Order # 7334123

[Raymundo Merritt]

Soloing around the globe in a plane is now "the last great aviation record left inside the Earth's atmosphere," Branson said when the mission was announced in 2003.

 

 

Next Wednesday or Thursday, weather permitting, the 60-year-old retired investor plans to board the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer in Salina, Kansas, and begin his journey toward Europe and the Middle East, over Asia and the Pacific, and back to Kansas."The first solo nonstop is a grand endeavor," said Fossett. "If successful, I hope to earn a place in aviation history in the legacy of Wiley Post." In 1933, Post rounded the globe after stopping eleven times in just under eight days. Fossett wants to finish -- without stopping -- in under 80 hours.The CAIB made 15 recommendations to NASA on ways to improve the shuttle program.In addition, NASA imposed its own restrictions, including limiting launches to daylight hours -- at least for the first two test flights -- so that any falling debris from the external tank could be seen and investigated before the shuttle tried to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. NASA will also require the first two shuttles to go to the international space station so that if there were irreparable damage, the astronauts could wait there for another shuttle to get them.In addition, NASA imposed its own restrictions, including limiting launches to daylight hours -- at least for the first two test flights -- so that any falling debris from the external tank could be seen and investigated before the shuttle tried to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. NASA will also require the first two shuttles to go to the international space station so that if there were irreparable damage, the astronauts could wait there for another shuttle to get them.

The shuttle fleet has been grounded since Columbia broke apart over Texas while on landing approach to Florida's Kennedy Space Center on February 1, 2003.The CAIB made 15 recommendations to NASA on ways to improve the shuttle program.When the shuttle re-entered the atmosphere, searing hot gases seeped into the wing and incinerated the spacecraft.Three suicide bombings and a mortar attack killed at least five people in Iraq today. At least 62 others were wounded in a wave of insurgent attacks. The violence coincides with the climax of Ashura, a major Shiite religious festivalIn addition, NASA imposed its own restrictions, including limiting launches to daylight hours -- at least for the first two test flights -- so that any falling debris from the external tank could be seen and investigated before the shuttle tried to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. NASA will also require the first two shuttles to go to the international space station so that if there were irreparable damage, the astronauts could wait there for another shuttle to get them.

 

The GlobalFlyer consists of three hulls attached to a 114-foot (35-meter) wing that measures more than half the wingspan of a Boeing 747. Twin "boom" hulls on either side of the cockpit hull each carry almost 5,500 pounds of fuel. The plane is expected to reach heights of 52,000 feet (17,000 meters) and travel at speeds in excess of 250 knots (285 mph, 440 kph).When the shuttle re-entered the atmosphere, searing hot gases seeped into the wing and incinerated the spacecraft.Readdy admitted he hoped the techniques would be further along, but said that two years ago repairing the shuttle's thermal protection system while in flight was thought impossible.According to Readdy, engineers at the Kennedy Space Center have been working hard to upgrade the space shuttles, including hardening the vehicle and preparing them for returning to space, "The vehicles look like they are brand new cars," he said.Soloing around the globe in a plane is now "the last great aviation record left inside the Earth's atmosphere," Branson said when the mission was announced in 2003.