Launching this summer, "The Parker Solar Probe will travel through the sun’s atmosphere, closer to the surface than any spacecraft before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions — and ultimately providing humanity with the closest-ever observations of a star," reports NASA.
The probe will use Venus’ gravity during seven flybys over nearly seven years, gradually orbiting closer to the sun. Eventually, the spacecraft "will fly through the sun’s atmosphere as close as 3.9 million miles to our star’s surface, well within the orbit of Mercury and more than seven times closer than any spacecraft has come before," according to NASA. The probe is expected to fly though the birthplace of the highest-energy solar particles.
To survive this extreme exploration, the spacecraft and its instruments will be protected from the sun by a 4.5-inch-thick (11.43 cm) carbon-composite shield, which will need to withstand temperatures outside the spacecraft that reach nearly 2,500 F (1,377 C). Hot stuff!
None other than Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is encouraging people to join the mission.
I To send your name to the sun, follow this link: http://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu/The-Mission/Name-to-Sun/. Make sure you do so before April 27, 2018! The launch window is July 31 to Aug. 19, 2018.
HISTORY REVISITED: On March 5, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen made a major announcement on his Facebook page (and elsewhere). His crew on Research Vessel Petrel discovered the wreckage of the USS Lexington.
For the past few years, Allen, owner of the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington, has used some of his vast resources to rediscover important vessels and artifacts from wars of yesteryear.
“To pay tribute to the USS Lexington and the brave men that served on her is an honor,” said Paul Allen in a press release. “As Americans, all of us owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who served and who continue to serve our country for their courage, persistence and sacrifice.”
One of the first U.S. aircraft carriers ever built,“Lady Lex” was found about two miles (3,000 meters) below the surface, on the floor of the Coral Sea, more than 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia.
“Lexington was on our priority list because she was one of the capital ships that was lost during WWII,” said Robert Kraft, director of subsea operations for Allen, in a press release. “Based on geography, time of year and other factors, I work with Paul Allen to determine what missions to pursue. We’ve been planning to locate the Lexington for about six months and it came together nicely.”
I'll let CJ tell you a bit more about the discovery.
Two days ago, Microsoft co-founder Paul Gardner Allen discovered the remains of the USS Lexington (CV-2) (USSLCV-2), an American military aircraft carrier mostly know for being used during World War II. The USSLCV-2, which received two battle stars by the time it sank, was sunk on 8 May 1942, after being attacked by the Japanese military.
The USSLCV-2 was 888 feet long, and staffed approximately 2,951 crewmen on the day it sank. The USSLCV-2 sank largely due to major explosions in the craft's hangar that began during the early afternoon,
The wreckage of the USSLCV-2 was found in the Coral Sea, over 500 miles off Australia's east coast. This follow's Allen's discovery of the USS Indianapolis in August 2017, another historic shipwreck discovery. Allen's company, Vulcan Inc, uploaded an informative video to their YouTube channel about the shipwreck.On the day the ship went down, 216 of its crewmen were killed.
Launched in 1925, the USS Lexington was originally commissioned as a battlecruiser, but was launched as an aircraft carrier in 1925. She took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4-8, 1942) alongside with the USS Yorktown, against three Japanese carriers. This battle was the first carrier versus carrier fight in history, and marked the first time Japanese forces suffered a permanent setback in its advances on New Guinea and Australia. https://youtu.be/-K-V_ah6IIs
See more in this longer version of the video. ...
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