B-17 Liberty Belle Destroyed by Fire in Oswego, Illionis.

Due to computer problems this week - I was unable to post this article when the news arrived. The B-17G known as the "Liberty Belle" was destroyed by fire in Oswego, Illionis; after a emergency landing in a farm field.

This news hit me kinda hard since one of my very first blog postings was about my ride on this B-17G. A total loss. But the crew and passengers were able to get out safely.

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Ref.

1. Daily Hearald.com. "Fire destroys WWII bomber in Oswego" Bob Mudra. ( http://dailyherald.com/article/20110613/news/706139928/photos/AR/ ).

2. Aerospace Technology Paranormal and UFO News post "B-17 Liberty Belle" by Don W. Shanks. July 26, 2008. ( http://aerospacedreams.blogspot.com/2008/07/warbirds.html ).

Riverine Forces Make History with Well Deck Certification

Riverine Forces Make History with Well Deck Certification

Space Future Journal - Zubrin's Proposal to Fund "Pathway to the Stars"

Space Future Journal - Zubrin's Proposal to Fund "Pathway to the Stars"

Former Senator Schmitt Proposes Dismantling of NASA and Creation of a New, Deep Space Exploration Agency

Former Senator Schmitt Proposes Dismantling of NASA and Creation of a New, Deep Space Exploration Agency

AT-6 Texan II from Hawker Beechcraft

Surfing the net this morning, found some articles on the AT-6 Texan II/PC-9 today.

Over on The DEW Line by Stephen Trimble, there was this great image of the armed version of the AT-6 Texan II with the sharks' mouth and eyes painted on the nose and it just made the aircraft look awesome! The other picture is from a quick search on Google to find other images of the AT-6 Texan II.

Now Hawker Beechcraft need to make a Aircraft Carrier version. One that can land on a carrier and be launch able with a catapult, have fold able wings. Then again, with the size of America's current carriers, they really don't need to be catapult capable, they could just back up to the stern and take-off like they did back in World War Two.

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Ref.

1. The DEW Line. "Is Hawker Beechcraft an American company?" by Stephen Trimble. May 17, 2011. (http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2011/05/is-hawker-beechcraft-an-americ.html).

2. Kansas.com "Hawker win is key to 800 jobs in Wichita" by Molly McMillin. April 3, 2011. (http://www.kansas.com/2011/04/03/1791211/hawker-win-key-to-800-jobs-in.html).

Lasers to Clear Space Junk

With thanks to the Drudge Report, I found this article from the San Francisco local CBS station website had the following bit of news... NASA is considering using lasers to battle space junk.

Oh really? Those of us who are Sci-fi fans have known that this will be the ultimate way to deal with the garbage that is in orbit now.

Using mid-power lasers that could move the objects instead of totally vaporize the debris.

quote: The proposal for the laser took two years to complete. NASA estimates the cost would be much lower than a manned mission designed to collect debris. end quote.

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Ref.

1. http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com. "Another Look: NASA Considers Lasers To Battle Space Junk" (http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/05/10/another-look-nasa-considers-lasers-to-battle-space-junk/).

Space Adventures Looks Forward to Commercial Lunar Flight Missions

The company known for putting space tourist Dennis Tito into orbit has come out with a new plan. One can read the press release (link below) from Space Adventures.

What was released with this press release were some images of the Soyuz TMA configuration spacecraft with it's lunar booster. Attached to the booster is another habitat module that would increase the interior space of the spacecraft for the lunar circumlunar flight.

One seat has already been sold and they are waiting on one more to be sold before going ahead with ordering the equipment. It is possible that this private/commercial spaceflight can take place as early as 2015.

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Ref.

1. Comspacewatch.com. "Space Adventures Looks Ahead To Commercial Lunar Missions" Stacey Tearne, Vice President, Communications press release. May 5, 2011. (http://www.comspacewatch.com/news/viewpr.rss.html?pid=33481). images also from same website.