HorrorLand book, Publishers Weekly stated in a starred review that the new Goosebumps series was "deliciously chilling". Two reviewers of the Goosebumps books did not feel that the books were high quality literature. U.S. News & World Report's Marc Silver thought the series was "quite tame". He called the Goosebumps books "subliterature", stating the plotting in the books was careless and that characters in the stories rarely grew. Roderick McGillis, from the academic journal Bookbird, described the books as camp, writing the books "are so artificial, so formulaic, so predictable, so repetitive". McGillis also felt that the content of the Goosebumps series is "thin in the extreme".

Stine's books have a reputation for getting children excited about reading, which the writer is very proud of. James Carter, writing in Talking Books: Children's Authors Talk About the Craft, Creativity and Process of Writing, stated "regarding Point Horrors and Goosebumps, I feel that anything that children read avidly is a good thing". Librarian and writer Patrick Jones commented that "[t]he real horror is a culture where kids, especially boys, don't read—and Stine has done his best to stop that turn of the screw from happening in his lifetime".

Book challenges
Goosebumps was listed 15th in the list of most frequently challenged books during 1990–1999 and 94th in the list of top banned/challenged books during 2000–2009 by the American Library Association (ALA). According to the ALA, a challenge is an attempt by a person or group to remove or restrict materials from a library or school curriculum. The series was challenged for being too frightening for young people and depicting occult or demonic themes. By 1997, the ALA was informed of 46 challenges, over 75% of which occurred in school libraries. The rest of the challenges were held in public libraries or the location of the challenges were unknown. The same year, a hearing by the Anoka-Hennepin School District to ban the books was broadcast by C-SPAN. In the hearing, most of the parents and children felt the books should not be banned, and the school district's book review committee decided to keep the books.

Audiobooks
Walt Disney Records and Scholastic Audiobooks have adapted Goosebumps into numerous audiobooks since 1996.

Television adaptations
In the 1990s, a Goosebumps TV series was produced in Canada by Protocol Entertainment in association with Scholastic Productions. The TV anthology series ran for four seasons from 1995 to 1998, premiering on the Fox Kids Network on October 27, 1995. The series mainly featured plots based on the Goosebumps books, among them The Haunted Mask and Cuckoo Clock of Doom. The TV series aired in over 100 countries and it was the number one rated children's TV show for three years in the United States. Margaret Loesch, formerly the CEO of Fox Kids, offered Scholastic a TV deal after her son responded positively to the Goosebumps book Say Cheese and Die! she had bought for him a day earlier. A book series, titled Goosebumps Presents, was based on the TV series.

On April 28, 2020, it was announced that a new Goosebumps live action TV series was in the works by Scholastic Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television Studios and Neal H. Moritz's production company Original Film. In February 2022, it was announced that the series would be heading to Disney+. It premiered on Disney+ on Friday, October 13, 2023.

Film adaptations
A film adaptation of Goosebumps was released on October 16, 2015, directed by Rob Letterman written by Darren Lemke and duo Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski  with Neal H. Moritz and Deborah Forte, the latter of whom developed the TV series, producing the film and stars Jack Black as a fictionalized version of R. L. Stine "whose scary characters literally leap off the page, forcing him to hide from his own creepy creations" with Dylan Minnette as Zach Cooper, and Odeya Rush was cast as R. L. Stine's fictional daughter, Hannah. In the film, Hannah's father R. L. Stine keeps all the monsters in the series locked up in his books. When Zach unintentionally releases the monsters from the books, Zach, Hannah, and Stine team up in order to put the monsters back where they came from.

A sequel, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween was released on October 12, 2018, directed by Ari Sandel, replacing Letterman, due to being busy directing Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, and written by Rob Lieber. Jack Black returned in the sequel, making his character the only one from the previous film to return, the sequel stars Madison Iseman, Caleel Harris and Jeremy Ray Taylor as the new leads.

Video games
There are seven Goosebumps video games, two of which have been created for the PC by DreamWorks Interactive. A 1996 game entitled Escape from HorrorLand is an interactive sequel to the book One Day at HorrorLand, and a 1997 game entitled Attack of the Mutant was based on the book of the same name. Scholastic released a Goosebumps video game in October 2008 entitled Goosebumps HorrorLand, based on the series of the same name. Another video game, Goosebumps: The Game, a prequel to the 2015 film, was released on October 13, 2015. Goosebumps: Night of Scares, a mobile game based on the film and the book series was released for iOS and Android devices on October 15 of the same year. A Mobile game, Goosebumps: HorrorTown was released in 2018. One last game released in 2020 called Goosebumps Dead of Night, available for PC and Consoles.

Comics
A comic book series, titled Goosebumps Graphix, was written based on books from the original series. There were three books published in the series; the first one, Creepy Creatures, was published on September 1, 2006. The second one Terror Trips is published in March 2007. The third one Scary Summer was released in July 2007. The fourth one Slappy's Tales of Horror is released in August 2015.

IDW Comics later released a new Goosebumps comic series, with three issues per arc. Its first arc, Monsters at Midnight, was released from October to December 2017; a second arc, Download and Die!, was released from March to May 2018. The latest arc, Horrors of the Witch House was released from March to May 2019. Each were also released as trade paperbacks.

Other media
Goosebumps has spawned merchandise, including T-shirts, board games, puzzles, hats, fake skulls, dolls, bike helmets, fake blood, and boxer shorts. Goosebumps was also adapted into a stage play by Rupert Holmes in 1998 and a stage musical by John Maclay and Danny Abosch in 2016: Goosebumps The Musical, based on book 24: Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium. Goosebumps has an official website, which garners 1.5 million page views each month as of 2008. An attraction based on the series, the Goosebumps HorrorLand Fright Show and FunHouse, opened in October 1997 at Disney-MGM Studios's New York Street. Before it closed, the attraction consisted of a stage play which featured characters from the series; this show played five times a day. The attraction also featured a funhouse, called the Goosebumps HorrorLand Hall of Mirrors, which contained a maze of mirrors along with other props and gags from the series. In 2008, it was announced that Sally Corporation would market Goosebumps rides. The books One Day at HorrorLand and A Night in Terror Tower were adapted into two separate board games in 1996. Both games were published by Milton Bradley and designed by Craig Van Ness.

Legal dispute
In November 1996, Scholastic, the publisher of the series, and Parachute Press, the developer of the series, agreed to a new contract. Scholastic retained control of book publishing and the TV series, but gave Parachute Press merchandising rights to the series. In September 1997, following a dispute between Scholastic and Parachute Press, Scholastic accused Parachute Press of violating the contract. Scholastic claimed that Parachute Press had been making merchandising deals and issuing press releases without Scholastic's required consent, and had begun withholding payments from them. In November 1997, Parachute responded by alleging Scholastic had repudiated its financial obligations, claiming Scholastic had voided its rights to publish 54 books. Parachute Press filed a lawsuit, which followed with numerous other suits and counter lawsuits over who controls certain rights to the series. In 2003, the two sides reached an agreement, with Scholastic receiving the Goosebumps trademark and all other rights to the series for US$9.65 million.

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List of rulers of Provence

The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by several different cultures on different sides, the Provençals maintained a unity which was reinforced when the region was made a separate kingdom during the Carolingian decline of the later ninth century. When Boso of Provence acquired the region in 879, it was known as Lower Burgundy until it was merged with Upper Burgundy in 933 to form the Kingdom of Arles. The counts of Arles began calling themselves "count of Provence"; although in name vassals, they were de facto autonomous princes. After 1032, the county was part of the Holy Roman Empire.

In the eleventh century, Provence became disputed between the traditional line and the counts of Toulouse, who claimed the title of "Margrave of Provence". In the High Middle Ages, the title of Count of Provence belonged to local families of Frankish origin, from 1112 to 1245 to the House of Barcelona (a cadet branch of the House of Aragón ), from 1245 to 1382 to the House of Anjou, and from 1382 to 1481 to a cadet branch of the House of Valois. It was inherited by King Louis XI of France in 1481, and definitively incorporated into the French royal domain by his son Charles VIII in 1487.

Merovingian dukes
During the period of the Merovingian dynasty in Gaul, Provence was a province ruled by duces (dukes), military leaders and district commanders who served as defenders of the frontiers of the kingdom and ruled over vast territories as opposed to the comites (counts), who ruled the cities and their environs. Provence was usually a part of the division of the Frankish realm known as the Kingdom of Burgundy, which was treated as its own kingdom. Their title sometimes appears as rector Provinciae.

This is an incomplete list of the known Merovingian-appointed dukes of Provence.

 * Liberius (until 534), Ostrogothic appointee
 * Namatius (bef. 552), Frankish appointee
 * Bodegisel (fl. c. 566)
 * Adovarius (561–569)
 * Lupus (569–570)
 * Jovin (570–573)
 * Albin (573–575)
 * Dinamius (from 575)
 * Gondulf (fl. c. 581)
 * Leudegisel (fl. c. 585), of Burgundian Provence
 * Nicetas (from 587)
 * Babo (fl. c. 600)
 * Aegyla (fl. c. 602)
 * Bado (634–641)
 * Willibad (641–643), of Burgundian Provence
 * Hector (fl. c. 679)
 * Nemfidius (fl. c. 700)
 * Antenor (fl. c. 697)
 * Metrannus (fl. c. 700)
 * Maurontus (c. 720 – 739)
 * Abbo (fl. c. 739)

Carolingian dukes
Provence was ruled by a poorly known series of dukes during the period of general Carolingian unity until the Treaty of Verdun (843).

 * Leibulf (until c. 829)
 * Guerin (c. 829 – 845)
 * Fulcrad (845 – c. 860)

Carolingian kings
After the division of the Carolingian Empire by the Treaty of Verdun (843), the first of the fraternal rulers of the three kingdoms to die was Lothair I, who divided his middle kingdom in accordance with the custom of the Franks among his three sons. Out of this division came the Kingdom of Provence, given to Lothair's youngest son, Charles. A heritage of royal rule was thus inaugurated in Provence which, though it was often subsumed into one of its larger neighbouring kingdoms, was just as often proclaiming its own sovereigns.

The kingdom of Provence was also known as Lower Burgundy (or Cisjurane Burgundy). Its capital was first Vienne then Arles.

 * Charles of Provence (855–863) On his death, Provence was divided between his surviving brothers, Lothair II and the Emperor Louis II. The bulk went to Louis.
 * Louis II (863–875), also Holy Roman Emperor from 855 On his death, as with his Kingdom of Italy, Louis's Provence went to his uncle Charles the Bald .
 * Charles the Bald (875–877), also Holy Roman Emperor from 875
 * Louis the Stammerer (877–879) With the death of Louis the Stammerer, Provence refused to elect his two sons and instead elected one of their own as king. Boso married Ermengard, daughter of Louis II, to strengthen his and his son's claim.
 * Boso (879–887)
 * Louis the Blind (887–928), also Holy Roman Emperor from 901 to 905 Louis's kingdom did not pass to his heirs, but instead to his brother-in-law, the husband of his sister, Hugh, who had acted as his regent since 905. Hugh never used the royal title in Provence.
 * Hugh (911–933) In 933, Provence ceased to be a separate kingdom as Hugh exchanged it with Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy for the Iron Crown of Lombardy, that is, rule of Italy.

Counts and margraves, within the Empire
In the aftermath of the death of Louis the Blind, Provence began to be ruled by local counts placed under the authority of a margrave. Firstly, Hugh of Arles served as duke and regent during Louis' long blindness. Secondly, Hugh gave the march of Vienne and duchy of Provence to Rudolf II of Burgundy in a treaty of 933. Rudolf was never recognised by the nobles of the country and appointed Hugh, Duke of Burgundy, as its first margrave.

At the time, the premier counts in the region were the counts of Arles and those of Avignon. Those who would first bear the title comes Provinciae or "count of Provence" descended from one Rotbold of Arles. William I and Rotbold I did not divide their father's domains and this indivisibility was maintained by their respective descendants. It is thus impossible to ascertain who succeeded whom in the county as various reigns overlap.

By his marriage to Emma of Provence, daughter of Rotbold II, William III, Count of Toulouse inherited lands and castles in Provence. Emma inherited the title Margrave of Provence upon her elder brother's death in 1037. Her son Pons by William III did not survive her, but her grandson did and claimed her title in opposition to the younger line of counts of Provence.

Houses of Barcelona (comital) and Toulouse (margravial)
With a lack of interest in the Reconquista on their southern frontier, the Catalans turned towards their origins, the Mediterranean littoral and northwards. They coveted the region between the Cévennes and the Rhône, then under the control of Toulouse. In 1112, the count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer III, married the heiress of Provence, Douce, who was the daughter of the Countess Gerberga of Provence, Gévaudan, Carladais, and part of Rodez. The marriage was probably taken at the urging of the church, which was then in conflict with the House of Toulouse. In 1076, Count Raymond IV was excommunicated, but he still lent his support to Aicard, the deposed archbishop of Arles (since 1080). With the count away on the First Crusade, the church took the opportunity to seize the balance of power in the region. This marriage effectively put Provence under Catalan control.

To accommodate the longstanding claims of the count of Toulouse, in 1125, Raymond's heir, Alfonso Jordan, signed a treaty whereby his family's traditional claim to the title of "Margrave of Provence" was recognised and the march of Provence was defined as the region north of the lower Durance and on the right of the Rhône, including the castles of Beaucaire, Vallabrègues, and Argence. The region between the Durance, the Rhône, the Alps, and the sea was that of the county and belonged to the house of Barcelona. Avignon, Pont de Sorgues, Caumont and Le Thor remained undivided.

Internally, Provence was racked by uncertainties over rights of succession. Douce and Ramon Berenguer signed all charters jointly until her death in 1127, after which he alone appears as count in all charters until his death in 1131. At that time, Douce's younger sister, Stephanie was married to Raymond of Baux, who promptly laid claim to the inheritance of her mother, even though Provence had peacefully passed into the hands of her nephew, Berenguer Ramon I.

Capetian Angevin dynasty

 * 1246–1285 Charles I, Count of Anjou, Maine, Provence and Forcalquier (1246), King of Naples, Sicily (1266) and Jerusalem (1277).
 * 1285–1309 Charles II of Naples the Lame, King of Naples and (nominal) Jerusalem and Sicily, son of Charles I
 * 1309–1343 Robert of Naples the Wise, Duke of Calabria (1296–1309), King of Naples and (nominal) Jerusalem and Sicily (1309), son of Charles II
 * 1343–1382 Joan I of Naples, Queen of Naples and (nominal) Jerusalem and Sicily (1343–1381)
 * 1349–1362 Louis I of Naples, King of Naples and (nominal) Jerusalem and Sicily, as husband of Joan I of Naples
 * Queen Joan died heirless, leaving the county to Louis I of Anjou, son of King John II of France the Good, of the House of Valois, and great-great-grandson of Charles II of Naples.

Valois-Anjou dynasty

 * 1382–1384 Louis I of Anjou, Count and then Duke of Anjou (1351), Duke of Calabria and Count of Maine (1356), Duke of Touraine (1370), nominal King of Sicily (1382)
 * 1384–1417 Louis II of Anjou, Duke of Anjou, Calabria and Touraine, Count of Maine, nominal King of Sicily (1384), Count of Guise (1404), son of Louis I
 * 1417–1434 Louis III of Anjou, Duke of Anjou and Touraine, nominal King of Sicily (1417), Duke of Calabria (1424), son of Louis II
 * 1434–1480 René I of Naples the Good, Count of Guise (1417–1422), Duke of Lorraine and Bar (1431), King of Naples and (nominal) Sicily and Jerusalem (1434–1442), Duke of Anjou and Touraine (1434), King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona (in dispute, 1466–1472), son of Louis II
 * 1480–1481 Charles III (V of Maine), also known as Charles of Maine, Count of Maine and Guise (1472), nephew of René I

Upon his death, the heirless Charles du Maine bequeathed the counties of Provence-Forcalquier to King Louis XI of France. From that point forward, the title of Count of Provence simply became one of the many hereditary titles of the French monarchs. The only time the title was used independently afterwards was by the future Louis XVIII of France, who was known as the Comte de Provence until the death of his nephew Louis XVII in 1795, after which he claimed the throne of France.

Governors

 * 1481–1483 	Palamède de Forbin
 * 1491–1493 	François de Luxembourg

Grand seneschals

 * 1480–1481 	Pierre de La Jaille (see Château de Ranton)
 * 1482–1483 	Raymond de Glandevès-Faucon
 * 1483 	Palamède de Forbin
 * 1485–1493	Aymar de Poitiers, Count of Valentinois

Governors – grand seneschals

 * 1493–1503 	Philip of Hachberg-Sausenberg, margrave de Hochberg
 * 1504–1513 	Louis d'Orléans, Count of Longueville
 * 1514 	Jean de Poitiers, lord of Saint-Vallier
 * 1515–1525 	René of Savoy, Count of Tende
 * 1525–1566 	Claude de Savoie, Count of Tende
 * 1566–1572 	Honorat I de Savoie, Count of Tende

Grand seneschals

 * 1572–1582 	Jean V de Pontevès, Count of Carcès
 * 1582–1610 	Gaspard de Pontevès, Count of Carcès
 * 1610–1655 	Jean de Pontevès, Count of Carcès
 * 1655–1662 	François de Simiane-Gordes

Governors

 * 1572–1573 	Gaspard de Saulx-Tavannes
 * 1573–1578 	Albert de Gondi, comte de Retz
 * 1578–1579 	François de La Baume, comte de Suze
 * 1579–1586 	Henri d'Angoulême, called, Henri, bâtard de Valois
 * 1586–1590 	Jean-Louis de Nogaret, duc d'Épernon
 * 1590-1592 Bernard de Nogaret, seigneur de La Valette.
 * 1592-1594 Jean-Louis de Nogaret, duc d'Épernon
 * 1592–1594 	Gaspard de Pontevès, comte de Carcès (the Catholic League counter appointment to the office).
 * 1594–1631 	Charles de Lorraine, duc de Guise
 * 1631–1637 	Nicolas de L'Hôpital, marquis de Vitry
 * 1637–1653 	Louis-Emmanuel de Valois, comte d'Alais
 * 1653–1669 	Louis de Bourbon-Vendôme, duc de Mercœur
 * 1669–1712 	Louis-Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme
 * 1712–1734 	Claude-Louis-Hector, duc de Villars
 * 1734–1770 	Honoré-Armand, duc de Villars
 * 1770–1780 	Camille-Louis de Lorraine
 * 1780–1790 	Charles-Just de Beauvau

In 1790, the French Revolution definitively ended the governorship.

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

title: List of rulers of Provence


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STS-66

STS-66 was a Space Shuttle program mission that was flown by the Space Shuttle Atlantis. STS-66 launched on November 3, 1994, at 11:59:43.060 am EDT from Launch Pad 39-B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base on November 14, 1994, at 10:33:45 am EST.

Mission highlights
The Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Sciences – 3 (ATLAS-03) was the primary payload aboard STS-66. It continued the series of Spacelab flights to study the energy of the sun and how it affects the Earth's climate and environment. The ATLAS-03 mission made the first detailed measurements from the Shuttle of the Northern Hemisphere's middle atmosphere in late fall. The timing of the flight, when the Antarctic ozone hole was diminishing, allowed scientists to study possible effects of the ozone hole on mid-latitudes, the way Antarctic air recovers, and how the northern atmosphere changes as the winter season approaches.

In addition to the ATLAS-03 investigations, the mission included deployment and retrieval of the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometer Telescope for Atmosphere, or CRISTA. Mounted on the Shuttle Pallet Satellite, the payload is designed to explore the variability of the atmosphere and provide measurements that will complement those obtained by the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite launched aboard Discovery in 1991. CRISTA-SPAS is a joint U.S./German experiment.

Other payloads in Atlantis's cargo bay included the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV-7) payload and the Experiment on the Sun Complementing ATLAS (ESCAPE-II). Payloads located in the middeck include the Physiological & Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE/NIR-R), Protein Crystal Growth-Thermal Enclosure (PCG-TES), Protein Crystal Growth- Single Locker (PCG-STES), Space Tissue Loss/National Institute of Health (STL/NIH-C), Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) and the Heat Pipe Performance-2 Experiment (HPP-2).

STS-66 further advanced comprehensive effort to collect data about sun's energy output, chemical makeup of the Earth's middle atmosphere, and how these factors affect global ozone levels. Seven instruments on the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-3 (ATLAS-3) also flew on first two ATLAS flights. No other collection of space-based instruments provides the same extensive range of atmospheric measurements. Also considered a primary payload was the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (CRISTA-SPAS), continuing joint NASA-German Space Agency (DARA, now the DLR) series of scientific missions. ATLAS-3 and CRISTA-SPAS considered as joint mission with single set of science objectives. During the mission the crew divided into two teams for around-the-clock research.

ATLAS-3 instruments, mounted on a Spacelab pallet in the cargo bay, included Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS), which collected more data on trace gases in the atmosphere than on all three of its previous flights combined; Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (SSBUV), which took ozone measurements to calibrate ozone monitor on aging NOAA-9 satellite as well as cooperative measurements with other ATLAS-3 instruments; Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM), which took extremely precise measurements of the sun's total radiation for 30 orbits as calibration reference for sister instrument on Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) launched in 1991; Measurement of the Solar Constant (SOLCON), provided by Belgium, which also measured solar radiation but as reference point to track changes over years; Solar Spectrum Measurement (SOLSPEC), French instrument, measured the Sun's radiation as function of wavelength; and Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM), which collected its highest precision solar ultraviolet radiation measurements in its 15-year lifetime. Millimeter Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS), collected nine hours of observations, measuring distribution of water vapor, chlorine monoxide and ozone at altitudes between 12 and 60 miles (20 to 100 km), before computer malfunction halted instrument operations.

CRISTA-SPAS released from orbiter's Remote Manipulator System arm on second day of mission. Flying at distance of about 25 to 44 miles (40 to 70 km) behind the Shuttle, payload collected data for more than eight days before being retrieved and returned to the cargo bay. The CRISTA instrument gathered first global information about medium and small scale disturbances in trace gases in middle atmosphere, which could lead to better models of the atmosphere and Earth's energy balance. The second CRISTA-SPAS instrument, the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) measured amounts of ozone-destroying hydroxyl and nitric oxide in the middle atmosphere and lower thermosphere from 24 to 72 miles (40 to 120 km). MAHRSI yielded first complete global maps of hydroxyl in atmosphere.

For retrieval of CRISTA-SPAS, a different approach method to the spacecraft was successfully tested as a prelude to the upcoming U.S. Shuttle/Russian Space Station Mir docking flights. Called R-Bar approach, it is expected to save propellant while reducing risk of contamination to Mir systems from orbiter thruster jet firings. STS-66 was the last solo shuttle flight for Atlantis for over 14 years, as her upcoming missions were dedicated to Mir, and ISS flights. Atlantis would not fly solo again until STS-125 (The final Hubble Space Telescope Mission).

title: STS-66


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Pipistrellus

Pipistrellus is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae and subfamily Vespertilioninae. The name of the genus is derived from the Italian word pipistrello, meaning "bat" (from Latin vespertilio "bird of evening, bat").

The size of the genus has been considerably reduced as a result of work during the 1990s and 2000s, with genera such as Arielulus, Hypsugo, Falsistrellus, Neoromicia, Parastrellus, Perimyotis, Scotozous, and Vespadelus being split off. Still, molecular evidence suggests the genus is not monophyletic. Several other genera in the subfamily Vespertilioninae have also been merged with Pipistrellus in previous classifications. Species in the genus may be referred to as "pipistrelles" or "pipistrelle bats", though these terms are also used for species now placed in other genera, such as the western pipistrelle (Parastrellus hesperus) and eastern pipistrelle (Perimyotis subflavus) of North America. Species of the Southern Hemisphere separated to genus Falsistrellus are sometimes referred to as false pipistrelle or falsistrelle.

They are somewhat distinguished from their much larger relatives, the noctule bats Nyctalus by their weak, fluttery flight reminiscent of a butterfly, though a few species are more direct in their flight.

Species

 * Japanese pipistrelle, P. abramus
 * Forest pipistrelle, P. adamsi
 * Mount Gargues pipistrelle, P. aero
 * Anchieta's pipistrelle, P. anchietae
 * Angulate pipistrelle, P. angulatus
 * Kelaart's pipistrelle, P. ceylonicus
 * Greater Papuan pipistrelle, P. collinus
 * Indian pipistrelle, P. coromandra
 * Crete pipistrelle, P. creticus
 * Dhofar pipistrelle, P. dhofarensis
 * Endo's pipistrelle, P. endoi
 * Hanak's dwarf bat, P. hanaki
 * Dusky pipistrelle, P. hesperidus
 * Aellen's pipistrelle, P. inexspectatus
 * Java pipistrelle, P. javanicus
 * Kuhl's pipistrelle, P. kuhlii
 * Madeira pipistrelle, P. maderensis
 * Minahassa pipistrelle, P. minahassae
 * †Christmas Island pipistrelle, P. murrayi (extinct, last sighted in August 2009)
 * Tiny pipistrelle, P. nanulus
 * Nathusius's pipistrelle, P. nathusii
 * Lesser Papuan pipistrelle, P. papuanus
 * Mount Popa pipistrelle, P. paterculus
 * Dar es Salaam pipistrelle, P. permixtus
 * Common pipistrelle, P. pipistrellus
 * Soprano pipistrelle, P. pygmaeus
 * Racey's pipistrelle, P. raceyi
 * Rüppell's pipistrelle, P. rueppellii
 * Rusty pipistrelle, P. rusticus
 * Simandou pipistrelle, P. simandouensis
 * Narrow-winged pipistrelle, P. stenopterus
 * †Sturdee's pipistrelle, P. sturdeei (extinct 2000)
 * Least pipistrelle, P. tenuis
 * Watts's pipistrelle, P. wattsi
 * Northern pipistrelle or Koopman's pipistrelle, P. westralis

title: Pipistrellus


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Typhoon-class submarine

The Typhoon class, Soviet designation Project 941 Akula (Акула, meaning "shark", NATO reporting name Typhoon), was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines designed and built by the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. With a submerged displacement of 48 000 tonnes, the Typhoons were the largest submarines ever built, able to accommodate comfortable living facilities for the crew of 160 when submerged for several months. The source of the NATO reporting name remains unclear, although it is often claimed to be related to the use of the word "typhoon" ("тайфун") by General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev of the Communist Party in a 1974 speech while describing a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine, as a reaction to the United States Navy's new Ohio-class submarine.

The Russian Navy cancelled its Typhoon modernization program in March 2012, stating that modernizing one Typhoon would be as expensive as building two new Borei-class submarines. Three boats of the Typhoon class were decommissioned in the 1990s and were scrapped in the 2000s, another two were decommissioned during the 2000s and are currently inactive. With the announcement that Russia has eliminated the last R-39 Rif (SS-N-20 Sturgeon) SLBMs in September 2012, only one Typhoon remained in service, RUSSIAN SUBMARINE Dmitriy Donskoi, which was refitted with the more modern RSM-56 Bulava SLBM for testing. She continued to serve until February 2023, when she was decommissioned.

Description
Soviet − subsequently Russian − nuclear submarines are identified by the letter "K" followed by a number (for example, the lead boat of the Yasen-class submarine, the RUSSIAN SUBMARINE Severodvinsk, is K-560). K stands for Cruiser: (Крейсер). The sheer displacement of the Typhoon-class boats, comparable to several aircraft carrier classes, led to their classification as Heavy Cruisers (Тяжелый Крейсер).

Besides their missile armament, the Typhoon class featured six torpedo tubes designed to handle RPK-2 (SS-N-15) missiles or Type 53 torpedoes. A Typhoon-class submarine could stay submerged for 120 days in normal conditions, and potentially more if deemed necessary (e.g., in the case of a nuclear war). Their primary weapons system was composed of 20 R-39 (NATO: SS-N-20) ballistic missiles (SLBM) with a maximum of 10 MIRV nuclear warheads each. Technically, Typhoons were able to deploy their long-range nuclear missiles while moored at their docks.

Typhoon-class submarines featured multiple pressure hulls which simplifies internal design while making the vessel much wider than a normal submarine. In the main body of the sub, two long pressure hulls lie parallel with a third, smaller pressure hull above them (which protrudes just below the sail), and two other pressure hulls for torpedoes and steering gear. This also greatly increases their survivability – even if one pressure hull is breached, the crew members in the other are safe and there is less potential for flooding. Its ballistic missiles were placed between the two main pressure hulls, their launch tubes enclosed only by the outer, "light" hull.

The Typhoon was capable of traveling at 28 knot submerged.

History
The Typhoon class was developed under Project 941 as the Soviet Akula class (Акула), meaning shark. It is sometimes confused with other submarines, as Akula is the name NATO uses to designate the Russian Project 971 Shchuka-B (Щука-Б)-class attack submarines. The project was developed with the objective to match the SLBM armament of Ohio-class submarines, capable of carrying 192 nuclear warheads, 100 kt each, but with significantly longer range. To accommodate this increase in range, Soviet SLBMs were substantially larger and heavier than their American adversaries(the R-39 Rif is more than twice as heavy as the UGM-96 Trident I; it remains the heaviest SLBM to have been in service worldwide). The submarine had to be scaled accordingly.

In the early 1990s, there were also proposals to refit some of the Typhoon-class submarines to submarine cargo vessels for shipping oil, gas and cargo under polar ice to Russia's far flung northern territories. The submarines could take up to 10 000 tonnes of cargo on-board and ship it under the polar ice to tankers waiting in the Barents Sea. These ships – after the considerable engineering required to develop technologies to transfer oil from drilling platforms to the submarines, and later, to the waiting tankers – would then deliver their cargo world-wide.

Six Typhoon-class submarines were built between 1976 and 1985. Originally, the submarines were designated by hull numbers only. Names were later assigned to the four vessels retained by the Russian Navy after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. During the time of the Russian Federation, these boats were to be sponsored by either a city or company. The construction order for an additional vessel (hull number TK-210) was cancelled and never completed.

In late December 2008, a senior Navy official announced that the two Typhoon-class submarines, TK-17 Arkhangelsk and TK-20 Severstal, that were in reserve would not be rearmed with the new Bulava SLBM missile system. They could potentially yet be modified to carry cruise missiles or to lay mines, or could be used in special operations. In late June 2009, the Navy Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy, told reporters that the two submarines would be reserved for possible future repairs and modernisation. In September 2011, the Russian defense ministry decided to write off all Project 941 Akula nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines until 2014. The reasons for decommissioning the Typhoon-class vessels are the restrictions imposed on Russia by the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and successful trials of the new Borei-class submarine.

Despite being a replacement for many types of submarines, the Borei-class submarines are slightly shorter than the Typhoon class (170 m as opposed to 175 m), and have a smaller crew (107 people as opposed to 160). These changes were in part designed to reduce the cost to build and maintain the submarines. In addition, the United States and Canada provided 80% of funds for scrapping the older Typhoon-class submarines, making it much more economical to build a new submarine.

In 2013, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency announced that the Navy would scrap two Typhoons, beginning in 2018. They were the TK-17 Arkhangelsk and TK-20 Severstal. As of 2017, the decision about the scrapping of TK-17 and TK-20 was still not firm.

On 20 July 2022, it was reported that Dmitriy Donskoy was withdrawn from the Russian Navy. This was an earlier-than-expected decommission date, as it was stated in 2021 that the submarine was expected to remain in service until 2026 as a weapons test platform. However sources suggested in 2022 that the 2026 date was not in the Russian Navy plan. On 6 February 2023, it was reported she was decommissioned.

Timeline
TK-208 Dmitriy Donskoy (Typhoon #1) TK-17 Arkhangelsk (Typhoon #5)
 * 10 February 1982: Entered 18th division (Zapadnaya Litsa), NOR.
 * December 1982: Transferred from Severodvinsk to Zapadnaya Litsa.
 * 1983–1984: Tests of D-19 missile complex. Commanders: A.V.Olkhovikov (1980–1984).
 * 3 December 1986: Entered Navy Board of the Winners of the Socialist Competition.
 * 18 January 1987: Entered MoD Board of Glory.
 * 20 September 1989 – 1991: Repairs and refit at Sevmash to Project 941U. 1991 refit cancelled.
 * 1996: Returned to 941U refit.
 * 2002: Named Dmitriy Donskoy.
 * 26 June 2002: End of refit.
 * 30 June 2002: Start of testing.
 * 26 July 2002: Entered sea trials, re-entered fleet, without missile system.
 * December 2003: Sea trials; refitted to carry a new Bulava missile system. New missile system expected to be operational by 2005.
 * 9 October 2005: Successfully launched SS-NX-30 Bulava SLBM from surface.
 * 21 December 2005: Successfully launched SS-NX-30 Bulava SLBM from submerged position on move.
 * 7 September 2006: Test launch of the Bulava missile failed after several minutes in flight due to some problems in the flight control system. The missile fell into the sea about a minute after the launch. The sub was not affected and was returning to Severodvinsk base submerged. Later reports blamed the engine of the first stage for the failure.
 * 25 October 2006: Test launch of the Bulava-M missile in the White Sea failed some 200 seconds after liftoff due to the apparent failure of the flight control system.
 * 28 August 2008: Underwent successful testing at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast. More than 170 men worked with the Dmitriy Donskoy, 100 of them employed at the Sevmash plant and 70 at other companies.
 * 20 July 2022: Decommissioned
 * 19 February 1988: Entered 18th division (Zapadnaya Litsa) NOR.
 * September 1991, damaged after a SLBM exploded in the launch silo.
 * 8 January–9 November 2002: Refit at Sevmash.
 * In July 2002, crew petitioned Main Navy Headquarters to adopt the name Arkhangel'sk (renamed on 18 November 2002).
 * Commander: 2002-2003 V. Volkov.
 * 17 February 2004: Took part in military exercises with President Vladimir Putin aboard.
 * Decommissioned in 2006 and preserved. The decision about its dismantling still has not been made. Apparent proposal to convert to cruise missile role being considered in 2019 but deemed unlikely.

TK-20 Severstal (Typhoon #6)
 * 28 February 1990: Entered 18th division (Zapadnaya Litsa), NOR.
 * 25 August 1996: Successfully launched SLBM
 * November 1996: Successfully launched SLBM from the North Pole.
 * 24 July 1999: Took part in parade on Navy Day in Severomorsk, NOR.
 * November–December 1999 – distant cruise.
 * 2001: named to Severstal.
 * June 2001–December 2002: Repairs at Sevmash.
 * Commander: A. Bogachev (2001).
 * Decommissioned in 2004 or 2013 and preserved. The decision about its dismantling still has not been made. Apparent proposal to convert to cruise missile role being considered in 2019 but deemed unlikely.

Notable appearances in media

Probably the best-known fictional Typhoon-class submarine is the stealth-equipped Red October (Красный Oктябрь), the subject of the Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October and its 1990 movie adaptation, starring Sean Connery as the fictional Captain Marko Ramius.

The 2001 documentary Mission Invisible about the Russian submarine Severstal was produced by Corona Films for Discovery Channel with the participation of ZED, France 5, ZDF, RTBF, TV5 Monde and the Scottish Screen Fund.

In 2008 National Geographic released a documentary about the scrapping of one of the Typhoons in the series Break It Down. This boat is TK-13, which was scrapped in 2007–2009.

title: Typhoon-class submarine


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STS-63

STS-63 was the second mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried out the first rendezvous of the American Space Shuttle with Russia's space station Mir. Known as the 'Near-Mir' mission, the flight used Space Shuttle Discovery, which lifted off from launch pad 39B on February 3, 1995, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. A night launch and the 20th mission for Discovery, it marked the first time a Space Shuttle mission had a female pilot, Eileen Collins, and the first EVAs for both a UK born astronaut, Michael Foale, and a US astronaut of African heritage, Bernard A. Harris, Jr. It also carried out the successful deployment and retrieval of the Spartan-204 platform, along with the scheduled rendezvous and flyaround of Mir, in preparation for STS-71, the first mission to dock with Mir.

Spacewalks

 *  Foale and Harris  – EVA 1
 * EVA 1 Start: February 9, 1995 – 11:56 UTC
 * EVA 1 End: February 9, 1995 – 16:35 UTC
 * Duration: 4 hours, 39 minutes

Mission highlights
STS-63's primary objective was to perform a rendezvous and fly around the Russian space station Mir. The objectives of the Mir rendezvous were to verify flight techniques, communications and navigation aid sensor interfaces, and engineering analyses associated with Shuttle/Mir proximity operations in preparation for the STS-71 docking mission.

Other objectives of the flight were to perform the operations necessary to fulfill the requirements of experiments located in SPACEHAB-3 and to fly captively, then deploy and retrieve the Spartan-204 payload. Spartan-204, the Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy, was a free-flying retrievable platform. It was designed to obtain data in the far ultraviolet region of the spectrum from diffuse sources of light. Two crewmembers were scheduled to perform a five-hour spacewalk.

Payloads flying aboard STS-63 included the Cryo Systems Experiment (CSE), the Shuttle Glow (GLO-2) experiment, Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres (ODERACS-2), the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE), the Air Force Maui Optical Site Calibration Test (AMOS) and the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX).

Beginning on flight day one, a series of thruster burns were performed daily to bring Discovery in line with Mir. The original plan called for the orbiter to approach to no closer than 10 meters (33 ft) from Mir, and then complete a flyaround of the Russian space station. However, three of the 44 orbiter Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters—small firing jets used for on-orbit maneuvering—sprang leaks prior to rendezvous. Shortly after main engine cutoff, two leaks occurred in the aft primary thrusters, one of which—called R1U—was key to rendezvous. A third leak occurred later in flight in the forward primary thruster, but the crew was able to fix the problem.

After extensive negotiations and technical information exchanges between the U.S. and Russian space teams, the Russians concluded close approach could be safely achieved and the STS-63 crew was given 'go' to proceed. R1U's thruster manifold was closed and the backup thruster was selected for the approach. Ship-to-ship radio contact with Mir was achieved well ahead of time, and Titov, who had previously lived on Mir for more than a year, communicated excitedly with the three cosmonauts aboard the space station: Mir 17 Commander Alexander Viktorenko; Flight Engineer Yelena Kondakova; and Valery Polyakov, a physician who had broken Titov's record for extended time in space. After stationkeeping at a distance of 122 m from Mir and with Wetherbee manually controlling the orbiter, Discovery was flown to 11 m from the Russian space station. "As we are bringing our spaceships closer together, we are bringing our nations closer together," Wetherbee said after Discovery was at point of closest approach. "The next time we approach, we will shake your hand and together we will lead our world into the next millennium." The closest approach to Mir of 11 m occurred on February 6, 1995, at 19:23:20 UTC.

"We are one. We are human," Viktorenko responded. Wetherbee then backed the orbiter away to 122 m and performed a one and a quarter-loop flyaround of Mir while the station was filmed and photographed. The Mir crew reported no vibrations or solar array movement as result of the approach.

The crew also worked extensively with payloads aboard Discovery. Flying in the forward payload bay and activated on flight day one was SPACEHAB-3. The commercially developed module was making its third flight on the Shuttle and carried 20 experiments: 11 biotechnology experiments, three advanced materials development experiments, four technology demonstrations and two pieces of supporting hardware measuring on-orbit accelerations. Improvements had been made to the SPACEHAB system to reduce demand on crew time. A new video switch had been added to lessen the need for astronaut involvement in video operations, and an experiment interface had been added to the telemetry system to allow the experiment investigator to link directly via computer with the onboard experiment to receive data and monitor status. Charlotte, an experimental robotic device being flown for the first time, also reduced crew workload by taking over simple tasks such as changing experiment samples.

Among the plant growth experiments was Astroculture, flying for the fourth time on the Shuttle. The objective of Astroculture was to validate performance of plant growth technologies in the microgravity environment of space for application to a life support system in space. The investigation had applications on Earth, since it covered such topics as energy-efficient lighting and removal of pollutants from indoor air. One of the pharmaceutical experiments, Immune, also had Earth applications. Exploiting a known tendency of spaceflight to weaken the immune system, the Immune experiment tested the ability of a particular substance to prevent or reduce this weakening. Clinical applications could include treatment of individuals suffering from such immunosuppressant diseases as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

On flight day two, the crew deployed the Orbital Debris Radar Calibration System-II (ODERACS-II) to help characterize the orbital debris environment for objects smaller than 10 centimeters (about four inches) in diameter. A complement of six target objects of known dimensions and with limited orbital lifespans was released into orbit and tracked by ground-based radars, allowing precise calibration of radars so they can more accurately track smaller pieces of space debris in low Earth orbit.

Also on flight day two, the crew lifted with the orbiter remote manipulator system arm SPARTAN-204 from its support structure in payload bay. SPARTAN remained suspended on the arm for observation of orbiter glow phenomenon and thruster jet firings. SPARTAN-204 was later released from the arm to complete about 40 hours of free-flight, during which time its Far Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph instrument studied celestial targets in the interstellar medium, the gas and dust which fills the space between the stars and which is the material from which new stars and planets are formed.

SPARTAN-204 was also used for extravehicular activity (EVA) near end of the flight. Foale and Harris began their EVA suspended at the end of the robot arm, away from the payload bay, to test modifications to their spacesuits to keep spacewalkers warmer in the extreme cold of space. The two astronauts were then scheduled to practice handling the approximately 2,500 pound (1100 kg) SPARTAN to rehearse space station assembly techniques, but both astronauts reported they were becoming very cold—this portion of the spacewalk being performed during a night pass—and mass handling was curtailed. This 29th Shuttle spacewalk, the first for both a UK-born astronaut and an African-American astronaut, lasted 4 hours, 38 minutes.

Other payloads: Along with ODERACS-II, the Cryo System Experiment (CSE) and Shuttle Glow (GLO-2) payloads were mounted on the Hitchhiker support assembly in cargo bay; an IMAX camera was also located here. In middeck, the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE) flew for the eighth time. The Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) test required no onboard hardware.

Coca-Cola in Space
BioServe Space Technologies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, developed the Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus-1 (FGBA-1) in cooperation with Coca-Cola and several other groups. It dispensed pre-mixed soda for astronauts' consumption and studied their changed taste perceptions. Astronauts rated control samples before and after flight. FGBA-2 flew on STS-77.

Mission insignia
The six rays of the Sun and the three stars on the right of the insignia symbolize the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence.

title: STS-63


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STS-67

STS-67 was a human spaceflight mission using that launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on March 2, 1995.

Ultraviolet Imaging Experiments
Astro-2 was the second dedicated Spacelab mission to conduct astronomical observations in the ultraviolet spectral regions (the first was the Astro-1 mission flown on STS-35). The Astro-2 Spacelab consisted of three unique instruments – the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) and the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE). These took measurements from objects within the Solar System as well as individual stars, nebulae, supernova remnants, galaxies and active extragalactic objects. The data supplemented the data obtained from the Astro-1 mission.

The purpose of the UIT was to observe UV radiation from space (most UV radiation is absorbed by Earth's atmosphere and cannot be studied from the ground). The data collected from UIT Astro-1 mission provided the first accurate knowledge of UV data from the universe. The UIT in the Astro-2 Spacelab was capable of capturing almost twice the UV spectrum of its predecessor. As STS-67 launched at a different time of year from STS-35, data was collected from portions of the sky that Astro-1 was not able to view.

Middeck Active Control Experiment (MACE)
On the Middeck, science experiments included the Protein Crystal Growth Thermal Enclosure System Vapor Diffusion Apparatus-03 experiment (PCG-TES-03), the Protein Crystal Growth Single Thermal Enclosure System-02 (PCG-STES-02), the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment-II (SAREX-II), the Middeck Active Control Experiment (MACE), the Commercial Materials Dispersion Apparatus Instrumentation Technology Associates Experiments-03 (CMIX-03) and the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX).

The Middeck Active Control Experiment (MACE) was a space engineering research payload and activity. It consisted of a rate gyro, reaction wheels, a precision pointing payload, and a scanning and pointing payload that produces motion disturbances. The goal of the experiment was to test a closed loop control system that could compensate for motion disturbances. On orbit, Commander Stephen S. Oswald and Pilot William G. Gregory used MACE to test about 200 different motion disturbance situations over 45 hours of testing during the mission. Information from MACE was to be used to design better control systems that compensate for motion in future spacecraft.

Getaway Special Payloads
Two Get Away Special (GAS) payloads were also on board. They were the G-387 and G-388 canisters. This experiment was sponsored by the Australian Space Office and AUSPACE ltd. The objectives were to make ultraviolet observations of deep space or nearby galaxies. These observations were made to study the structure of galactic supernova remnants, the distribution of hot gas in the Magellanic Clouds, the hot galactic halo emission, and emission associated with galactic cooling flows and jets. The two GAS canisters were interconnected with a cable. Canister 1 had a motorized door assembly that exposed a UV telescope to space when opened. UV reflective filters on the telescopes optics determine its UV bandpass. Canister 2 contained two video recorders for data storage and batteries to provide experiment power. It was Space Shuttle Endeavour's longest flight.

Mission insignia
The spiral galaxy, Jupiter, and the four moons (total of six space objects) as well as the seven stars of the insignia symbolize the flight's numerical designation in the Space Transportation System's mission sequence. Endeavour, with ASTRO-2, is speeding by.

title: STS-67


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Frances Dee

Frances Marion Dee (November 26, 1909 – March 6, 2004) was an American actress. Her first film was the musical Playboy of Paris (1930). She starred in the film An American Tragedy (1931). She is also known for starring in the 1943 Val Lewton psychological horror film I Walked With a Zombie.

Early life
The younger daughter of Francis "Frank" Marion Dee and his wife, the former Henriette Putnam, Frances Marion Dee was born in Los Angeles, California, where her father worked as a civil service examiner.

When Dee was seven years old, her family moved to Chicago, Illinois. She attended Shakespeare Grammar School and Hyde Park High School, where she went by the nickname of Frankie Dee.

After graduating from Hyde Park High in 1927, of which she was vice president of her senior class, as well as voted Belle of the Year, she spent two years at the University of Chicago, where she participated in dramatic activities, then returned to California.

Career
Following her sophomore year in 1929, she went on summer vacation with her mother and older sister to visit family in the Los Angeles area. She began working as a movie extra as a lark. Her big break came when she was still an extra; she was offered the lead opposite Maurice Chevalier in Playboy of Paris.

The audience appeal established in two films opposite Paramount stars Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen led to the co-starring role of Sondra Finchley, opposite Phillips Holmes and Sylvia Sidney, in Paramount Pictures's prestigious and controversial production of An American Tragedy, directed by Josef von Sternberg.

Dee's additional screen credits included June Moon, Little Women, Of Human Bondage, Becky Sharp, and Payment on Demand. She co-starred with her husband Joel McCrea in the Western Four Faces West (1948).

Personal life
Dee met actor Joel McCrea on the set of the 1933 film The Silver Cord. The couple married on October 20, 1933, after a whirlwind courtship, and remained married until McCrea's death in 1990. During their lifetime together, the McCreas lived, raised their children, and rode their horses on their ranch in what was then an unincorporated area of eastern Ventura County, California. They ultimately donated several hundred acres of their personal property to the newly formed Conejo Valley YMCA for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Dee, like McCrea, was a Republican. Joel McCrea died on their 57th wedding anniversary.

Dee was honored at the 1998 Memphis Film Festival in Tennessee. In 2004, Frances Dee McCrea died in Norwalk, Connecticut due to complications from a stroke at the age of 94.

title: Frances Dee