The Hellenic Navy (HN) (Greek: Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. During the periods of monarchy (1833–1924 and 1936–1973) it was known as the Royal Navy (Βασιλικόν Ναυτικόν, Vasilikón Naftikón, abbreviated ΒΝ).The total displacement of all the navy's vessels is approximately 150,000 tons.The motto of the Hellenic Navy is "Μέγα το της Θαλάσσης Κράτος" from Thucydides' account of Pericles' oration on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. This has been roughly translated as "Great is the country that controls the sea". The Hellenic Navy's emblem consists of an anchor in front of a crossed Christian cross and trident, with the cross symbolizing Greek Orthodoxy, and the trident symbolizing Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology. Pericles' words are written across the top of the emblem. "The navy, as it represents a necessary weapon for Greece, should only be created for war and aim to victory."...............The Hellenic Merchant Marine refers to the Merchant Marine of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Nowadays, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, which is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism and forms the backbone of world shipping. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags, however some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.

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This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς....This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς.........

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The Atlantis shuttle landing....[ 1289 ]

Atlantis shuttle lands at Kennedy

Page last updated at 12:48 GMT, Wednesday, 26 May 2010 13:48 UK

BBC, By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

Atlantis space shuttle lands at Kennedy Space Centre

The Atlantis shuttle has landed at the Kennedy Space Center after what looks to have been its final mission.

The vehicle touched down on runway 33 at the Florida spaceport at 0848 local time (1248 GMT).
Atlantis, with its six-person crew, has just delivered a Russian mini-module and spare equipment to the International Space Station (ISS).

The orbiters are due to be retired this year, and just two more outings are planned - for Discovery and Endeavour.

Atlantis will not go straight to a museum, however.
It will instead be prepared as a standby shuttle ready to go rescue the astronauts on the remaining flights should they get into trouble.
And the US space agency (Nasa) has also not excluded the possibility that it could yet fly out this standby Atlantis to take additional spares and supplies to the space station.

ATLANTIS BY NUMBERS

Atlantis (Nasa)

First flight: 3 October 1985
Total number of flights: 32
Distance travelled: 195 million km
Total number of days in orbit: 294
Total number of orbits: 4,648

In addition, some members of the US Congress are still trying to get the shuttle programme extended.
They oppose President Barack Obama's new exploration policy.

He wants the shuttles retired and the business of taxiing astronauts to and from the ISS passed to private companies. He believes the US space agency should concentrate its efforts on developing vehicles that can reach more distant targets, such as asteroids and the Moon.

The shuttles, which have been working in space since 1981, cannot fulfil that role because their systems restrict them to near-Earth operations.

Atlantis's crew launched on 14 May fully expecting their mission to be the last for the ship. Their mission badge could be interpreted as the shuttle flying into the sunset.
First flown on 3 October 1985, Atlantis has now completed 32 missions and travelled about 195 million km (120 million miles).

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

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