Space Shuttle Update (4)

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SPACE WATCH – NASA TV
Boeing: Slide show · Book (pdf)

STS-134/Endeavour
Launch Date: April 29, 2011
Launch Time: 3:47 p.m. EDT

NASA – As Labor Day arrived in 1965, the hard work to construct Launch Complex 39′s Pad A was complete, and the pad was ready to be turned over to NASA. Designed to launch the Apollo Program’s Saturn V rocket, Pad A was the first of two planned pads in the complex to be completed. Construction began in November 1963. The prime contractor was a joint venture of Blount Brothers Construction Corp. and M. M. Sundt Construction Co.

Looking like a giant erector set, is the construction of the payload changeout room for the Space Shuttle Program at Launch Pad 39A. It allows the capability of loading the shuttle vertically, and making installation or removal of payloads at the launch pad possible.

This is one of several concepts prepared by Kennedy Space Center’s 21st Century Space Launch Complex Program planning team depicting Launch Pad 39A reconfigured to support a number of heavy-lift, commercial crew or other launch vehicles. more> http://twurl.nl/0txdbn

related>

• 6 Surprising Facts About NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour, Mike Wall, SPACE.com

Federal Government Attacks on Boeing Fuel Our National Economic Suicide

By Gary Shapiro – Last week, the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) told Boeing that it could not open the facility it had spent three years creating to build its new Dreamliner series of airplanes. The NLRB did not deem the plant unsafe or harmful to South Carolina workers. The NLRB simply said that it could block Boeing from using the new plant as Boeing’s decision to locate it in South Carolina was in part based on a desire to avoid work stoppages and strikes, and this rationale was harmful to unions and thus an illegal act.

Never before has the federal government told a company it may not relocate within the United States. This outrageous overreach is unacceptable and will certainly be overturned in time by the federal courts. But the process may take years, and meanwhile a great American company – and one of our nation’s largest exporters – will be hurt irreparably. more> http://twurl.nl/7apujn

related>

• Where is the key element of retaliation in the Boeing labor case? James Dueholm, Washington Post
• Labor bill battle reborn with NLRB’s new union election rules proposal, Kevin Bogardus, Hill
• Primer: In Labor Board Dispute With Boeing, Growing Controversy Clouds Facts, Marian Wang, ProPublica
• Alexander: Obama, unions and NLRB hurting job growth, Jamie Klatell, Hill
• Boeing gets GOP backing for union bashing, John Logan, guardian.co.uk
• NLRB takes unconstitutional stance on Boeing’s expansion, C. Boyden Gray, Washington Times
• NLRB memo: More in store for businesses like Boeing, by Tina Korbe, Hot Air
• Reid calls GOP moves in Boeing dispute ‘disgraceful’, By Tim Devaney, Washington Times
• Boeing’s South Carolina move: Illegal union bashing or just good business? Patrik Jonsson, CSMonitor.com
• Nikki Haley, Rand Paul: NLRB’s Boeing Complaint An ‘Attack,’ ‘Assault’ On Businesses, Dave Jamieson, TheHuffingtonPost.com
• Boeing flips stand on role of no-strike deal in 787 line, Aubrey Cohen, seattlepi.com
• Gov. Haley heads to Washington for Boeing battle, Emily Pace, MidlandsConnect.com
• Rand Paul Blasts Obama Over Boeing, FITSNews
• New Boeing plant sparks uproar, Tim Devaney, Washington Times
• Defending defending America: Obama’s NLRB v. Boeing, Hugh Hewitt, Washington Examiner
• SC Gov. Nikki Haley wants GOP presidential candidates’ positions on Boeing plant, Keith Laing, Hill
• Senate Republicans Threaten to Fight NLRB Nominations Over Boeing Complaint, Doug McKelway, FoxNews.com
• Boeing Slams Labor Board Over Union Complaint, FoxNews.com
• Boeing, the NLRB, CFLs and anarchists, Lary Coppola, Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal
• Boeing issue harmful, Rudolph Bell, Greenville News
• In Washington, Another Editorial Against NLRB’s Anti-Boeing Move, Carter Wood, Shopfloor
• SC attorney general wants Boeing complaint dropped, Associated Press/BusinessWeek
• The Boeing 787 Dreamliner Was Almost Called the Global Cruiser, David Parker Brown, Airline Reporter/Reuters

Debt-limit standoff: 10 things to watch

By Bob Cusack – Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are strategizing for what is expected to be a bruising debate on raising the nation’s debt limit and reining in government spending.
The Obama administration has set an early-July deadline for lifting the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, a move that congressional leaders agree must be done.

The following are 10 things to watch for during the contentious debate.

1. The Gang of Six
2. The liberals in Congress
3. What the GOP wants
4. How much, and for how long
5. Presidential politics
6. The conservatives in the Senate
7. The Boehner-Geithner
8. The Biden commission
9. The Hoyer-Pelosi dynamic
10. Members facing tough reelections

more> http://twurl.nl/vio64d

related>

• Why the Private Sector NEEDS the Government to Spend Money, John T. Harvey, Forbes
• U.S. Debt Ceiling: Costs and Consequences, Jonathan Masters, Council on Foreign Relations
• Debt-ceiling debate muddied by TARP vote, Mike Lillis, Hill

The National Fire Research Laboratory

NIST – The work of the laboratory will be focused on the Engineering Laboratory mission:

To promote US innovation and industrial competitiveness in areas of national priority by anticipating and meeting the measurement science and standards needs for technology-intensive manufacturing and construction in ways that enhance economic prosperity and improve the quality of life.

Projects may be funded by industry and government on a cost-shared basis. The additional capabilities will allow NIST to:

• Test the performance of full-scale structures subjected to realistic fires and structural loading under controlled laboratory conditions.

• Develop an experimental database on the performance of large-scale structural connections, components, subassemblies, and systems under realistic fire and loading.

• Validate physics-based models to predict fire resistance performance of structures.

• Enable performance-based standards for fire resistance design of structures and foster innovations in design and construction.

more> http://twurl.nl/05zcpy

Are we talking “cyber war” like the Bush admin talked WMDs?

BOOK REVIEW – Cyber War, Author: Richard A. Clarke
By Matthew Lasar – Former National Security Adviser Richard A. Clarke suggests a thought exercise in his hit book Cyber War: imagine you are the assistant to the president for Homeland Security. The National Security Agency has just sent a critical alert to your BlackBerry: “Large scale movement of several different zero day malware programs moving on Internet in US, affecting critical infrastructure.”

As you get to your HQ, one of the DoD’s main networks has already crashed; computer system failures have caused huge refinery fires around the country; the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control center in Virginia is collapsing, and that’s just the beginning… more> http://twurl.nl/mwoxlb

related>

• Cybersecurity: Lots of Answers, Now Let’s Ask the Right Questions ←
• Cyberwar Hype Comes Under Increasing Scrutiny, Sean Lawson, Forbes
• US-Russian dictionary defines cyber war, other concepts, William Jackson, Government Computer News (GCN)
• Cyberespionage: US finds FBI agents in elite unit lack necessary skills, Mark Clayton, CSMonitor.com