Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Next ISS Crew Trains for Upcoming Launch to the Station - 2 Russians,1 American - 23 September launch


US Strategic and Nuclear Forces:Building Up to the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent

On 29 July 2016,the US Air Force issued Request for Proposals notices for both the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) and the Long-Range Standoff Missile (LRSO).The programmes,regarded as critical because other nations have already upgraded their own strategic and nuclear forces,will provide tens of billions of dollars of new business for the major defence contractors through 2075.Boeing,Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman have already expressed interest in bidding on the two GBSD contracts expected to be awarded by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017.It is unknown whether BAE Systems,Orbital ATK and SpaceX are also interested in the competition.*
It is believed the Air Force is looking to build about 642 new intercontinental ballistic missiles,a one-for-one replacement of the Minuteman III plus test missiles,and link them to modernised silos and launch control systems.*
The Minuteman III flight systems in use today were fielded the late 1990s and early 2000s with an intended 20-year lifespan,the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center Public Affairs said.The current Minuteman III system will face increased operational and sustainment challenges until it can be replaced.The Air Force is focused on developing and delivering an integrated weapon system,including launch and C2 segments.The new GBSD system will meet existing national requirements,while having the adaptability and flexibility to affordably address changing technological and threat environments through 2075.Deployment is projected to begin in the late 2020s.*
The Minuteman III will have a difficult time surviving in the active anti-access/area denial environment that we will be dealing with in the 2030 and beyond time period,added General Robin Rand,Commander of US Global Strike Command,to the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee in March.
Among developments of concern to the national security community would be both laser and microwave emissions countermeasures against the Minuteman III and other legacy strategic assets,and advanced detection capabilities of potential adversaries such as Russia and China.If the US cannot assure that its bombs and warheads will hit their targets,that changes the strategic stability outlook.*
With the flexibilty to receive modifications such as decoys and electronic countermeasures,the new ICBMs will be very modular so they can be readily upgraded against any countermeasures.*
Northrop Grumman has already been selected as prime contractor of the new Long- Range Strategic Bomber,the B-21.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT),Boeing (BA),Northrop Grumman (NOC)

Online Chapel — Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America - 29 August,the Placement of the Honorable Sash of the Most Holy Theotokos - reading and icon

Online Chapel — Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

The Orion Spacecraft:Shuttle-like Tiles,but Uniquely Distant Missions

About 10 technicians and quality inspectors with Arctic Slope Regional Corporation have begun bonding approximately 1300 thermal protection tiles onto panels of NASA's Orion spacecraft to preserve the capsule and its future crew through the reentry inferno.The workers,veterans of the Space Shuttle programme's tile-bonding process,will bond each silica tile to the nine Orion side panels or the forward bay cover.Orion also has a massive heat shield for protection.Before bonding,each tile is scanned for conformity with Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin's design information for the particular tile.
The work,which will take several months to complete,is being done in the high bay of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building,Kennedy Space Center,a facility serving as the preparatory nerve center for Orion's first mission atop the new Space Launch System rocket,Exploration Mission-1.This second uncrewed mission,following the successful first one on 5 December 2014 and scheduled for 30 September 2018,will see Orion sent far beyond where any other human-rated spacecraft has traveled before,some 40,000 miles above the Moon,on a three-week journey to gather spacecraft performance data and qualify Orion for the human spaceflight to occur on its next mission,EM-2 in 2023.The silvery-looking aluminised tiles will be installed on the Orion crew module before mating with the ESA Orion Service Module.
Beneath the silvery coating will be the same Toughened Uni-Piece Fibrous Insulation,or TUFI,used in the closing missions of the Space Shuttle era.Unlike the shuttle's tiles,however,Orion's will not be reusable,as salt water contaminates them upon splashdown.*
Orion's reentry to the Earth's atmosphere will be at about 25,000 miles an hour and 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.While many of the tiles are a standard 8x8 inches;others are odd-shaped to fit around windows,thrusters and antennae.*
ASRC Federal delivers aviation,space and missile defence,base and range operations and maintenance services to the US Government.The company is owned by the Innupiaq people of Alaska's North Slope.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Rotor & Wing Magazine :: US Presidential Helo Clears Critical Review

Rotor & Wing Magazine :: US Presidential Helo Clears Critical Review

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

B-1 Lancer Bomber- Tour and Demonstration


B-1 Bomber Pilot Prep & Takeoff • Inside The Bone


USAF Sends B-1 Bombers To Guam For The First Time In 10 Years


Air Force B-1B Lancer Strategic Bombers Deployed to Asia-Pacific

In support of the US Pacific Command's longstanding continuous bomber presence mission,several US Air Force B-1B Lancer supersonic strategic bombers were deployed to the US island of Guam on 6 August 2016 from Ellsworth Air Force Base,South Dakota.The B-1Bs are replacing B-52H Stratofortress bombers from Minot Air Force Base,North Dakota,after nearly 10 years of service in the USPACOM mission.*
With its large weapon capacity-the greatest in the bomber inventory-and exceptional standoff strike capability,the Lancers will pose a credible strategic power projection platform when forward-deployed for the stability and security of the Asia-Pacific region.*
According to US Global Strike Command,to which the bombers belong,the B-1B is a significant capability that enables our readiness and commitment to deterrence;provides assurance to our allies;and strengthens regional security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.The Lancers are being deployed on a routine strategic deterrence and regional training mission.*
The newly deployed bombers,members of the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron,will be integrating their unique rapid response capability with regional allies and partners.Supported by some 300 Airmen from the 28th Bomb Wing,the Rockwell-built aircraft will be ready to deter aggression with a wide range of conventional and nuclear ordnance they can deliver at short notice over long distances.*
Rockwell Collins Inc (COL)

Литургия 07.08.2016 - 7 August 2016 - Divine Liturgy,Holy Cross Orthodox Cathedral,Uzhgorod,Ukraine


Friday, August 5, 2016

Chvrches - The Mother We Share (Jimmy Kimmel Live)


From the New Project:Brown Sugar (Live) - The Rolling Stones Totally Stripped


Mini - documentary:Totally Stripped-ROLLING STONES IN AMSTERDAM.

Totally Stripped-ROLIING STONES IN AMSTERDAM.

The Rolling Stones: 'Totally Stripped' Deluxe Edition - Unboxing


The Rolling Stones - Totally Stripped - Out now!


The Vigil for St.Maria Magdalini at Simonopetra Holy Monastery,Mt.Athos presided by His Eminence Metropolitan Iosif of Prikonissos Η πανήγυρη της Αγίας Μαρίας της Μαγδαληνής στη Μονή Σίμωνος Πέτρας (ΦΩΤΟ)|Amen.gr

Η πανήγυρη της Αγίας Μαρίας της Μαγδαληνής στη Μονή Σίμωνος Πέτρας (ΦΩΤΟ)|Amen.gr: Το αγέρι στο Συγγιτικό κόλπο «χάιδευε» το βράδυ της Τετάρτης τις ακτές του Αγίου Όρους. Ερχόταν μάλλον από μακρυά γιατί έφερνε τη δροσιά της κορυφής του Άθω και τα αρώματα της αγριορίγανης και του θυμαριού, της φύσης ολάκερης της Ιεράς Χερσονήσου. Έτσι �%B

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Eikona chants the Paraklesis service which is held this time of year,the Dormition fast - aka Supplicatory Canon to the Most Holy Theotokos and Evervirgin Mary (in eng...

Air Force F-35 Version Cleared for Combat - prepared for global threats

On 2 August 2016 at Joint Base Langley-Eustis,Virginia,US Air Force General Hawk Carlisle,commander,Air Combat Command,declared the Air Force's F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter to be combat ready.The general said the aircraft met all criteria for declaring initial operational capability:
airmen trained,manned and equipped to conduct basic close air support,interdiction and limited suppression/destruction of enemy air defences in a contested environment with an operational squadron of 12-24 aircraft;
the ability to deploy and conduct operational missions using program of record weapons and mission systems;
and having all logistics and operational elements in place.
The F-35A will be the most dominant aircraft in our inventory because it can go where our legacy aircraft cannot and provide the capabilities our commanders need on the modern battlefield,General Carlisle added.*
Besides basic combat readiness,the aircraft provides great command and control functions through fused sensors,and it will provide pilots with unprecedented situational awareness of the battle space that will be more extensive than any single seat platform in existence,officials point out.*
Bringing the F-35A to initial combat readiness is a testament to our phenomenal airmen and the outstanding support of the Joint Program Office and our enterprise partners,according to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James.This important milestone for our fighter force ensures the US,along with our allies and international partners,remains prepared to deter,deny and defeat the full spectrum of growing threats around the globe.*
The Air Force's first operational squadron of F-35As is the 388th Fighter Wing,Hill Air Force Base,Utah.They will fly and maintain the fifth generation fighter with Air Force Reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing at Hill.*
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the F-35 and its three variants for the Air Force (F-35A),US Marine Corps (F-35B) and US Navy (F-35C),as well as allies and partners expressing an interest such as Great Britain,Australia and the Netherlands.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Ι.Μ.Ν. ΑΓΙΟΥ ΜΗΝΑ (Ευδοκίμου, Ιωσήφ από Αριμαθαίας) - Sunday Divine Liturgy at the Holy Metropolitan Cathedral of St.Mina,Herakleion,Crete - Protopsaltis Ioannis Damarlakis