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CINCINNATI — With two more launches of the Block 1 version of the Space Launch System now planned, NASA is starting work to procure and human-rate additional upper stages. |
NASA originally expected to fly the Block 1 version of the SLS only once before moving to the more powerful Block 1B version of the rocket. The Block 1 uses an upper stage known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), based on the Delta 4 upper stage. The Block 1B will replace the ICPS with the Exploration Up... |
However, with funding from Congress provided in the fiscal year 2018 omnibus appropriations bill to build a second mobile launch platform, NASA now expects to use the Block 1 version more than once. Those additional launches can take place using the existing mobile launch platform while the new one, designed for Block ... |
NASA schedules now call for three flights of the SLS Block 1, starting with Exploration Mission (EM) 1. That will be followed by EM-2, the first crewed mission, in 2021, and a “cargo” mission in 2022. That cargo mission could be used for the launch of the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which is required by past appropriati... |
“The first three missions will be of the Block 1 configuration, which includes the ICPS,” said Chris Cianciola, deputy program manager of the SLS program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, in a July 9 panel discussion. The order of EM-2 and the cargo mission could be reversed, he added. |
One of the new stages will require modifications to meet NASA human-rating requirements in order to launch a crewed Orion spacecraft on EM-2. One addition to that ICPS, he said, will be an emergency detection system that can warn the Orion of a problem that would require an abort. That system would likely be based on o... |
Another widely discussed issue with the SLS Block 1 is the launch date for its first mission, EM-1. “That’s currently scheduled for December of next year,” said Cianciola. However, in other presentations at the conference, both NASA and industry officials hinted that a more accurate launch date is the middle of 2020. |
Cianciola said later that the first SLS, on current timelines, won’t be ready to support a December 2019 launch. “We know that we’ve got somewhere between four and six months of risk,” he said, meaning that, without changes, the vehicle would miss that target date by four to six months. |
“But that doesn’t mean that’s where we’re going to end up,” he added. “We’re doing things to pull it back in.” Boeing, the prime contractor for the core stage, is taking a number of steps to recover some of that schedule by rearranging the flow of activities. However, he warned there’s also the possibility of “unknown ... |
The critical path for SLS, he said, is completing the engine section, mating it to the rest of the core stage and performing tests, including a “green run” static fire test of the core stage’s four RS-25 engine planned for next year at the Stennis Space Center. |
Eye-catching plant collections and roughly hewn native flora coexist at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, in an extraordinary setting extending from Highway 1 to steep cliffs buffeted by the Pacific Ocean. |
Entering the gardens, visitors traverse grassy swaths carpeting the floor of a perennial garden, with intriguing plants on view in traditional island beds. Farther along is one of the gardens' notable attractions, a broad palette of heaths and heathers. |
The 47-acre site features formally designed areas that progress to sections featuring native plants, followed by areas that are totally wild. "The transition works well from an aesthetic viewpoint, and at the same time, the perennial plantings are afforded protection from biting wind and the salt spray," explains direc... |
In the Perennial Garden are rare specimens with statuesque forms and eccentric foliage. Horticulturist Lily Ricardi expresses enthusiasm for an architectural New Zealand grass, Chionochloa conspicua, with fat green leaves, airy plumes and pendulous vanilla-colored flowers. |
A South African restio (a species belonging to a family of reeds that grow only in the Southern Hemisphere), Rhodacoma gigantea emerges from a mound that receives water only once a month. Ricardi says it looks like "a giant fern with a permanent." Another restio with the appeal of a bamboo thrives in a well-watered bed... |
Lush reddish-maroon leaves with big pink umbels distinguish Angelica stricta 'Purpurea.' At 8 feet tall, it adds an element of high drama wherever it grows. To Ricardi's delight, it self-seeds prolifically. |
In late summer and fall, yarrows bloom profusely above finely divided foliage in a gradient of grays and greens. Salvias contribute important accents. Ricardi favors Salvia mexicana 'Limelight,' a variety boasting lime- colored sepals and flowers of an "incredible blue," also Saliva confertiflora, ornamented by mahogan... |
Situated near the perennials, the Heritage Rose Garden presents a second flush of blooms during the same period. |
Owings says, "These old roses were originally brought by ship or covered wagon, and are found in cemeteries and old homesteads all over Mendocino County. If you think about how people arrived here and the issue of water, you realize the self-sacrifice people went through just to get the plants here." |
One pairing of roses contrasts the peachy-yellow blooms of 'Perle d'Or' with 'Veilchenblau,' a rambler from 1909. "It's the darkest purple rose I've ever seen," says Ricardi. "The small blooms are gorgeous . . . and it doesn't need any water." |
A popular destination with summer visitors, the Mae Lauer Display House adjacent to the Rose Garden brims with the raucous colors of tuberous begonias and hybrid fuchsias in full flower. |
Beyond is the Heather Garden. Although Mendocino's coastal microclimate is generally favorable to plants, "the ocean winds and salt spray make it a real challenge to grow things here," Owings says. Yet the gardens' soil conditions suit heathers to perfection. "You can stand right in the Heather Garden and look out thro... |
The assemblage of heaths and heathers, which has drawn praise from plant lovers and the horticultural world, weaves together foliage and flowers in a billowy tapestry of oranges, reds and silvers. |
By way of contrast, a stroll along the main path brings visitors to a deep green environment embraced by towering rhododendrons, a legacy of gardens founder Ernest Schoefer, who began planting them in 1961. |
Further on the path through the woodland is the Fuchsia Species Garden, with more than 100 varieties, including diminutive varieties with miniature flowers resembling orange and green firecrackers and strapping types exemplified by Fuchsia boliviana, which reaches 20 feet and produces exotic dangling blooms. |
Anticipating the stunning ocean views just up ahead, visitors pass through stands of Bishop and shore pines surrounding the Fern Canyon above Digger Creek. Flowing year-round, the stream creates an atmospheric setting as it rushes over rocks in its fall toward the Pacific. Mist and sometimes fog rolling through produce... |
Along the South Trail, yet another colorful collection opens onto a sunny clearing. Coming into its own during August and September, the mounded beds of the Dahlia Garden flaunt a fiery design scheme melding oranges, reds and magenta in front, moving into drifts of pinks and whites. |
Although crowds come to the gardens in the spring to witness vast arrays of rhododendrons (the gardens' signature plant) in bloom, the virtues of summer are celebrated during the annual Art in the Gardens event. Coordinated and produced by the efforts of 100 volunteers, the fund-raiser takes place Aug. 10 this year. |
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, 18220 N. Highway 1, Fort Bragg. (707) 964- 4352, ext. 10 or www.gardenbythesea.org for general information, or to learn more about "Art in the Gardens," Aug. 10, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring fine art, crafts, wine tasting, food and a silent art auction. |
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital Clinical Laboratory is hiring a Medical Technologist. |
Sentara Laboratory Services is a team of more than 700 Clinical Laboratory Professionals that service 12 hospitals and the communities around them in the Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina region. |
Our Medical Technologists are patient focused, scientific experts that help our care teams to diagnose our patient population. Our best team mate thrives in a fast paced environment and thinks on their feet. |
Enhance your career and join our team in providing excellence as we serve our communities. |
Our star candidate will hold a Bachelor's degree in Clinical Laboratory Science and will be eligible for or certified in ASCP or AMT. Eligible candidates must be able to obtain certification within one year of employment. |
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital is the region's first Magnet Hospital. It is a 525-bed medical center, and home to the area's only Level I Trauma Center, Burn Trauma Unit and Nationally Ranked Heart Program. In addition to a first rate heart program, the hospital is home to Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance and sever... |
Sentara employees strive to make our communities healthier places to live. We're setting the standard for medical excellence within a vibrant, creative, and highly productive workplace. For more information about our employee benefits, click on the following link: https://www.sentaracareers.com/explore-sentara/benefits... |
Orange County will soon have its first airboat, to be used in emergencies, water rescues and investigations. |
Commissioners Monday approved Sheriff Keith Merritt’s proposal at no cost to the county. Merritt said that through the government’s General Services Administration (GSA), the airboat can be bought from money recovered in drug raids or drug-related investigations. |
GSA is an agency available to state and federal authorities. |
In other business Monday, Emergency Management Coordinator Jeff Kelley told the court the countywide burn ban, in place since June 24, would continue. |
A study by the Texas Forest Service using the Keetch-Byram Drought Index showed Orange County to be in the 600-700 range. |
The index is used to study soil moisture to calculate wild fire risk. |
Residents can be cited for illegal burning. |
• Commissioners decided the county should join a system among Texas counties that allows courts disabled by a disaster to continue operation in another county. |
STOKE CITY boss Mark Hughes got has got the club’s summer spending off to an early start with the signing of Leverkusen defender Philipp Wollscheid on a permanent deal. |
The 26-year-old central defender joined the Potters in January and has enjoyed a successful loan spell at the Britannia Stadium. |
He went on to make 14 appearances as Mark Hughes' side secured a second successive top 10 Premier League finish. |
The German has signed a three-year contract after Stoke paid an undisclosed fee at the end of the loan. |
Hughes said: “I’m really pleased that we have penned Philipp down to a long-term deal here because he has come here, to a new country and a new league and made an impression. |
“Hopefully he is the first of a few deals that we can get done between now and the start of pre-season in early July. |
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese army preparations for an Independence Day parade next week brought parts of Beirut to a standstill on Friday, as road closures caused delays lasting hours for many of the capital’s commuters. |
A huge traffic jam stretching far out of the city snarled up the main coastal highway - the chief road running from north from the capital - and caused chaos in the districts alongside. |
Even by Beirut’s congested standards, Friday’s gridlock was exceptional. Television stations ran live coverage, including comments of angry motorists - some in very colorful language. |
Lebanon’s decaying roads have been awaiting an overhaul since a 15-year civil war ended in 1990. The army apologized for the chaos in a tweet. |
Afghan intelligence says Haqqani-linked plotters recruited one of Afghan president's bodyguards as would-be assassin. |
Afghanistan's intelligence agency says it has thwarted a plot to assassinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai after arresting a bodyguard and five people with alleged links to the Haqqani network and al-Qaeda. |
The National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Wednesday told a news conference that the plotters had recruited one of Karzai's bodyguards in order to kill him. |
"The Afghan intelligence agency has arrested a group of six people in connection with an assassination plot against the life of the president," Siddiq Siddiqui, interior ministry spokesman, said. |
According to the NDS, those arrested were linked to the Haqqani network - one of three Taliban-allied armed groups fighting in Afghanistan. |
The United States blamed the Haqqani network for recent attacks launched against the US embassy in Kabul. |
The Taliban, opponents of Karzai's government and 140,000 foreign troops stationed in the country, were not available for comment. |
News of the alleged plot to kill Karzai follows a string of assassinations targeting key allies of the president. |
On September 20, peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed by a suicide bomber at his Kabul home, throwing into turmoil Karzai's strategy for trying to hold peace negotiations with the Taliban. |
The Taliban have not claimed responsibility for the attack, but Afghan officials claim it was carried out by a Taliban unit based in Pakistan and have accused Pakistan of refusing to co-operate in the investigation into his death. Islamabad has denied the charge. |
Karzai's powerful brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was killed by a security guard at his home in the southern city of Kandahar in July. |
And senior presidential adviser Jan Mohammad was murdered less than a week later. |
Karzai is currently on a visit to India, where he has signed a new strategic partnership deal with New Delhi while trying to reassure Pakistan about the alliance with its historic foe. |
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A huge and growing number of Americans live day in and day out with painful, stiff joints, and it isn't just older folks who have arthritis. |
When you look at Brooke Perry, the words "fit" and "active" come to mind, not the word "arthritic". |
"People are usually really shocked," said Perry. |
They're shocked when they learn the 26-year-old has had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis for 19 years. |
"I have pretty stiff joints, so sometimes it takes me a while to get moving," she said. |
A recent government report finds a growing number of adults has some form of arthritis. One in 11 adults under age 45, and close to one in four adults overall are affected. |
A specialist with the Center for Rheumatic Disease points to the aging of America, but our obesity epidemic is also a big factor with osteoarthritis which is the most common form. |
"So for every one pound that you weigh, it's three pounds of pressure on your weight-bearing joints. So that includes hips, knees, feet. I also include lower back," said Dr. Mike Smith. |
Dr. Smith said controlling your weight is a good way to lower your chances of osteoarthritis. Doctors now know that exercise is great treatment. It strengthens muscles. |
"The quads, being those muscles between your knees and your hips can be very vital in minimizing at least the pain and discomfort from knee and hip degeneration," said Dr. Smith. |
And with inflammatory types of arthritis such as Perry has, "The more active you are, the better it actually gets," said Dr. Smith. |
"I definitely feel better after I exercise," Perry said. |
With that and medication, Perry isn't letting arthritis slow her down. |
The Arthritis Foundation is holding a free "Arthritis 101" class on Saturday, August 13. For more, go to this link. |
I teach a course on the sociology of sexuality, and my students are surprisingly open about their fears and hopes surrounding sexuality. For the most part, they confirm Donna Freitas's latest research: While students at evangelical schools struggle to know how to live with sexual desire, they are at least looking for t... |
The idea for Freitas's research project emerged from a classroom conversation about hookup culture, defined as casual sexual encounters unencumbered by the burden of love or commitment. Freitas's research confirmed the ubiquity of her class's response: Hookup culture may be prominent on many campuses, but not because t... |
Pearl River County authorities are being asked to investigate the shooting case of a north Hancock County man. |
Hancock County Sheriff's Department Chief Investigator Kenny Hurt says 20-year-old T.J. Foret suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen during an incident that occurred across the county line Tuesday. |
Hurt said the wound was not life-threatening and Foret appeared to have been shot with a small-caliber gun, such as a .22 or .25-caliber. |
Hancock County deputies responded to a call on the case around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Foret told officers he had been robbed. |
Foret received emergency treatment and then was sent to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg to have the bullet removed. |
Buttler combined with Ben Stokes in a fifth-wicket stand of 169 which allowed England to defy Jasprit Bumrah (five for 85) long enough to close on 311 for nine in notional pursuit of a world record 521 target in the third Specsavers Test. |
Even after they were both done, Adil Rashid rode his luck to leave England merely on the brink after India managed only one of the two wickets they still needed in the extra half-hour. |
Rashid was on his way back for a single when he was caught in the slips, only for Jasprit to be called for over-stepping, and was then dropped in the cordon by Virat Kohli on 20 in a ninth-wicket stand of 50 with Stuart Broad. |
Jasprit finally had Broad caught in the slips anyway, but Rashid and No 11 James Anderson kept the tourists out in a bizarre non-conclusion. |
Until then, the spotlight had fallen on England’s fifth-wicket pair Buttler (106) and Ben Stokes, who made 62 a week to the day after being acquitted of affray at Bristol Crown Court. |
They appeared to face an impossible task when they joined forces without a run between them at 62 for four shortly before lunch. |
Buttler’s first hundred – in his 38th Test innings, four years after his previous Test best of 85 on debut against the same opponents – was undoubtedly a breakthrough performance. |
Stokes proved his mettle too as they put on 169 together. |
Buttler had early fortune when, with just a single to his name, he edged Jasprit low but was dropped by a diving and wrong-footed Rishabh Pant behind the stumps. |
Thereafter, he made few mistakes in a century which took 152 balls, yet contained 21 boundaries. |
Stokes was a study in self-restraint, taking 48 deliveries to reach double-figures and 147 to complete his slowest Test 50. |
Between them, they met varied challenges – of seam, swing, spin and reverse-swing – until Buttler finally succumbed to the second new ball. |
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