Is Iran looking for ...trouble ??? ..[ 1011 ]

Iran begins military drill in Persian Gulf

F-4 Phantom fighter jets fly during the Army Day parade in the Iranian capital Tehran on April 18.

(CNN) -April 22, 2010 2:50 a.m. EDT- Iran began a massive air, land and sea exercise Thursday in the Persian Gulf aimed at showcasing the Islamic regime's military strength, state-run media reported.

Dubbed the "Great Prophet 5," the military maneuvers conducted by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps fall on the 31st anniversary of the elite force and are designed to demonstrate new weapons systems.

Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi told Press TV that Iran plans to produce missile defense systems similar to the Russian S-300, an advanced surface-to-air system that can defend against aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

"All parts of the system have been domestically produced," Vahidi said.

A U.S. military official told CNN that the United States has observed in recent days Iran was "relocating surface and air assets" for what appeared to be a major exercise. The official did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The drill is expected to last the next three days, Press TV said.

Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, deputy chief of the Revolutionary Guard told Iranian media that the exercises are aimed at demonstrating Iran's "strength, will and national resolve to defend independence and territorial integrity."

The United States will be watching to see if the exercises include the narrow Strait of Hormuz region -- a major transit point for world oil supplies.

The U.S. military official noted there have been several Iranian exercises in the past, but this one received attention because the Revolutionary Guard Corps discussed it publicly in advance.

The U.S. Navy currently is operating several warships in the region, and commanders often are reminded not to let any encounters with Iranians inadvertently escalate.

Iran's missile development is being watched closely by the United States, which is pressing for tougher sanctions against the Islamic republic for its controversial nuclear program.

CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

NASA Image of the Day, April 21st [ 1010]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day".

Separation
As the shuttle and the space station began their post-undocking relative separation, Expedition 23 flight engineer Soichi Noguchi photographed the underside of the shuttle over the south end of Isla de Providencia, about 150 miles off the coast of Nicaragua.

Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred on April 17, 2010, ending the shuttle's 10-day stay.

The visit included three spacewalks and delivery of more than seven tons of equipment and supplies to the station.
Image Credit: NASA

Τετάρτη, 21 Απρίλιος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

Supersonic Suttle"Discovery" rattle windows ...[ 1008 ]

Shuttle soars over county in next-to-last flight

Press staff reports CNHI, April 21st,2010

TAHLEQUAH — Local authorities received a flood of calls Tuesday morning after many area residents believed an explosion had occurred somewhere in the county.

Callers said a loud noise shook their windows around 8 a.m. It turned out to be the sonic boom created by NASA’s space shuttle Discovery, returning from its next-to-last mission.

After the shuttle soared over the Oklahoma sky, several county residents reported seeing it, making them part of NASA history as the space shuttle program winds toward its retirement this year. Minutes after zooming over Oklahoma, Discovery made a safe landing at 8:09 a.m. CST at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.

The shuttle’s return was a day later than scheduled after two opportunities to land were delayed Monday because of weather conditions. Because of the delay, the return utilized a return path that took it over the North Pacific, over Vancouver, then southeast over Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

NASA said Discovery’s seven astronauts aboard traveled more than six million miles on the journey. The shuttle carried more than 7 tons of equipment and supplies to the International Space Station.

The flight was the second of 2010, and was reportedly the first time four women have been in space at one time. Under future plans, only three shuttle missions are left before NASA’s fleet of craft retire: Atlantis is expected for a flight in May, Endeavour is slated for its last mission in July, and Discovery will take its final flight - as well as the program’s - in September.

According to NASA, during re-entry and landing, the orbiter is not powered by engines, but flies like a glider. About half an hour after the deorbit burn, the craft will start to experience effects of the atmosphere, usually at an altitude of about 80 miles and more than 5,000 statute miles from the landing site in Florida. It will then slice through the atmosphere faster than the speed of sound, bringing with it a sonic boom that may rattle windows, but has little or no effect on humans, wildlife or property.

The landing process, once the orbiter is about 25 miles out from its landing strip, will take only another five minutes or so, according to NASA. The main landing gear hits the runway between 214 and 226 mph, and will eventually coast to a stop.

The paved runway at Kennedy is 15,000 feet long with a 1,000-foot overrun on each end. The width is about the length of a football field at 300 feet, according to NASA, with 50-foot asphalt shoulders on each side. Kennedy’s concrete runway is 16 inches thick in the center, and 15 inches thick on the sides. The landing strip also has a slope of 24 inches from the center line to the edge.

Oil Rig in flames ,at lease 11 missing... [ 1008 ]

Oil rig blaze off Louisiana leaves at least 11 missing

Advertisement Injured crew lifted from rig blaze BBC ., Wednesday, 21 April 2010 16:29 UK US coast guards are searching the Gulf of Mexico for at least 11 oil workers missing after an explosion and fire on a drilling platform. The rig was still burning hours after the blast on Tuesday night, 52 miles (84km) south-east of the Louisiana port of Venice. Coast guards spoke of conflicting reports on the number of missing, which ranged from 11 to 15. Seven badly injured workers were airlifted to hospitals. Workers evacuated the Deepwater Horizon, a semi-submersible rig operated by Swiss-based contractor Transocean, after the blast at around 2200 on Tuesday (0300 GMT Wednesday). There were 126 workers aboard the rig at the time. 'Burning pretty good' Coast guard spokesman Senior Chief Petty Officer Mike O'Berry said four helicopters, four coast guard boats and a plane were helping search for the missing workers. DEEPWATER HORIZON designated a semi-submersible drilling unit built in 2001 by South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard 396ft (120m) long and 256ft (78m) wide designed to operate in water depths of up to 8,000ft "We're hoping everyone's in a life raft," he added. The seven injured workers were airlifted to a naval air station near New Orleans, then taken to hospitals. Two were taken to a trauma centre in Mobile, Alabama, which has a burns unit. Fire boats were still battling the flames on the rig on Wednesday morning. "It's burning pretty good and there's no estimate on when the fire will be put out," the coast guard spokesman said. Coast guard environmental teams were on stand-by to assess any environmental damage once the fire was out, he added. Deepwater Horizon was drilling for BP on Mississippi Canyon Block 252. In a statement, Transocean said "a substantial majority" of the crew were safe but "some" crew members remained unaccounted for. A Transocean spokesman in Houston, Greg Panagos, said it was too early to talk about the possible cause of the explosion. The rig, he added, had been drilling and had not been in production. Deepwater Horizon, built in 2001 by South Korea's Hyundai, is 396ft (120m) long and 256ft (78m) wide, according to the company's website. It was working on a part of the block known as the Macondo prospect, in 5,000ft (1.5km) of water. On its website, Transocean describes itself as the world's largest offshore drilling contractor, with more than 50 years' experience "with the highest specification rigs" and 18,000 employees.

NASA Image of the Day, April 21st [ 1007 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day".

Another World
This other worldly landscape is actually Dagze Co, one of many inland lakes in Tibet.

In glacial times, the region was considerably wetter, and lakes were correspondingly much larger, as evidenced by the numerous fossil shorelines that circle the lake and attest to the presence of a previously larger, deeper lake.

Over millennia changes in climate have resulted in greater aridity of the Tibetan Plateau.

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Τετάρτη, 21 Απρίλιος 2010 7:00:00 πμ