text:
Viscera (wrestler)

Nelson Frazier Jr. (February 14, 1971 – February 18, 2014) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) in the 1990s and 2000s under the ring names Mabel, King Mabel, Viscera, Vis, and Big Daddy V. A former WWF World Tag Team Champion and WWF Hardcore Champion, he won the 1995 King of the Ring tournament and consequently challenged for the WWF Championship in the main event of that year's SummerSlam.

Early career (1991–1993)
Frazier began his professional wrestling career under the ring name "Nelson Knight", one half of tag team the "Harlem Knights" with his partner and storyline brother, Bobby (Robert Horne). They wrestled in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) and the Pro Wrestling Federation (PWF), twice winning the PWF Tag Team Championship in 1992, before signing with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in July 1993.

Debut, Tag Team Champion (1993–1994)
Upon coming to the WWF, The Harlem Knights were given a new gimmick: Nelson became Mabel, Bobby became Mo, and they were given a rapping manager named Oscar. The new team, dubbed Men on a Mission, was introduced to the WWF audience through vignettes portraying them as three African American men trying to make a positive change in inner city neighborhoods in June 1993. Clad in purple and yellow, sometimes pink and turquoise; they debuted as solid faces. At WrestleMania X, Men on a Mission defeated the WWF Tag Team champions, The Quebecers, by countout, but did not win the belts. On March 29, 1994, they won the title at a house show in London, England. The Quebecers regained the title two days later in Sheffield, England. In mid-1994, Mabel began wrestling more singles matches; he was seen as the spectacle of Men on a Mission due to his size, the "special attraction" that got used to make rising stars look good. He competed in the 1994 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Pierre of the Quebecers in the qualifying round before losing to IRS in the quarterfinals. He then had a match that pit "Rap vs. Country" against Jeff Jarrett at SummerSlam, which Jarrett won.

King of the Ring, departure (1995–1996)

In March 1995, Men on a Mission lost a title match against the reigning tag team champions Smoking Gunns. Mabel and Mo brutally assaulted them afterward, but offered an apology and brought Billy and Bart Gunn out after a match a few weeks later for a handshake. It proved to be a ruse, however, as Mabel and Mo not only beat up Billy and Bart, but also turned on Oscar and became heels. Mabel dropped his fun-loving, positive personality in favor of adopting a more thuggish image and received a push as a singles wrestler, winning the King of the Ring tournament in June. After that, Mabel became known as King Mabel, with Mo becoming "Sir Mo", his manager. Mabel was awarded a championship belt, designed and created by belt maker Reggie Parks. The belt, engraved with "King of the Ring", is one of a kind, as the World Wrestling Federation had not before or since created a belt for the King of the Ring. This belt was never seen on WWF television. After his victory King Mabel became the top heel in the company and challenged WWF Champion Diesel at August's SummerSlam. Just before SummerSlam, the WWF turned Davey Boy Smith, one of the company's more popular wrestlers, against the fans, replacing Mabel as the company's top villain. The turn occurred on the August 21, 1995 edition of Monday Night Raw, where Men on a Mission were to wrestle Smith and Lex Luger, who were then known as The Allied Powers. Luger was not at the event, so Smith convinced Diesel to be his partner. Smith then attacked Diesel during the match and joined King Mabel and Sir Mo in assaulting him. The attack was called the "Royal Plan" and at least for a period it appeared that Smith, Mabel, Mo, and Jim Cornette were going to be aligned in the future; this never came to pass. At SummerSlam, Diesel defeated Mabel to retain the WWF Championship.

Although he was no longer the main villain in the WWF, the company moved Frazier to another high-profile feud involving The Undertaker. The rivalry started after Mabel helped Yokozuna, another wrestler managed by Jim Cornette, attack a downed Undertaker. During the course of the attack, Mabel was to hit a series of leg drops on the fallen Undertaker. Mabel repeatedly struck Undertaker in the face; this resulted in Undertaker suffering a legitimate fracture of his orbital bone, which put him out of action for two months. The Undertaker returned wearing a Phantom of the Opera-style mask and, a month later, defeated King Mabel in a Casket match at In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings. After this match, Frazier's push came to an end and within several weeks both he and Horne were fired. His last three matches were on the New Year's Day edition of Raw when he was buried in an eight-second loss to Diesel, on the January 6, 1996 edition of WWF Superstars when he lost a rematch to The Undertaker in a casket match, and in the 1996 Royal Rumble match where he was the third wrestler eliminated by his former rival Yokozuna.

Various promotions (1995–1998)
Frazier then wrestled for the Puerto Rico-based World Wrestling Council (WWC) from 1995 to 1996. There, he feuded with Carlos Colón. The Universal Heavyweight Championship was held up after a match between the two. Mabel soon after won the championship and held it for a month defeating Colon on January 7, 1996. He also returned to Tennessee to wrestle for the United States Wrestling Association, which went through a number of administration changes during his stay, and was rebranded Memphis Championship Wrestling and Memphis Wrestling. He captured the USWA Heavyweight Championship in March 1996 and the North American Heavyweight Championship in February 1998. These were each the top title in the promotion at the time. On December 1, 1996, he went to Tokyo, Japan and lost to Koji Kitao at Inoki Festival in Yoyogi. Mable left USWA in March 1997 before the company folded in November 1997. He was inactive for the rest of 1997. On November 1, 1998, Mabel made a one-night-only surprise appearance at Extreme Championship Wrestling's November to Remember, as a Full Blooded Italians member with Ulf Herman, attacking Tommy Rogers and Chris Chetti until Spike Dudley made the save. He later divulged that ECW had "the best locker room of all time" and said he was paid several thousand dollars for his appearance.

Ministry of Darkness and Corporate Ministry (1998–1999)
On July 6, 1998, Mabel made a one-night-only surprise (taped June 30) return to the WWF to unsuccessfully challenge the new King of the Ring, Ken Shamrock.

On January 24, 1999, Frazier made his full-time return, first appearing at the pre-show for the Royal Rumble as Mabel, then on the show itself. He eliminated five competitors; Droz, Steve Blackman, Dan Severn, Tiger Ali Singh and The Blue Meanie. Later he was eliminated (kidnapped) by The Undertaker, his Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq) and Mideon. The next night on Raw is War, he was reintroduced as Viscera, he began acting as the Ministry of Darkness' enforcer, adopting a gothic look in the process, including white-out contact lenses, a bleached mohawk and a black bodysuit.

Hardcore Champion and departure (1999–2000)
The Ministry of Darkness would break up in July 1999, and Viscera floated around the mid-card, frequently teaming with fellow former Ministry member Mideon and becoming part of the burgeoning hardcore division, winning the WWF Hardcore Championship on April 2, 2000, at WrestleMania 2000, and losing it minutes later, in the same Battle Royal-style match. He also feuded with Mark Henry after body splashing Henry's girlfriend, Mae Young in February 2000. He was taken off the WWF main roster in April and was sent to the development territory Memphis Championship Wrestling before he was released from his WWF contract in August 2000.

Independent circuit (2000–2004)
Following his release from the WWF, Frazier returned to the independent circuit. He wrestled in the United Kingdom for a while. He then started working for Memphis Wrestling in 2003, and feuded with Jerry Lawler once again. He would later lose to Rocky Johnson in a boxing match on November 29, 2003. On Valentine's Day 2004, he won a 15-man battle royal.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003)
In March 2003, Frazier, as Nelson Knight, made a surprise appearance at a monthly Total Nonstop Action Wrestling pay-per-view, at the side of Ron Killings. He appeared once more the next week.

World's Largest Love Machine (2004–2007)
Frazier, as Viscera, returned to the former WWF (by then renamed World Wrestling Entertainment) as a surprise in September 2004, him and Gangrel attacking former Ministry of Darkness leader, The Undertaker, at the command of former Ministry Acolyte, the WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield. After two weeks on SmackDown!, he was moved to the Raw brand. In his first three months on the Raw brand, Viscera mainly wrestled on Raw's sister show Heat, only making sporadic appearances on Raw. His first major storyline there started in April 2005, when he aligned with Trish Stratus as part of her feud with Lita and Lita's husband, Kane. While working together, Viscera and Stratus appeared in a segment in which he attempted to seduce her, only to be rebuffed. Stratus implied he would first need to "take care" of Kane. That segment began a gimmick change for Viscera, who transformed into "The World's Largest Love Machine". After losing to Kane at Backlash, he injured Stratus with his Big Splash finishing move, angry about her constant belittling of him, turning face in the process for the first time since 1995.

Viscera began wrestling in pajamas and making overtly sexual gestures in the ring. He became smitten with Raw ring announcer Lilian Garcia and tried different tactics to seduce her every week. At Vengeance in June, Garcia finally reciprocated, proposing to him in the center of the ring, only to be turned down and left crying in the ring when The Godfather arrived with many of his hos to show Viscera what he would be leaving behind if he got married. At the Royal Rumble, Viscera competed in the Royal Rumble match where he was eliminated by Carlito and Chris Masters. At WrestleMania 22, Viscera won an 18-man interpromotional battle royal. Viscera then teamed with Val Venis to form V–Squared. They teamed together for nearly nine months, mainly on Heat. They challenged for the World Tag Team Championship on several occasions, but never held the title. When Venis was sidelined with a legitimate injury in April 2006, Viscera returned to singles wrestling. He attempted to reconcile with Garcia, but was interrupted and attacked by Umaga during his proposal. Two weeks later, when Garcia was legitimately and accidentally knocked from the ring apron by Charlie Haas and sprained her wrist, the incident was worked into a storyline of Haas and Viscera fighting over Garcia. After Lillian declared she wanted to be just friends, Haas seemingly raked Viscera in the eye, with Viscera feigning to accidentally Samoan slam Lillian. After Viscera gave Lillian the Samoan slam, both men laughed about the incident, in the process turning Viscera heel once again. The team split up when Haas reunited with Shelton Benjamin to reform The World's Greatest Tag Team.

Big Daddy V (2007–2008)
On June 17, 2007, Viscera was sent from the Raw brand to ECW in the supplemental section of WWE's draft. Three weeks later, he debuted on ECW, repackaged as Big Daddy V, a "hired muscle" character in the employ of Matt Striker, arriving just in time to help Striker in his rivalry with The Boogeyman. After disposing of The Boogeyman, Big Daddy V defeated Tommy Dreamer in the ECW brand's Elimination Chase to become the number one contender for the ECW Championship at No Mercy. There, he lost to CM Punk by disqualification, when Striker interfered in the match. He then feuded with SmackDown's Kane. At Survivor Series, Big Daddy V competed in a Survivor Series elimination match where his team lost. At Armageddon, Big Daddy V and Mark Henry defeated CM Punk and Kane. Big Daddy V was an entrant at the 2008 Royal Rumble where he was eliminated by Triple H. His last PPV appearance was when he participated in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out, but was eliminated first. He wrestled his last WWE match on March 11, 2008, for an episode of ECW, losing to CM Punk in a Money in the Bank qualifying match. He was inactive due to an injury. In the 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, he was drafted to the SmackDown brand. Frazier was released from his WWE contract on August 8, 2008.

Later career (2008–2013)

After leaving WWE for the final time, Frazier joined the National Wrestling Alliance, as King V. On October 3, 2008, defeated Rob Conway in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The next night in Corpus Christi, Texas, King V defeated Andy Dalton and Joey Spector in a handicap match. On August 8, 2009, at Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW)'s 10th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos, Viscera defeated 2 Tuff Tony in a "Loser Leaves JCW" match, with WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk as special guest referee. After the match, Frazier, Funk, and Balls Mahoney (who had interfered earlier in the match) all attacked Tony. From this time he also wrestled in Mexico, Canada, and Germany. On March 31, 2012, he defeated Shad Gaspard at Wrestling In The Rest Of The World WrestleRama event in Georgetown, Guyana. In September 2012, Big Daddy V appeared for the Japanese promotion Inoki Genome Federation at their GENOME 22 event, losing to Atsushi Sawada. Frazier performed at three Family Wrestling Entertainment shows in 2012 as Big Daddy V, first defeating Malta the Damager in a tables match in February. Frazier's final match, as Big Daddy V, was a win over René Duprée on Qatar Pro Wrestling's inaugural tour, on October 5, 2013.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2010–2011)
Frazier wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling, as Big Daddy Voodoo (later just Big Daddy), and held the All Asia Tag Team Champion with TARU from April 29 to August 29, 2011. He was part of the Voodoo Murders stable. He left AJPW in late 2011, after competing in the World's Strongest Tag Determination League with Joe Doering.

Reception
During his stint as Mabel, Frazier gained notoriety for his stiff and unsafe in-ring performances. In an interview with Kayfabe Commentaries, Kevin Nash implied that his decline from the top of the card was due to his wrestling style. Nash said that Frazier's style was very reckless and he had little regard for the safety of his fellow wrestlers. He said that entering their match at SummerSlam, Frazier had already injured "six or eight" of his colleagues in the ring. Nash said that one of the injuries was to one of the Samoans on the roster (Fatu), which he implied was not easy to do and should have raised a red flag. He pointed to Frazier's use of a frequently utilized move by wrestlers of comparable size, the sitdown splash. Most wrestlers who perform this move, like Frazier, are super heavyweights, such as the aforementioned Fatu (who adopted the move later in his career), Yokozuna, and Earthquake. These wrestlers usually do so without incident, as they perform it in such a manner that very little of their body weight actually comes in contact with the opponent's body, resulting in the wrestler landing on the opponent's chest. Frazier kicked his legs out while performing the move and thus did not allow himself to stop before impact. Nash said that this caused all of Frazier's 500-plus pound mass to shift to his backside and thus he would drop onto the opponent full force. Nash requested Frazier to leave the move out of their SummerSlam match, due to a pre-existing back injury. Frazier disregarded the request and performed the sitdown splash on Nash anyway, crashing into his lower back with enough force to cause Nash's spine to compress and his core muscles to stretch out. Nash later was diagnosed with a badly strained abdomen that affected his performance the rest of the match, as he could barely feel his legs, and he believed that he had suffered some sort of permanent damage to his spine. Backstage, Nash recounted that a furious Vince McMahon was ready to fire Frazier immediately after the match and was about to hand him his release papers, but Nash stepped in and convinced McMahon otherwise as he did not feel Frazier should lose his job over the incident.

Frazier's continued perceived recklessness would eventually result in him being released from the WWF. During his feud with Undertaker, Frazier once again found himself in trouble due to his inability to perform the leg drop correctly. Instead of landing his leg across the Undertaker's chest as in a normal leg drop, Mabel repeatedly struck Undertaker in the face; this resulted in Undertaker suffering a legitimate fracture of his orbital bone, which put him out of action for two months. Although King Mabel was to wrestle The Undertaker once he returned, Frazier's days in the WWF were numbered after this incident as he had injured yet another of the company's top stars.

Personal life
Frazier was married to Cassandra Frazier until his death in 2014. Due to obesity, Frazier had high blood pressure and diabetes. His wife Cassandra stated that he had been planning on being more healthy before his death, as doctors told him his blood pressure was way too high, and it was affecting his type 2 diabetes. He reacted by removing salt and sugar from his diet, which resulted in him losing over 100 pounds, with his high blood pressure dropping to a healthy level.

Death and lawsuit
On February 18, 2014, Frazier died of a heart attack, just four days after his 43rd birthday. He was cremated, and his widow divided the ashes into 500 pendants as gifts for his loved ones.

On the one-year anniversary of Viscera's death, his widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against WWE, alleging that the company had concealed information, misrepresented research, and misinformed Viscera and other wrestlers on performance risks relating to concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which the suit claimed left him with severe short-term memory loss, migraines, and depression, which contributed to his death. WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt responded in an interview with the Boston Herald, explaining that the company was considering pursuing action against Cassandra Frazier's attorney, Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in other lawsuits against WWE. McDevitt called Viscera's death "tragic", but added: "It's ridiculous that someone can ... try to blame someone because a gentleman with a weight problem died of a heart attack in the shower eight years after he last performed." The lawsuit was dismissed by US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant, who ruled that they failed to show that his death was linked to CTE.

Championships and accomplishments

 * All Japan Pro Wrestling
 * All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Taru
 * Great Championship Wrestling
 * GCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Memphis Wrestling
 * Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame
 * Class of 2022
 * Music City Wrestling
 * MCW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame
 * Class of 2013
 * Ozarks Mountain Wrestling
 * OMW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Pro Wrestling Federation
 * PWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Bobby Knight
 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * Ranked #49 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1995
 * Ranked #340 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
 * United States Wrestling Association
 * USWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * World Wrestling Council
 * WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * World Wrestling Federation
 * WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)
 * WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mo
 * King of the Ring (1995)
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * Worst Feud of the Year (2007) vs. Kane
 * Worst Tag Team (1999) with Mideon
 * Worst Worked Match of the Year (1993) with Mo and The Bushwhackers vs. The Headshrinkers, Bastion Booger, and Bam Bam Bigelow at Survivor Series
 * Xcitement Wrestling Federation
 * XWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

title: Viscera (wrestler)


text:
Ficus citrifolia

Ficus citrifolia, also known as the shortleaf fig, giant bearded fig, Jagüey, wild banyantree and Wimba tree, is a species of banyan native to southern Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America south to Paraguay. It is distinguished from the closely related Florida strangler fig (Ficus aurea) mainly by the finer veining in the leaves.

Description
Ficus citrifolia trees typically grow 15 m (50 ft) tall, and may cover a wide area due to their ability to drop aerial roots from branches and spread horizontally, fusing with the parent tree as they grow. They have a broad top, light grey bark, some aerial roots and milky sap. The leaves of F. citrifolia are dark green. They are oval shaped with a rounded base and pointed tip. Small flowers are enclosed in open ended fruit. The fruit appears on the ends of long stalks protruding from the leaf axils. Fruit turn from yellow to dark-red when ripe. This fruit is sweet and can be eaten raw.

Ecology
New trees begin their life as an epiphyte, a strategy which allows them to avoid competition for light and land. F. citrifolia commonly attacks palms, bald cypress, oaks and other trees, strangling them as it grows.

Ficus citrifolia is under strong selective pressure to flower and produce fruit year round due to its mutualistic relationship with its pollinating agaonid wasp. Agaonid wasps have a symbiotic relationship with figs such that a given agaonid species acts as a pollinator for just one species of fig, and a particular fig species is pollinated by just one species of wasp. F. citrifolia is pollinated by P. assuetus. After pollination, figs ripen quickly. The growth rate of figs is slower during the cold dry months in comparison to hot and rainy months were fruit growth is concentrated. Fruit bearing figs are heavily laden; a single tree may produce up to 1,000,000 fruits with a diameter of 1–2.5 cm. The fruit of F. citrifolia tends to have a purgative effect on the digestive systems of many animals; ripe fruits are eaten and seeds are spread widely through dung.

The invertebrates within F. citrifolia syconia in southern Florida include a pollinating wasp, P. assuetus, up to eight or more species of non-pollinating wasps, a plant-parasitic nematode transported by the pollinator, a parasitic nematode attacking the pollinating wasp, mites, a midge, and a predatory rove beetle whose adults and larvae eat fig wasps. Nematodes: Schistonchus laevigatus (Aphelenchoididae) is a plant-parasitic nematode associated with the pollinator Pegoscapus assuetus and syconia of F. citrifolia. Parasitodiplogaster laevigata is a parasite of the pollinator Pegoscapus assuetus. Mites: belonging to the family Tarsonemidae (Acarina) have been recognized in the syconia of F. aurea and F. citrifolia, but they have not been identified even to genus, and their behavior is undescribed. Midges: Ficiomyia perarticulata (Cecidomyiidae) oviposits in the walls of syconia of F. citrifolia, and the developing larvae induce the plant to form galls there. Rove beetles: Charoxus spinifer is a rove beetle (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) whose adults enter late-stage syconia of F. aurea and F. citrifolia. Adults eat fig wasps; larvae develop within the syconia and prey on fig wasps, then pupate in the ground.

Keystone species
Ficus citrifolia is considered a tropical keystone species. Figs are a major component of the diets of more species of animals than any other tropical perennial fruit. Since F. citrifolia fruits year round many primates, birds and other species, feed exclusively on figs during seasons when other fruit is scarce. Additionally, the knobby, hollow, lattice-like trunk of this tree provides a home for thousands of invertebrates, rodents, bats, birds and reptiles.

F. citrifolia is considered common and is not in danger of extinction.

Genetic mosaics
F. citrifolia may fuse with figs of other species types, creating a cumulate tree that is a genetic mosaic. Research suggests that the frequency of genetic mosaicism among strangler figs may be quite high; it is unknown how this variation effects flowering in mosaic figs. (Thomson et al., 1995). Thomson et al. suggest that if genetically different segments of a single tree flower asynchronously, agaonid wasp populations may be more resistant to low host population sizes that previously thought. Alternatively, genetic mosaicism could mean that the number of certain varieties of fig in an ecosystem may be far lower than biologists have previously thought, and given populations may not have enough trees to maintain their symbiotic relationship with their pollinating wasps.

History
One theory is that the Portuguese name for F. citrifolia, "Os Barbados", gave Barbados its name. It appears on the coat of arms of Barbados, and the removal of one specimen, over 100 years old, was enough to draw attention.

Medicine
An extract of F. citrifolia may have therapeutic value for chemotherapy patients.

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

title: Ficus citrifolia


text:
Dream Chaser

Dream Chaser is an American reusable lifting-body spaceplane developed by Sierra Space. Originally intended as a crewed vehicle, the Dream Chaser Space System is set to be produced after the Dream Chaser Cargo System cargo variant is operational. The crewed variant is planned to carry up to seven people and cargo to and from low Earth orbit. Sierra plans to manufacture a fleet of the spaceplane.

The Dream Chaser was originally started in 2004 as a project of SpaceDev, a company that was later acquired by the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) in 2008. In April 2021 the project was taken over by the Sierra Space Corporation (SSC), which at that time was spun off from the Sierra Nevada Corporation as its own fully independent company.

The cargo Dream Chaser is designed to resupply the International Space Station with both pressurized and unpressurized cargo. It is intended to be launched vertically on the Vulcan Centaur rocket and autonomously land horizontally on conventional runways. A proposed version to be operated by European Space Agency (ESA) would launch on an Arianespace vehicle.

The Dream Chaser concept and design is a descendant of the original NASA Space Shuttle program.

Spacecraft
The Dream Chaser spaceplane is designed to be launched on the top of a typical rocket and land like an airplane on a runway. The design has heritage going back decades. Currently, the Dream Chaser will resupply the ISS with cargo. Per the company's website, a crew version is planned for a later date.

Sierra Space is currently contracted under CRS-2 to perform resupply missions to the ISS over the next few years.

Propulsion
On-orbit propulsion of the Dream Chaser was originally proposed to be provided by twin hybrid rocket engines capable of repeated starts and throttling. At the time, the SSC's predecessor, the SNC was also developing a similar hybrid rocket for Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo. In May 2014, SNC involvement in the SpaceShipTwo program ended.

After the acquisition of Orbitec LLC in July 2014, Sierra Nevada Corporation announced a major change to the propulsion system. The hybrid rocket engine design was dropped in favor of a cluster of Orbitec's Vortex engines. The new unit would be a pressure-fed three-mode engine. At low- and mid-power regimes it uses monopropellant fuel – hydrogen peroxide –  and in high-power demand, the engine adds injection of RP-1 fuel. This increased thrust will be useful to shorten the de-orbit burn duration of the Dream Chaser.

Thermal protection system
Its thermal protection system (TPS) is made up of silica-based tiles (for most of the belly and upper portion of the heat shield), and a new composite material called Toughened Unipiece Fibrous Reusable Oxidation Resistant Ceramic (TUFROC) to cover the nose and leading edges.

Shooting Star module
In 2019, it was announced that an expendable Shooting Star cargo module would be part of the Dream Chaser cargo system for CRS-2 flights. The module is a 15 ft attachment to Dream Chaser that will allow the spacecraft to carry an additional 10,000 lb of pressurized and unpressurized cargo to ISS. The module supports disposal of unwanted cargo by burning up upon re-entry.

In addition to carrying cargo, the Shooting Star module includes solar panels that supply up to 6 kW of electrical power. It also supplies active and passive thermal management; provides Dream Chaser translation and rotation capability via six mounted thrusters; and supports berthing or docking (in different configurations) to the ISS. Access from ISS to Dream Chaser will involve crew passing through Shooting Star (which supports a shirt-sleeve environment) and through a hatch that separates Shooting Star from Dream Chaser. Sierra Nevada says the module is capable of additional types of missions in LEO or to cis-lunar destinations; they have developed a free-flying variant with additional capabilities.

In July 2020, Sierra Nevada announced a contract with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to use its Shooting Star expendable cargo vehicle as a possible commercial solution for a high-powered uncrewed orbital outpost.

Technology partners
In 2010, the following organizations were named as technology partners for the original passenger Dream Chaser:
 * Aerojet – reaction control system technology
 * AdamWorks – composites
 * Charles Stark Draper Laboratory – guidance, navigation, and control
 * Lockheed Martin – airframe construction and human rating of the spaceplane
 * MDA – systems engineering
 * University of Colorado – human-rating

History

The Dream Chaser design is derived from NASA's HL-20 Personnel Launch System spaceplane concept, which in turn is descended from a series of test vehicles, including the X-20 Dyna-Soar, Northrop M2-F2, Northrop M2-F3, Northrop HL-10, Martin X-24A and X-24B, and Martin X-23 PRIME.

The name "Dream Chaser" had been previously used for two separate space vehicle concepts. The first was planned to be an orbital vehicle based on the HL-20, with the second suborbital vehicle proposed by the Benson Space Company for the purposes of space tourism.

The Dream Chaser was publicly announced on September 20, 2004. In April 2007, SpaceDev announced that it had partnered with the United Launch Alliance to pursue the possibility of using the Atlas V booster rocket as the Dream Chaser's launch vehicle. In June 2007, SpaceDev signed a Space Act agreement with NASA.

On October 21, 2008, SpaceDev with Dream Chaser was acquired by the Sierra Nevada Corporation for US$38 million.

CCDev phase 1
On February 1, 2010, Sierra Nevada Corporation was awarded $20 million in seed money under NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) phase 1 program for the development of the Dream Chaser. SNC completed the four planned milestones on time, including hybrid rocket test fires and the preliminary structure design. Further initial Dream Chaser tests included the drop test of a 15% scaled version at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.

CCDev phase 2
Sierra Nevada proposed Dream Chaser for the CCDev phase 2 solicitation by NASA in October 2010, with an estimated project cost of less than $1 billion. On 18 April 2011, NASA awarded $80 million to Sierra Nevada Corporation for Dream Chaser. Since then, nearly a dozen further milestones have been completed under that Space Act Agreement. Some of these milestones included testing of an improved airfoil fin shape, integrated flight software and hardware, landing gear, a full-scale captive carry flight test, and a Systems Requirement Review (SRR).

By February 2012, Sierra Nevada Corporation stated that it had completed the assembly and delivery of the primary structure of the first Dream Chaser flight test vehicle. With this, SNC completed all 11 of its CCDev milestones that were scheduled up to that point. SNC stated in a press release that it was "on time and on budget."

On May 29, 2012, the Dream Chaser Engineering Test Article (ETA) was lifted by an Erickson Skycrane helicopter in a captive carry test to better determine its aerodynamic properties. In May 2013, the ETA was shipped to the Dryden Flight Research Center in California for a series of ground tests and aerodynamic flight tests. A second captive carry flight test was completed on August 22, 2013.

On June 12, 2012, SNC announced the commemoration of its fifth year as a NASA Langley partner in the design and development of Dream Chaser. The NASA/SNC team had worked on aerodynamic and aerothermal analysis of Dream Chaser, as well as guidance, navigation, and control systems. Together with ULA, the NASA/SNC team performed buffet tests on the Dream Chaser and Atlas V stack.

On July 11, 2012, SNC announced that it successfully completed testing of the nose landing gear for Dream Chaser. This milestone evaluated the impact to the landing gear during simulated approach and landing tests as well as the impact of future orbital flights. The main landing gear was tested in a similar way in February 2012. The nose gear landing test was the last milestone to be completed before the free flight approach and landing tests scheduled for later in 2012. In August 2012, SNC completed CCiCap Milestone 1, or the 'Program Implementation Plan Review'. This included creating a plan for implementing design, development, testing, and evaluation activities through the duration of CCiCap funding. By October 2012 the "Integrated System Baseline Review", or CCiCap Milestone 2, had been completed. This review demonstrated the maturity of the Dream Chaser Space System as well as the integration and support of the Atlas V launch vehicle, mission systems, and ground systems.

CCiCap
On August 3, 2012, NASA announced the award of $212.5 million to Sierra Nevada Corporation to continue work on the Dream Chaser under the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) Program. On January 30, 2013, SNC announced a new partnership with Lockheed Martin. Under the agreement, SNC will pay Lockheed Martin $10 million to build the second airframe at its Michoud facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. This second airframe is slated to be the first orbital test vehicle, with orbital flight testing planned to begin within the next two years.

In January 2013, Sierra Nevada announced that the second captive carry and first unpowered drop test of Dream Chaser would take place at Edwards Air Force Base, California in March 2013. The spaceplane release would occur at 12000 ft altitude and would be followed by an autonomous robotic landing.

On March 13, 2013, NASA announced that former Space Shuttle commander Lee Archambault was leaving the agency in order to join SNC. Archambault, a former combat pilot and 15-year NASA veteran who flew on Atlantis and Discovery, will work on the Dream Chaser program as a systems engineer and test pilot.

On October 26, 2013, the first free-flight occurred. The test vehicle was released from the helicopter and flew the correct flightpath to touchdown less than a minute later. Just prior to landing, the left main landing gear failed to deploy resulting in a crash landing. The vehicle skidded off the runway in a cloud of dust, but was found upright with the crew compartment intact and all systems inside still in working order.

In January 2014, SNC announced it had signed a launch contract to fly the first orbital test vehicle on a robotically controlled orbital test flight in November 2016.

In early 2014, Sierra Nevada completed its wind tunnel testing as part of its CCiCAP Milestone 8. The wind tunnel testing involved analyzing the flight dynamics characteristics that the vehicle will experience during orbital ascent and re-entry. Wind tunnel testing was also completed for the Dream Chaser Atlas V integrated launch system. These tests were completed at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, CALSPAN Transonic Wind Tunnel in New York, and at NASA Langley Research Center Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel in Hampton, Virginia.

On August 1, 2014, the first completed piece of the orbital Flight Test Article (FTA) composite airframe was unveiled at a Lockheed Martin facility.

CCtCap
On September 16, 2014, NASA did not select the Dream Chaser for CCtCap, the next phase of the Commercial Crew Program. This occurred despite previous Commercial Crew Development awards in every phase since 2009, due to lack of maturity.

On September 26, Sierra Nevada filed a protest to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). On October 22, 2014, a Federal Judge ruled the contract awards to Boeing and SpaceX valid, allowing NASA to proceed.

On September 29, 2014, Sierra Nevada introduced the "Dream Chaser Global Project" which would provide customized access to low Earth orbit to global customers.

Despite not being selected to continue forward under NASA's Commercial Crew transportation Capability (CCtCap) phase of the effort to send crews to orbit via private companies, SNC completed the milestones assigned under earlier phases of the CCP. On December 2, 2014, SNC announced that it completed NASA's CCiCap Milestone 5a related to propulsion risk reduction for the Dream Chaser space system.

By late December, details had emerged that "a high-ranking agency official"—"William Gerstenmaier, the agency's top human exploration official and the one who made the final decision"—"opted to rank Boeing's proposal higher than a previous panel of agency procurement experts." More specifically, Sierra Nevada asserted in their filings with the GAO that Gerstenmaier may have "overstepped his authority by unilaterally changing the scoring criteria."

On January 5, 2015, the GAO denied Sierra Nevada's CCtCap challenge, stating that NASA made the proper decision when it decided to award Boeing $4.2 billion and SpaceX $2.6 billion to develop their vehicles. Ralph White, the GAO's managing associate counsel, announced that NASA "recognized Boeing's higher price but also considered Boeing's proposal to be the strongest of all three proposals in terms of technical approach, management approach and past performance, and to offer the crew transportation system with most utility and highest value to the government." Furthermore, the agency found "several favorable features" in SNC's proposal "but ultimately concluded that SpaceX's lower price made it a better value."

CRS-2 selection
In December 2014, Sierra Nevada proposed Dream Chaser for CRS-2 consideration. In January 2016, NASA announced that Dream Chaser had been awarded one of the CRS-2 contracts and committed to purchasing a minimum of six resupply missions to the ISS. The cargo spacecraft will fly alongside spacecraft from the existing CRS-1 contract holders SpaceX and Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.

In October 2015, the thermal protection system was installed on the Engineering Test Article (ETA) for the next phase of atmospheric flight testing. The orbital cabin assembly of the Flight Test Article (FTA) was also completed by contractor Lockheed Martin.

In 2015, the ETA had reportedly been given the name Eagle, while the FTA was originally named Ascalon before being changed to Ascension.

On November 11, 2017, the Dream Chaser ETA was released from an altitude of 3,700 m and successfully landed at Edwards AFB.

In March 2019, completion of NASA's Integrated Review Milestone 5 (IR5) confirmed that development was still on schedule. In August 2019, SNC announced the first ISS flight of the Dream Chaser, known as SNC Demo-1, was planned for 2021. However, on November 17, 2020, SNC announced it would be delayed until early 2022.

In April 2021 SNC spun off its Dream Chaser division, creating the fully independent company, the "Sierra Space Corporation," which assumed responsibility for the further development of the Dream Chaser space vehicle system. In May 2022, it was announced by the deputy manager of ISS, Dana Weigel, that the mission was scheduled for February 2023. The mission has since then been delayed further, to June 2024. In May 2024, it was announced that Dream Chaser Tenacity completed initial flight testing and was headed next to Kennedy Space Center to prepare for launch. It arrived later that month for launch preparation. The Vulcan Centaur to be used for the launch arrived to KSC in late June 2024. However, the Orlando Sentinel reports, June 26, "Dream Chaser dropped from next Vulcan launch as ULA targets national security certification". Launch will likely slip to 2025.

Crewed version

The originally planned Dream Chaser Space System is a human-rated version designed to carry from three to seven people and cargo to orbital destinations such as the International Space Station. It was to have a built-in launch escape system and could fly autonomously if needed. Although it could use any suitable launch vehicle, it was planned to be launched on a human-rated Atlas V N12 rocket. The vehicle will be able to return from space by gliding (typically experiencing less than 1.5 g on re-entry) and landing on any airport runway that handles commercial air traffic. Its reaction control system thrusters burned ethanol-based fuel, which is not an explosively volatile material, nor toxic like hydrazine, allowing the Dream Chaser to be handled immediately after landing, unlike the Space Shuttle.

As of 2020, the Sierra Nevada Corporation said it still planned to produce a crewed version of the spacecraft within the next 5 years. The company said it "never stopped working" on the crewed version and fully intended to launch it after the cargo version, and is still committed to the crewed version as of 2021.

In November 2021, Sierra Space Corporation reported that it received a $1.4 billion investment in Series A funding, which it would use to develop a crewed version of Dream Chaser and fly astronauts by 2025. On October 25, 2021, Blue Origin and Sierra Space, released their plan for a commercial space station. The station, called Orbital Reef, is intended as a "mixed-use business park". Sierra Space Corporation's Dream Chaser was chosen as one of the commercial spacecraft to transport commercial crew to and from the space station, along with Boeing's Starliner.

CRS-2 cargo version

The cargo version of the SSC Dream Chaser is called the Dream Chaser Cargo System (DCCS) and after development is completed, will fly resupply flights to the ISS under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services-2 program. Featuring an expendable cargo module mounting solar panels, the spacecraft will be capable of returning 1750 kg to Earth while undergoing maximum re-entry forces of 1.5G.

To meet CRS-2 guidelines, the cargo Dream Chaser will have folding wings and fit within a 5 m diameter payload fairing, in contrast to the Crewed Dream Chaser, which is intended to launch without a fairing. The ability to fit into a payload fairing allows the cargo version to launch on any sufficiently capable vehicle, such as the (retired) Ariane 5 as well as the (soon to be retired) Atlas V. An expendable cargo module will launch attached to the back of the spacecraft, expanding the cargo uplift capacity and supporting the disposal of up to 3250 kg of trash. Total uplift is planned for 5000 kg pressurized and 500 kg unpressurized, with a downlift of 1750 kg contained within the spaceplane. The expendable cargo module is called "Shooting Star".

On August 14, 2019, it was announced that all six Dream Chaser CRS-2 flights would be carried into orbit by ULA's Vulcan launch vehicle, with the first Dream Chaser flight being the second Vulcan flight in late 2021. However, on February 9, 2022, Ken Shields, Sierra Space's Director of Commercial Market Development, announced that the first flight would be pushed to January 2023. The launch has been further delayed, and as of May 2024 is scheduled for September 2024.

National Security version
On November 19, 2021, Sierra Space announced that it is considering a third Dream Chaser version specialized for National Security missions, though it declined to comment on what the differences compared with other versions would be.

Dream Chaser Global Project
In December 2013, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) announced a funded study to investigate ways in which Europe might take advantage of the Dream Chaser crewed spaceplane technology. Named the DC4EU (Dream Chaser for European Utilization), the project will study using it for sending crews and cargo to the ISS and on missions not involving the ISS, particularly in orbits of substantially greater altitude than the ISS can reach.

In January 2014, the European Space Agency (ESA) agreed to be a partner on the DC4EU project, and will also investigate whether the Dream Chaser can use ESA avionics and docking mechanisms. ESA will also study launching options for the "Europeanized" Dream Chaser, particularly whether it can be launched from the Guiana Space Centre, within the Ariane 5's large aerodynamic cargo fairing – or, like the Atlas V, without it. In order to fit within the fairing, the Dream Chaser's wing length will have to be reduced slightly, which is thought to be easier than going through a full aerodynamic test program to evaluate and prove it along with the Ariane for flight without the fairing. The Ariane 5 launch vehicle was designed from its inception to be crew rated, in order to launch the Hermes Spaceplane, an ESA crewed vehicle which was proposed in the 1980s and 1990s, but was cancelled.

In late January 2014, it was announced that the Dream Chaser orbital test vehicle was under contract to be launched on an initial orbital test flight, using an Atlas V rocket, from Kennedy Space Center in November 2016. This was a privately arranged commercial agreement, and was funded directly by Sierra Nevada and was not a part of any existing NASA contract.

In September 2014, SNC announced that it would, with global partners, use the Dream Chaser as the baseline spacecraft for orbital access for a variety of programs, specializing the craft as needed.

On November 5, 2014, SNC's Space Systems team publicly presented the challenges and opportunities related to landing the Dream Chaser spacecraft at public-use airports. Dream Chaser uses standard landing aids and non-toxic propellants that require no special handling.

Dream Chaser for European Utilization
On February 3, 2015, the Sierra Nevada Corporation's (SNC) Space Systems and OHB System AG (OHB) in Germany announced the completion of the initial Dream Chaser for European Utilization (DC4EU) study. The study found that Dream Chaser is suitable for a broad range of space applications and could be used to advance European interests in space. The cooperation was renewed in April 2015 for an additional two years.

United Nations
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) selected the cargo Dream Chaser for its first space launch. This launch is intended to last for at least two weeks in freeflight to provide space access to United Nations member states that have no space programs of their own. The United States will pay for the mission and provide all support facilities.

In 2019, the launch date for the proposed mission, expected to carry up to 35 payloads, was set for 2024.

Missions
A demonstration and six missions are currently planned to be launched from Cape Canaveral SLC-41 on Vulcan Centaur, and one more flight has been ordered to fly for the United Nations on board an Arianespace vehicle.

''List includes only completed or manifested missions. NET means 'no earlier than'. Launch and landing dates and times are listed in UTC.''

title: Dream Chaser


text:
Fritz Klatte

Fritz Klatte (28 March 1880, Diepholz – 11 February 1934) was a German chemist and the discoverer of polyvinyl acetate, with German patent (GP 281687 1912) for its preparation from acetylene gas.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was discovered by French physicist Henri Victor Regnault, and German physicist Eugen Baumann. Klatte designed the production process, although never successfully commercialised it. Klatte is sometimes incorrectly attributed to be the discoverer or inventor of PVC. In 1912/13, together with the chemists Emil Zacharias and Adolf Rollett, he invented the production process for polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

title: Fritz Klatte


text:
Daisuke Asakura

Daisuke Asakura (浅倉 大介) is a Japanese musician, songwriter and producer who is known for his compositional work and skill at keyboards.

Early life and career
Asakura's childhood consisted of piano and electronic organ lessons, though he was expected to follow the family trade of plumbing. He started working with Yamaha keyboards and synthesizers in his early teens. Asakura began his career with a job at Yamaha right after finishing high school. While at Yamaha, Asakura worked on the EOS synthesiser, and was also featured in the instructional video for the SY77. His talent was discovered by Tetsuya Komuro of TM Network and Asakura was pulled from Yamaha to work under Komuro as his protégé. Subsequently, Asakura played the bass synthesizer during TM Network's 1990–91 Rhythm Red tour. In 1992, Asakura met the vocalist Hiroyuki Takami and featured him in some of his solo work. The two eventually formed Access (or "AXS") in 1992, after Asakura broke away from TM Network. He and Takami went on to achieve great success before splitting up in 1995.

The breakup of Access left Asakura open to pursue different projects that included composing and producing songs for new artists; one of the most successful acts he created was J-pop idol Takanori Nishikawa under the title of T.M.Revolution (also known as "TMR"). In the middle of 1996, Asakura started a three-man unit titled Iceman which brought Kenichi Ito (guitar) and Michihiro Kuroda (vocals) to the spotlight. After a few years, Iceman ended activity.

Other projects
During and after his years with Iceman Asakura built his wealth and reputation as a composer taking after his idol and teacher, Tetsuya Komuro. He produced singles and albums for various J-Pop vocalists. He was also the featured music composer for the anime series Gravitation. Examples of Asakura's past projects includes vocalists such as Yosuke Sakanoue, Kinya Kotani, Daichi Kuroda, Akiko Hinagata, Yuki Kimura, FayRay, Takashi Fujii and groups such as, Onapetz, Pool Bit Boys, Lazy Knack, Run&Gun and The Seeker. He also composed songs for artists such as the visual kei rock band Shazna.

In 1999, Asakura and Takanori Nishikawa formed their own official two-man unit, The End of Genesis T.M.R. evolution Turbo Type D (or "TMR-e", for short). They produced three singles and one album together, with Asakura performing alongside Nishikawa and appearing in their music videos. The project was officially ended in April 2000 when Nishikawa reverted to his original stage name of T.M.Revolution. Asakura is still TMR's primary songwriter.

In 2001, Asakura produced his first solo album in five years and worked with Iceman guitarist Kenichi Ito in Mad Soldiers; a sort of comedic spin-off from Iceman in which both men's "sinister" alter egos "Scorpion" (Asakura) and "Snake" (Ito) produced music for Kinya Kotani, amongst others, and performed officially unrecorded cover versions of famous songs such as "Lemon Tea" by Sheena & The Rokkets and "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran. The name of Asakura's alter ego is a reference to his zodiac sign, Scorpio.

In 2002, he reunited with Hiroyuki Takami and reformed access.

Asakura went off on a solo project in 2004 titled "Quantum Mechanics Rainbow", in which he released multiple CDs for a year, and each CD title referenced both a color and math property. The project featured multiple live performances and subsequent DVD releases. In 2006–2007, Asakura produced two singles for new J-pop idol Kimeru, hit the road with TM Network for 2007's TMN Tribute tour and created new songs for the newest version of the popular dance-step game, Dance Dance Revolution. In November 2007, access released a memory/discography book, alongside highly coveted access plushies, to commemorate their 15th anniversary. In 2012, access celebrated their 20th anniversary. In 2008, Asakura started a new solo project entitled "DA Metaverse ~100 Songs for 1000 Days," in which he would release 100 new songs over the course of 1000 days exclusively through iTunes. The project was launched on June 25, 2008. In 2009 he composed and produced the soundtrack for the anime adaptation of Chrome Shelled Regios. Also in 2009, Asakura composed and arranged the soundtrack for a musical rendition of Goodbye Charlie in which Hiroyuki Takami played one of the lead roles.

Asakura has worked with J-pop artists such as Daisy x Daisy (for the opening theme song to Chrome Shelled Regios), On/Off, and May'n as a composer and/or producer. He was also featured as an MC/performer for the event concert series, "Girl's Factory", alongside Mayu Watanabe of AKB48 and various guest artists. Since 2006, Asakura has been a member of the Domoto Bros. Band on the music TV series Shin Domoto Kyoudai ("New Domoto Brothers"), hosted by the duo of KinKi Kids, as a keyboardist. Asakura formed a group with other musicians from the show's band in 2009 called "Sugar and the Honey Tones", and they have produced one album. Asakura and Tetsuya Komuro formed the unit PANDORA in 2017, having produced one mini album including a track featuring the artist Beverly, "Be the One" for the Japanese tokusatsu show Kamen Rider Build.

Asakura was featured in his own radio talk show, Neo Age Circuit, which aired every Saturday at 11pm (JST) on FM Nack5 79.5 until it ended in March 2021. His official fanclub, "Smile", was temporarily the official fanclub for access until their breakup in 1995. It was active in relation to Asakura's activities until March 2021.

Singles

 * Cosmic Runaway (February 1, 1995)
 * Siren's Melody (May 10, 1995)
 * Black or White? (May 25, 1995)
 * Rainy Heart – Doshaburi no Omoide no Naka (June 10, 1995)

DA Metaverse

 * Dream Ape Metaverse (June 25, 2008)
 * Repli Eye-Program"d (June 25, 2008)
 * Nothung Syndrome (June 25, 2008)
 * Ya･Ti･Ma (July 30, 2008)
 * Sonic Cruise (September 24, 2008)
 * So・U・Shu・Tsu – mould (November 12, 2008)
 * Fall Fear (November 12, 2008)
 * Leaf Fall (November 12, 2008)
 * The Transmuters (November 19, 2008)
 * 創出 (Soushutsu) (November 19, 2008)
 * Kiss For Salome (November 19, 2008)
 * Chimera Draft (November 26, 2008)
 * Star Cascade (November 26, 2008)
 * Gate I (November 26, 2008)
 * X-Night (December 17, 2008)
 * Der Rattenfänger Von Hameln (January 7, 2009)
 * Fractal Vibe (February 25, 2009)
 * St. Electric (March 4, 2009)
 * 'Blanca' (April 29, 2009)
 * Rip (June 10, 2009)
 * Prime Diffusion (June 17, 2009)
 * Sphere Valley (June 24, 2009)
 * A Midsummer Night's Dream (July 1, 2009)
 * YaTa-Raven Chronicle (December 2, 2009)
 * Space Closer (December 16, 2009)
 * 3x10^8 Lucks (November 5, 2014)
 * Topology (November 12, 2014)
 * 0 Game (November 19, 2014)
 * Ambition Rising (January 21, 2015)
 * Grid Justice (January 21, 2015)
 * Remote Space (February 25, 2015)
 * March Hare (March 25, 2015)
 * Danteroid (December 11, 2015)
 * Coda Growth (January 29, 2020)
 * Meme Crack - Growth20 (February 29, 2020)
 * Wavelet Petal (March 29, 2020)
 * Entanglement Capriccio (May 11, 2020)
 * Olympus (October 2, 2020)

Albums

 * Landing Timemachine (October 25, 1991)
 * D-Trick (September 2, 1992)
 * Electromancer (July 12, 1995)
 * 21st Fortune CD (November 20, 2002)
 * Quantum Mechanics Rainbow I : Violet Meme (March 30, 2004)
 * Quantum Mechanics Rainbow II : Indigo Algorithm (May 31, 2004)
 * Quantum Mechanics Rainbow III: Blue Resolution (July 30, 2004)
 * Quantum Mechanics Rainbow IV : Green Method (September 15, 2004)
 * Quantum Mechanics Rainbow V : Yellow Vector (November 30, 2004)
 * Quantum Mechanics Rainbow VI : Orange Compile (December 31, 2004)
 * Quantum Mechanics Rainbow VII: Red Trigger (March 30, 2005)
 * d・file -for TV programs- (July 19, 2006)

Compilations

 * DA's Best Works '91–'95 (June 24, 1998)
 * DecAde: The Best of Daisuke Asakura (November 21, 2001) (July 1, 2002)
 * D・Collection: The Best Works of Daisuke Asakura (July 19, 2007)
 * DA METAVERSE I + II (March 8, 2013)

Soundtrack albums

 * Daiva (November 4, 1992)
 * Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2
 * Gravitation (Anime OST)
 * Koukaku no Regios : Sound Restoration
 * Koukaku no Regios : Sound Restoration 2

Remix albums

 * Sequence Virus 2003 (December 20, 2003)
 * Sequence Virus 2004 (August 14, 2004)
 * Sequence Virus 2005 (October 17, 2005)
 * Sequence Virus 2006 (December 23, 2006)
 * Sequence Virus 2007–2008 (July 25, 2008)
 * Sequence Virus 2009 (March 31, 2010)
 * Sequence Virus 2015 (June 29, 2016)
 * Sequence Virus 2017 (August 29, 2018)
 * Sequence Virus 2019 (May 13, 2020)

DVD

 * 21st Fortune Complete Box (September 19, 2002)
 * 21st Fortune DVD (November 20, 2002)
 * Daisuke Asakura Live Tour'04 Cultivate Meme: About Quantum Mechanics Rainbow (March 4, 2005)
 * Daisuke Asakura Quantum Mechanics Rainbow (October 17, 2005)
 * Drive Meme-over Quantum Mechanics Rainbow- (March 20, 2006)
 * D-Clips

Tour

 * Electric Romance (December 14, 1995) to (January 9, 1996)
 * Quantum Mechanics Rainbow (2004–2005)

title: Daisuke Asakura


text:
Wonderland

Wonderland may refer to:

Roads, streets, and trails

 * Wonderland Avenue, a roadway in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles and the site of the 1981 Wonderland Murders (at 8763 Wonderland Avenue)
 * Wonderland Trail, a hiking trail that circumnavigates Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, U.S.
 * Wonderland Road, a major north–south roadway in the city of London, Ontario, Canada

Other places

 * Wonderland (Columbus, Ohio), a ghost town in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
 * Wonderland Greyhound Park, a former greyhound racing track in Revere, Massachusetts
 * Wonderland station, a rapid transit station on the MBTA's Blue Line in Revere, Massachusetts, U.S.
 * Wonderland Village, a shopping center in Livonia, Michigan, U.S.; formerly known as Wonderland Mall and Wonderland Center

Amusement parks

 * Canada's Wonderland, in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
 * Dutch Wonderland, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania
 * Wonderland Amusement Park (disambiguation)
 * Wonderland Amusement Park (Beijing) (沃德兰游乐园), an unfinished park in China
 * Gillians Wonderland Pier, in Ocean City, New Jersey
 * Wonderland Amusement Park (Indianapolis), in Indianapolis, Indiana
 * Wonderland Amusement Park (Minneapolis), in Minneapolis, Minnesota
 * Wonderland Amusement Park (Massachusetts), in Revere, Massachusetts
 * Wonderland City, in Sydney, Australia, closed in 1911
 * Wonderland Park (Texas), in Amarillo, Texas
 * Wonderland Sydney, in Sydney, Australia
 * Wonderland Ankara, in Ankara, Turkey

Film

 * Wonderland (1931 film), a 1931 short film
 * The Fruit Machine (1988 film), a 1988 film was known as Wonderland in the US, directed by Philip Saville
 * Wonderland (1997 film), a satirical documentary film directed by John O'Hagan
 * Wonderland (1999 film), a British drama film directed by Michael Winterbottom
 * Wonderland (soundtrack), an album by Michael Nyman and the soundtrack to the 1999 film
 * Wonderland (2003 film), a film about the Wonderland Murders (see below), directed by James Cox
 * Wonderland (2013 film), an Israeli comic thriller film
 * Wonderland (2023 film), a 2023 Singaporean drama film
 * The Wonderland, or Birthday Wonderland, a 2019 Japanese animated film
 * Wonderland (2024 film), a South Korean sci-fi fantasy film

Games

 * Wonderland (adventure game), a 1990 text-driven adventure by Magnetic Scrolls
 * Wonderland Online, an MMORPG developed by Chinese Gamer International and published by Internet Gaming Gate (IGG)

Literature

 * Wonderland (fictional country), the setting in 1865 children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
 * Mr Tompkins in Wonderland, a 1940 series of vignettes by George Gamow about modern physics
 * Wonderland (novel), a 1971 novel by Joyce Carol Oates
 * Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess, a 1989 autobiographical book by Danny Sugerman about his life in the music business
 * Wonderland (novella), a 2003 novel based on the television series

Artists

 * Wonderland (band), a girl band
 * Wonderland, a German band featuring Achim Reichel, Frank Dostal and Les Humphries

Albums

 * Wonderland (Steve Aoki album)
 * Wonderland (Benny Carter album)
 * Wonderland (Erasure album)
 * Wonderland (Forgive Durden album)
 * Wonderland (Jessica Jung extended play)
 * Wonderland (McFly album)
 * Wonderland (Sarah McLachlan album)
 * Wonderland (Noosa album)
 * Wonderland (Nosferatu album)
 * Wonderland (Sea of Treachery album)
 * Wonderland (Faryl Smith album)
 * Wonderland (The Charlatans album)
 * Wonderland (Take That album)
 * Wonderland (Stanley Turrentine album)
 * Wonderland (Judie Tzuke album)
 * Wonderland (Wonderland album) by the girl band by the same name
 * Wonderland (Khalil Fong album)
 * Wonderland, a 2007 album by Rubikon

Songs

 * "Wonderland" (Alcazar song)
 * "Wonderland" (AleXa song), 2022
 * "Wonderland" (Big Country song), 1984
 * "Wonderland" (Heidi Klum song)
 * "Wonderland" (Kesha song), 2012
 * "Wonderland" (Natalia Kills song)
 * "Wonderland" (XTC song)
 * "Wonderland", by 24Herbs feat. Janice Vidal, 2011
 * "Wonderland", by Ateez from their albumTreasure EP.Fin: All to Action
 * "Wonderland", by Ayumi Hamasaki from her album My Story
 * "Wonderland", by Band-Maid from their album Conqueror
 * "Wonderland", by Caravan Palace from their album <|°_°|>
 * "Wonderland", by Chvrches from their album Love Is Dead
 * "Wonderland", by the Commodores from their album Midnight Magic
 * "Wonderland", by Crazy Frog from the album Crazy Hits
 * "Wonderland", by Eme 15 from their album Eme 15
 * "Wonderland", by Koshi Inaba from his album Peace of Mind
 * "Wonderland", by Loudness from their album Sunburst
 * "Wonderland", by Michael Franks from his album Objects of Desire
 * "Wonderland", by Passion Fruit
 * "Wonderland", by Simply Red from their album Stars
 * "Wonderland", by Tak Matsumoto Group from their album TMG I
 * "Wonderland", by Taylor Swift from her album 1989

Musicals

 * Wonderland (musical), a 2009 musical by Frank Wildhorn
 * Wonder.land, a 2015 musical by Damon Albarn
 * Wonderland, a rave in the off-Broadway musical Bare, a Pop Opera

Television

 * Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (TV Series), a 2013 spinoff of the ABC television series Once Upon a Time
 * Wonderland (Australian TV series), a 2013 Australian television drama series
 * Wonderland (American TV series), a 2000 American television drama directed by Peter Berg that aired on ABC
 * Wonderland, an alternate dimension in the Final Fantasy: Unlimited anime, to which the main characters travel
 * Wonderland, a 2016 live music program on MTV
 * Wonderland, a 2018 BBC short film in the BBC One 'Oneness' series of station idents
 * The Wonderland, a fictional band in the CBBC series Almost Never

Other arts and media

 * Wonderland (event), a club night concept created and developed by UK-based DJ Pete Tong
 * Wonderland (magazine), a British lifestyle and fashion magazine

Other uses

 * Open Wonderland, an open source toolkit for building 3D virtual worlds
 * Wonderland Club, an international child pornography ring operating over the Internet
 * Wonderland model, a mathematical model used for studying issues in sustainable development
 * Wonderland murders, four unsolved killings that occurred at 8763 Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles on July 1, 1981
 * Children's Wonderland, meaning either the exhibit or the company
 * Wonderland Sound and Vision, an American production company founded by Joseph McGinty Nichol

title: Wonderland


text:
Therapeutae

The Therapeutae were a Jewish sect which existed in Alexandria and other parts of the ancient Greek world. The primary source concerning the Therapeutae is the De vita contemplativa ("The Contemplative Life"), traditionally ascribed to the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BCE – 50 CE). The author appears to have been personally acquainted with them. The author describes the Therapeutae as "philosophers" (cf. I.2) and mentions a group that lived on a low hill by the Lake Mareotis close to Alexandria in circumstances resembling lavrite life (cf. III.22). They were "the best" of a kind given to "perfect goodness" that "exists in many places in the inhabited world" (cf. III.21). The author was unsure of the origin of the name and derives the name Therapeutae/Therapeutides from Greek θεραπεύω in the sense of "cure" or "worship" (cf. I.2).

Philo's description of the doctrines and practices of the Therapeutae leaves great ambiguity about what religion they are associated with.

Name
The term Therapeutae (plural) is Latin, from Philo's Greek plural Therapeutai (Θεραπευταί). The term therapeutes means one who is attendant to the gods although the term, and the related adjective therapeutikos carry in later texts the meaning of attending to heal, or treating in a spiritual or medical sense. The Greek feminine plural Therapeutrides (Θεραπευτρίδες) is sometimes encountered for their female members. The term therapeutae may occur in relation to followers of Asclepius at Pergamon, and therapeutai may also occur in relation to worshippers of Sarapis in inscriptions, such as on Delos.

De vita contemplativa account
Philo described the Therapeutae in De vita contemplativa ("On the contemplative life"), written in the first century CE. The origins of the Therapeutae were unclear, and Philo was even unsure about the etymology of their name, which he explained as meaning either physicians of souls or servants of God. The opening phrases of his essay establish that it followed one that has been lost, on the active life. Philo was employing the familiar polarity in Hellenic philosophy between the active and the contemplative life, exemplifying the active life by the Essenes, another severely ascetic sect, and the contemplative life by the desert-dwelling Therapeutae.

According to De Vita Contemplativa, the Therapeutae were widely distributed in the Ancient world, among the Greeks and beyond in the non-Greek world of the "barbarians", with one of their major gathering points being in Alexandria, in the area of the Lake Mareotis:

"Now this class of persons may be met with in many places, for it was fitting that both Greece and the country of the barbarians should partake of whatever is perfectly good; and there is the greatest number of such men in Egypt, in every one of the districts, or nomes, as they are called, and especially around Alexandria; and from all quarters those who are the best of these therapeutae proceed on their pilgrimage to some most suitable place as if it were their country, which is beyond the Maereotic lake."

- De Vita Contemplativa

Temperance and simplicity
They lived chastely with utter simplicity; they "first of all laid down temperance as a sort of foundation for the soul to rest upon, proceed to build up other virtues on this foundation" (Philo). They renounced property and followed severe discipline: "These men abandon their property without being influenced by any predominant attraction, and flee without even turning their heads back again."

- De Vita Contemplativa'' para. 18

Six days per week of solitude, meeting on seventh day, with teaching and hymns
They were dedicated to the contemplative life, and their activities for six days of the week consisted of ascetic practices, fasting, solitary prayers and the study of the scriptures in their isolated cells, each with its separate holy sanctuary, and enclosed courtyard:

"the entire interval from dawn to evening is given up by them to spiritual exercises. For they read the holy scriptures and draw out in thought and allegory their ancestral philosophy, since they regard the literal meanings as symbols of an inner and hidden nature revealing itself in covert ideas."

- De Vita Contemplativa, para. 28

On the seventh day the Therapeutae met in a meeting house, the men on one side of an open partition, the women modestly on the other, to hear discourses. Once in seven weeks they meet for a night-long vigil after a banquet where they served one another, for "they are not waited on by slaves, because they deem any possession of servants whatever to be contrary to nature. For she has begotten all men alike free" (De Vita Contemplativa, para.70) and sing antiphonal hymns until dawn.

Testament of Job
The pseudepigraphic Testament of Job is seen as possibly a Therapeutae text.

Early Christian interpretations
The 3rd-century Christian writer Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 263–339), in his Ecclesiastical History, identified Philo's Therapeutae as the first Christian monks, identifying their renunciation of property, chastity, fasting, and solitary lives with the cenobitic ideal of the Christian monks.

The 4th-century Christian heresiologist Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 315–403), bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, author of the Panarion, or Medicine Chest against Heresies, misidentified Philo's Therapeuate as "Jessaens" and considered them a Christian group.

The 5th-century Christian writer Pseudo-Dionysius, following Philo, interprets that "Some people gave to the ascetics the name 'Therapeutae' or servants while some others gave them the name monks". Pseudo-Dionysius interprets Philo's group as a highly organized Christian ascetic order, and the meaning of the name "Therapeutae" as "servants".

Theory of Buddhist Influence
Some authors have pointed out similarities between the Therapeutae and early Buddhist monasticism, a tradition that is several centuries older. As described in the 1st century CE text Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Egypt had intense trade and cultural contacts with India during the period which, combined with evidence in the Indian Edicts of Ashoka of Buddhist missionary activity to the Mediterranean around 250 BCE, has led to the hypothesis that Therapeutae might have been a Buddhist sect composed of descendants of Ashoka's emissaries.

Linguist Zacharias P. Thundy suggests that the word "Therapeutae" may represent a Hellenistic corruption of "Theravada", the Indian Pali word for traditional Buddhists.

title: Therapeutae


text:
Tessel

Tessel is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.

title: Tessel


text:
Thaon

Thaon is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.

title: Thaon


text:
Talk:Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland

Names
I have used the official name of NUIs Cork and Dublin, as links, in this article and the National University of Ireland article as it is slighty confusing to have two alternate links to the same institution. Djegan 12:39, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Dublin Metropolitan University
I'm from Malaysia and I need to know is there a university in Ireland called the Dublin Metropolitan University. As I have search the internet but could not find it. I need to know if this U is Dubious. Any one can help?? TQ

 * No - an Irish university, if it is to be of good standing, must be recognised in accordance with the law - for instance the "Universities Act, 1997" - this instituion is most likely a diploma mill and does not operate lawfully in Dublin, Ireland. Djegan 13:24, 26 Sep 2004 (UTC)

The Open University
The Open University was founded by the UK government in 1969 but has always served students in Ireland and in 1996 it opened an office in Holles Street in Dublin and degree ceremonies are held in the city each April. While currently viewed as a private university by the Higher Education Authority in the Republic, all its courses and qualifications have been validated by HETAC and the university is one of the 10 members of Universities Ireland. William62 (talk) 14:26, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

List of further education colleges in the Republic of Ireland
I have removed the further education colleges from this list, as they now have their own list,further education colleges, and have added a link to the main page. Any colleges that were on this list have been transferred to the new list, I'll leave a copy of the old list here in case someone needs to put it back for some reason.
 * Abbeyleix FE Centre
 * Ballsbridge College of FE
 * Ballyfermot College of Further Education
 * Ballyhaise College
 * Carlow Institute of FE
 * Cavan College
 * Cavan College of Further Studies
 * Cavan Institute
 * Cork College of Commerce
 * Bray Institute of FE
 * Castlebar College of FE
 * Central Technical Institute Clonmel
 * Central Technical Institute Waterford
 * Coláiste Dhúlaigh College of FE
 * Coláiste Íde College of FE
 * Crumlin College of FE
 * Drogheda Institute of FE
 * Drumshanbo College of Further Education
 * Dundrum College of FE
 * Dun Laoghaire College of FE
 * Galway Technical Institute
 * Killester College of FE
 * Inchicore College of Further Education
 * Liberties College
 * Limerick Senior College
 * Moate Business College
 * Monaghan Institute of FE & Training
 * O'Fiaich College
 * Pearse College of FE
 * Plunkett College
 * Rathmines College of FE
 * Ringsend Technical Institute
 * Roslyn Park College
 * Senior College Dun Laoghaire
 * Stillorgan College of FE
 * St. Johns Central College, Cork
 * St. Kevins College, Dublin
 * West Clare VTOS
 * Whitehall College of FE

TTGL-2 (talk) 10:44, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

"Irish International University"
Good edit by Dougweller. Every now and again somebody attempts either to removed sourced information about this outfit or to spam it. Should its name ever be reinserted in this list, it should be removed, because "Irish International University" is not a university anywhere. -- Hoary (talk) 12:43, 27 May 2012 (UTC)

So few universities, yet so many
Even putting aside "Irish International University" and such nonsense, this "list" is very odd.

It purports to be a list of universities. The list is long. It starts with a list of, uh, universities. This is very short. Thereafter comes a long list of what clearly are not universities. A minority of these are annotated e.g. "College is linked to Dublin City University." Linked how? Can students in the one take courses in the other, or merely borrow books from the library of the other? Or indeed do they merely share a soccer pitch, or just qualify for discounts in each other's bookshops? -- Hoary (talk) 12:53, 27 May 2012 (UTC)
 * I agree. The article title would be more suited if it was 'List of educational institutions in ROI'. Universities, as the article says should just limit the list to the first section: DCU, NUI, UL and UD. ~ Ablaze (talk) 15:27, 27 May 2012 (UTC)
 * List of higher education institutions in the Republic of Ireland, and then it will be similar to lists for a number of other European countries. List of colleges and universities in France should similarly become List of higher education institutions in France. Itsmejudith (talk) 16:05, 27 May 2012 (UTC)

 * I agree with the name change. Additionally, it would be helpful to provide footnotes to verify the legitimacy of every entry on the list. --Orlady (talk) 16:37, 27 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Sounds good. Work away moving to List of higher education institutions in the Republic of Ireland~ Ablaze (talk) 16:51, 27 May 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090720004138/http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/overall_rankings/fullrankings/ to http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/overall_rankings/fullrankings/

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 18:23, 4 May 2017 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20111004072302/http://www.prospectus.ie/documents/5037662Irish%20Times%20Edu%20Article_8.1.07.pdf to http://www.prospectus.ie/documents/5037662Irish%20Times%20Edu%20Article_8.1.07.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120521125423/http://www.wales.ac.uk/en/InstitutionsAndCourses/IBI/IrishBibleInstitute-Dublin.aspx to http://www.wales.ac.uk/en/InstitutionsAndCourses/IBI/IrishBibleInstitute-Dublin.aspx

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 15:10, 21 January 2018 (UTC)

Coláiste Íosagáin
Hi there, I added Coláiste Íosagáin to the list of defunct institutions. I understand there were several Irish language teacher training colleges founded in the early years of the state that trained a large share of primary and secondary school teachers at one point but were closed in the 1960s. This is the only one I can currently name. It and the other ones seem to have fallen out of general consciousness. I cited a WordPress site for the years of its existence for want of a better one. This use should be non-controversial, as per the Wikipedia guidelines. The other source is more authoritative and validates its existence. Ballystrahan (talk) 19:52, 1 April 2023 (UTC)

 * Update: I'm concerned that my addition was incorrect. I removed it and will add it again if I'm correct. Ballystrahan (talk) 19:58, 1 April 2023 (UTC)

Bandon University?? What?
Page proposes the university/college was there before the reformation: many sources say before the reformation the settlement of Bandon didn't exist. No source in article. Why is it here? KaramelCrunch (talk) 13:32, 12 January 2024 (UTC)


text:
Blantyre mining disaster

The Blantyre mining disaster, which happened on the morning of 22 October 1877, in Blantyre, Scotland, was Scotland's worst ever mining accident. Pits No. 2 and No. 3 of William Dixon's Blantyre Colliery were the site of an explosion which killed 207 miners, possibly more, with the youngest being a boy of 11. It was known that firedamp was present in the pit and it is likely that this was ignited by a naked flame. The accident left 92 widows and 250 fatherless children.

Blantyre was also the scene of two further disasters in 1878 and 1879. There was a succession of lesser fatalities, some of which—particularly in the earlier years—were caused by firedamp.

Seams
The Lanarkshire coalfield in the vicinity of Blantyre had three seams of coal being worked in the 1870s. They were the ell coal, 7 feet thick at 117 fathom; the main coal, 4.5 feet thick at 129 fathom and the splint coal, 5.5 feet thick at 155 fathom. Precise depths vary with the elevation of the top of the various shafts.

The Blantyre colliery had five shafts:
 * No. 1, 24 feet by 8 feet working the ell and main coals.
 * No. 2. 16 feet by 8 feet working the splint coal.
 * No. 3. 24 feet by 8 feet working the splint coal.
 * No. 4. 24 feet by 8 feet working the splint coal. At the time of the explosion No. 4 had not yet connected with the rest of the colliery.
 * No. 5. 10 feet diameter used as the upcast for numbers 1, 2 and 3.

Numbers 2 and 5 shafts were close to each other, within 30 yds. Number 3 shaft was 680 yds away. Number 1 shaft was between the two but only reached the ell and main coals. Blind pits, that is shafts that do not extend to the surface, connected the ell and main coals to the splint coal. The main coal ceased to be worked in November 1878 and the passages from shaft 1 bricked up. Shaft 1 continued to work the ell coal.

Four main districts were formed in the splint coal:
 * A smaller area with workings to the north and south of number 3 pit.
 * An area lying in the north-west quadrant from number 2 pit.
 * An area lying in the south-west quadrant from number 2 pit.
 * An area lying in the south east quadrant from number 2 pit close to, and in communication with, the workings from number 3 pit.

Conditions in the mine were held to be poor by the colliers. The previous year the miners had sought a wage rise to compensate for the poor safety and been refused. They went on strike and were immediately sacked. Since the miners lived in tied cottages they were therefore evicted by force. The mine owners then brought in Irish Catholics to work the mine.

Workings
Most of the coal was worked using the Newcastle system, also known as "pillar and stall" or "stoop and room". A heading was driven into the coal and at intervals along it rooms were excavated, around 12 feet wide. As the rooms got deeper another heading was driven from room to room to leave pillars (or stoops) about 20 yards square behind. During this stage only around 30% of the coal was extracted. Eventually the whole district consisted of a grid pattern of passageways around stoops. The final stage in extraction was "stooping". The furthermost roof was supported by pit props and the stoops removed. Once a complete row of stoops had gone the props were removed from the furthest part which would collapse into the space ("goaf" or "gove") behind. During this process settlement and fracturing of the roof and seams above could occur, potentially releasing larger quantities of gas.

The alternative method of working the coal was the longwall system. Two headers were driven forward to the far end of the district and an interconnecting passageway excavated. The passageway was supported by props and the long wall on the shaft side of the passage excavated. As this wall retreated the roof was propped and the furthermost props removed, allowing the overburden to collapse into the goaf. With longwall the same fracturing and gas release that stooping could cause was always present.

The ell coal was mainly worked by stoop and room, with longwall in the southern part only. The main was exclusively worked by longwall and the splint (apart from a trial section) worked by stoop and room.

Ventilation
In collieries at that time air circulation was induced by a furnace at the base of the upcast pit. Hot air rising up the pit, as if up a chimney, drew the exhausted and contaminated air out of the galleries. Downcast pits let the fresh air in to replace it. The route the air took was carefully controlled by doors and partitions. At Blantyre pit, number 5 was the upcast shaft for pits 1, 2 and 3. About 5 tons of coal were burnt per day in two out of three grates, each 7 feet by 4 feet.

Air for the ell coal was drawn down pit number 1. At the base it split north and south then after passing around the respective parts of the workings it was led to the upcast pit.

Ventilation in the splint coal was more complex. Air from number 3 pit was split in two and passed along the north and south levels. After passing through the respective workings the two currents passed through the north and south headings before recombining on the "rise" (west) side and passing into the workings of number 2 pit. On average the air circuit was 2400 yards in number 3 pit.

Air was drawn down number 2 and split in two. The larger portion went north, circulated around the north-west workings for 3674 yards before returning to the upcast pit. The smaller part was led to the south, circulated around the south-western area for 2901 yards and then back to the upcast. The air from number 3 pit entered the workings associated with number 2 pit in the east and circulated around number 2 pit's south-eastern portion before finally reaching the upcast. The air circuit at 3500 yards might not be considered excessive, but when both pits are added the total circuit was 8096 yards. After the disaster this policy of using the air from number 3 workings to ventilate number 2 workings was roundly condemned in the trade press: "It is a very dangerous system, and should be abandoned at once".

Explosion
On the morning of 22 October 1877 nothing was thought to be amiss. The officials seemed to think that the workings were in their normal state. At 04:40 four firemen inspected number 2 pit. At 05:30 the regular workmen started to descend. The firemen assured the workers all was well and ascended to sign reports and have breakfast. Having received these assurances the workforce went about their various tasks.

At around 09:00 a blast was heard on the surface and flame and steam rushed up number 3 pit for a few minutes. Smoke was seen from the upcast pit and air came from number 2. Nothing was seen from number 1 pit, but below ground the miners felt the blast and at once ascended. The smoke was seen in the surrounding area so miners and managers hurried to the pithead. Shortly after 10:00 the Inspector of Mines, Mr Moore, and the Assistant Inspector, Mr Robson, were alerted by telegraph. They arrived at the colliery at noon.

Rescue attempts
Number 3 pit was blocked by debris falling from the damaged shaft and by tubs and similar being blown up the shaft. The cages and ropes had been damaged, so an attempt at descending was made in a "kettle", basically a large bucket. Air was still travelling down the shaft and voices could be heard at the bottom, below the blockage. Number 2 pit was relatively undamaged; normal winding operations could continue. Moore, Robson and some engineers went down number 2 pit but were stopped by falls and afterdamp. The route to number 3 pit ("More's dook") appeared to be free of falls but was full of chokedamp.

A brattice was constructed to divert the air passing from number 3 pit directly to the upcast, and by this means More's dook became passable by 22:00. Four survivors were found, all badly injured. One of them, a boy, died shortly afterwards. The remaining three were brought to the surface through number 2 pit and sent to Glasgow Infirmary, but all died within the month. Rescue parties explored number 3 pit as far as they could, but were limited by chokedamp and firedamp. Seventeen bodies were found and brought to the foot of the blocked number 3 shaft for later retrieval. The shaft was unstable, and if it closed up the rescuers would be deprived of air so they retreated until the shaft could be secured from above. All hope of finding more survivors was abandoned.

Recovery phase
The following day, Tuesday 23 October, an underground engine at the upcast was adapted to assist the ventilation. The slide valve was removed and steam sent down. The escaping hot steam rising up the upcast drew the air around the mine in the same way that the furnaces would. By this means 70% of the normal air supply was restored and recovery work could commence. All the men in the northern part of the colliery had left their work and headed for number 2 pit, only to be overcome by chokedamp before reaching safety. Ventilation continued until Saturday 27 when the debris at the foot of number 3 shaft could be cleared. By Sunday the first bodies could be brought up number 3 shaft, but it was not until Thursday 1 November that the mine was free of gas and recovery could be carried on from both downcast pits.

Investigation
The investigations commenced as soon as the air was safe. Significant damage had been done in both the number 2 and number 3 workings, though particularly in number 3 pit. Damage in number 2 pit was mainly in the south eastern part, that in communication with, and ventilated from, pit 3. This was the area where stooping was occurring, so that the place most likely to be liberating firedamp was being ventilated with firedamp laden air from number 3 pit. The official report notes that naked flames and blasting were allowed throughout the colliery, except in the area around the stooping. Near there no blasting was permitted and all lamps had to be "gauze lamps".

The report states: "These gauze or safety lamps were not Davy lamps, but of a kind in common use throughout Scotland. They are much larger than the Davy lamp and give a better light. Mr Moore [the lead inspector] has frequently tested them in gas, and on no occasion has the gas been exploded outside". Lupton, writing 15 years later, inveighs against modifications to the Davy lamp including: "The larger the lamp the greater the force of the explosion, and if the lamp were too large, the explosion would force the flame through the gauze; for that reason the diameter of the gauze must never be larger than 11⁄2 inch". In addition, the Blantyre explosion was before Trimdon Grange (1882) and the Bedford Colliery Disaster of 1886 and so the shielding of gauzes from direct currents of air had not yet been introduced. Notwithstanding Moore's claims for the Scottish safety lamp, the report's conclusions call for the banning of naked lights and the introduction of locked Davy lamps which "are better than the present safety lamps".

The report also roundly criticises poor discipline (including shots being fired by unauthorised workers), poor ventilation around old or incomplete stoops and the whole method of ventilating one pit from another. The report does not come to a firm conclusion about how the explosion started.

Aftermath
It is reported that, six months after the accident, Dixon's raised summonses against 34 widows whose husbands had been killed and who had not left the tied cottages which they and their husbands had rented from the mining company. They were evicted two weeks later, on 28 May 1878.

1878 lift crash
On 5 March 1878 at No. 3 Pit, six men were killed when the cage they were in was drawn up past the top of the pit and 32 feet into the pithead wheels. The cage was wrecked and overturned, throwing six men to the bottom of the 900 ft shaft. A seventh man (James Gerrity) managed to hold on until he was assisted down and, apart from being shaken, was unhurt.

At the time of the accident, Mr J T Robson (Assistant Government Inspector for the district) and Mr Robert Robson (his assistant) were in the colliery office with Mr Watson, the manager. Robert Robson descended number 2 pit and went to the bottom of the number 3 shaft to supervise the recovery of the bodies from a flooded sump. Meanwhile, several men descended number 3 pit in a "kettle" to examine the shaft for damage. The shaft itself being undamaged, the bodies were recovered that way.

The engine keeper, Arthur Cleland, stated that "something had gone wrong" with the indicator to the colliery engineer, James Patterson, was in the vicinity at the time of the accident. Patterson examined the indicator which showed the cage's position and found it registered 40 fathom from the pit head, about a quarter of the shaft's total depth. Cleland was advised to stay but left shortly afterwards. After going home to clean up and change Cleland was observed heading across the fields towards Glasgow but was overtaken by a policeman and arrested. After helping down Gerrity, Patterson had returned to the engine house and seen that the indicator now showed 7 fathom although the cage had not moved in the meantime.

Cleland was charged with culpable homicide and tried at the High Court in Glasgow on 24 April. At the trial Patterson said that when he touched the indicator it was "very loose. He had never noticed it so loose before". Two engineers called for the defence at the trial also criticised the method of attaching the indicator as "not proper" and "not ... to be the best mode known to engineers". Michael Flanagan, a furnaceman at the pithead, reported that Cleland said "the indicator was wrong" and Flanagan observed that the indicator was further down than it should have been. The manager, Watson, admitted under cross-examination that it was the duty of the oversman to examine the indicator but he did not do so. Most witnesses also gave Cleland a good character reference. After a short retirement, the jury returned a verdict of not proven.

1879 explosion
The 1879 disaster occurred in the ell coal, the shallowest of the three seams. The coal was worked from number 1 pit which was the downcast. There was a "blind pit" down to the main coal, which was no longer being worked, and a communication mine down to the splint coal at the foot of pit number 3. Air came down number 1 pit and the current was split to ventilate the north and south workings respectively. The south current passed along the south level for 770 yards to the southern extremity. It passed through the longwall workings there and returned via the older stoop and room workings before joining the north current return and passing up the upcast, number 5 pit. The inspectors report concluded "1 That the arrangements for the ventillation of this pit were sufficient, and that the quantity of air sent in was ample under ordinary conditions".

Although the owners banned the men from opening lamps or from taking smoking materials below ground, several prosecutions had occurred for breaches of the rules. The last such was the day before the explosion when a miner was fined £2 for opening his lamp.

The explosion was first noticed on the surface as a "sharp retort" at 21:00 on Wednesday 2 July 1879. Once John White, the oversman, had been summoned an attempt was made to lower the cage, but it stuck. White then descended number 3 pit and found that the men there were unaware of the explosion. He, a group of men, and shortly afterwards Mr Watson (the manager) proceeded up the communication mine into number 1 pit's workings. Parties descended the blind pit into the main coal and other parties searched the north workings and both reported all was well. Exploration of the south workings was stopped by falls and afterdamp. Various attempts were made to recover the bodies during the Thursday, but it was 04:00 on Friday before the whole workings could be reached and recovery completed.

Not all the safety lamps were found; however, one was found that was unlocked. Smoking materials including matches were found in the clothes of the deceased, one man was found with a half full pipe in his hand. Several men had unofficial (and therefore illegal) lamp-keys on them. In the immediate vicinity of the seat of the explosion little burning was seen, the supposition was that a firedamp explosion had raised dust in the passageways and the coal dust had exploded. The official investigation tentatively suggested that shot firing had displaced the gas towards the area where men were smoking and that a naked flame there triggered off the explosion.

Memorial
The mine owner erected a 5.5-metre-tall granite monument to mark the two explosion disasters. An engraved dedication reads: "William Dixon Ltd—in memory of 240 of their workmen who were killed by explosions in Blantyre Colliery on 22nd October, 1877 and 2nd July 1879 and many of whom are buried here". There is also a memorial to the Catholic miners killed in the disaster of October 1877 which is located in Dalbeath Cemetery, London Road, Glasgow. In addition a memorial commemorating the centenary is located at Blantyre Cross, Blantyre. An incomplete list of the deaths is given in.

Music
Irish folk artist Christy Moore recorded a song called "Blantyre Explosion". It appears on his 1985 album Ordinary Man. It had previously been recorded by Ewan MacColl and Dick Gaughan. The exact origin of the song is unknown, but it is thought to have been collected by A. L. Lloyd from an unnamed local singer. The text first appears in LLoyd's 1951 book "coaldust ballads".

title: Blantyre mining disaster