Senin, 26 Desember 2011

Credit Card Debt Facts You Should Know


Increasingly more and more of us has at least some credit card debt. Facts put out by the credit card industry and debt counsellors show that not only are we increasing the number of cards we have but that we're increasing the amount we owe on those cards. Those credit card debt facts can make truly frightening reading.

 And it's not just those of us in paid employment that are running up our credit card debt. Facts show that even students and the unemployed are increasing the amount they owe. 


 So what can we do about this situation? Well the first thing to recognize is that we are all responsible for our own borrowing. That being the case we can start to take steps to reduce the amount of money that we owe and also the amount we have to pay out each month.

 Think of it this way; Credit cards are not "bad", just like anything else they have plusses and minuses. Ok the minuses include horrendously high rates of interest but on the other side of the coin they can be invaluable in emergencies. Just don't use them as long term loans because they were never designed for that kind of borrowing.

 If you are finding that you have outstanding balances of two, three or more credit cards you will probably be well advised to look into taking out a debt consolidation loan. This will enable you to spread your borrowing over a fixed period of time. It will also ensure that you are paying a much, much lower rate of interest than you would be paying on your cards.

 By shopping around you can usually find some very good deals available from the major lenders. And don't forget to try and haggle down the rate you are offered. Tell them you have a better deal on the table across the street. You'll be surprised just how much things can change with a little bit of competition.

 Of course if you've got poor credit things might not be quite so simple. And if that is the case maybe the best thing would be you for you to talk to a licensed debt counsellor or visit a bill consolidation service to get some idea of how you can reduce your monthly commitments.

 The important thing is to take action and stop yourself becoming one of those credit card debt facts!

Rabu, 03 Agustus 2011

Few Mila Kunis Wallpapers

Milena Markovna Kunis, professionally known as Mila Kunis, is an American actress. At the age of seven, she moved from Ukraine to Los Angeles, with her family. Check out more Wallpapers of Mila Kunis Below:










Few Cheryl Cole Wallpapers


 Check out More Wallpapers of Cheryl Cole Below:








Kamis, 28 Juli 2011

The EdgeWalk at Toronto's CN Tower

Daredevils in red jumpsuits can teeter around the outside edge of Canada's tallest structure next month as Toronto's CN Tower opens a new attraction for thrill-seekers and those wanting to overcome fear. A reporter leans over the edge of the catwalk during the media preview for the "EdgeWalk" on the CN Tower in Toronto, July 27, 2011. Participants are strapped in to a harness that is attached to a guard rail while walking around the catwalk on the structure 356m (1,168ft) off the ground. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (CANADA - Tags: SOCIETY CITYSCAPE IMAGES OF THE DAY)

The EdgeWalk at Toronto's CN Tower is an adrenaline filled excursion around an open-mesh metal walkway almost a quarter of a mile above the ground. There's no guard rail and no hand holds, just an uninterrupted view of the Toronto skyline and a through-the-mesh view of the ground, 1,168 feet beneath your feet. (Reuters)



Feet are seen in a view from the catwalk during the media preview for the "Edgewalk" on top of the CN Tower in Toronto, July 27, 2011. Participants are strapped in to a harness that is attached to a guard rail while walking around the catwalk on the structure 356m (1,168ft) off the ground. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (CANADA - Tags: SOCIETY CITYSCAPE)



A tour guide demonstrates the length of the rope during the media preview for the "Edgewalk" on top of the CN Tower in Toronto, July 27, 2011. Participants are strapped in to a harness that is attached to a guard rail while walking around the catwalk on the structure 356m (1,168ft) off the ground. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (CANADA - Tags: SOCIETY CITYSCAPE)



A reporter walks on the edge of the catwalk during the media preview for the "EdgeWalk" on the CN Tower in Toronto, July 27, 2011. Participants are strapped in to a harness that is attached to a guard rail while walking around the catwalk on the structure 356m (1,168ft) off the ground. REUTERS/Mark Blinch (CANADA - Tags: SOCIETY CITYSCAPE)







Reporters lean back, 1,168 feet over Toronto's downtown, while participating in a media preview of the new EdgeWalk attraction on the CN Tower Wednesday, July 27, 2011. Participants are strapped into a harness as they walk along a walkway around the CN Tower. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)



Canadian Press reporter Alex Posadzki leans over Toronto's downtown while participating in a media preview of EdgeWalk on the CN Tower on Wednesday, July 27, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

Source: Yahoo News

Senin, 25 Juli 2011

Evans’ victory caps a classic Tour de France

It was a Tour de France many hailed as a classic. There were crashes, dropouts, surprises and, above all, a new champion.
With Cadel Evans becoming the first Australian to win cycling’s most prestigious race, the Tour de France had a completely new look this year.
Lance Armstrong’s seven-year stranglehold over the Tour was a remarkable demonstration of strength and resolve, but the competition itself was not that engrossing. Alberto Contador then stepped up and won three titles in four years, with his third still in limbo after a positive drug test last year.
This year, with defending champion Contador far from his best, the race was wide open. Despite the early departure of some pre-race favorites, seven key riders were in contention halfway through the final week. And that’s not counting Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, who led through the Pyrenees and most of the Alps.
The rivalry between Luxembourg brothers Frank and Andy Schleck finally played out after it was cut short last year by a crash that forced Frank to quit.
The brothers displayed nothing but devotion to each other. Frank seemed genuinely delighted at his younger sibling’s success. They embraced at the line seconds after Andy finished his time trial Saturday. Their second- and third-place finishes for Leopard-Trek proved a team doesn’t have to tear itself apart if it has more than one contender—though it might take the strength of family ties to make it work.
Two Italians—Ivan Basso and Damiano Cunego—were in the hunt, though their climbing skills weren’t enough to counter their poor time trials. Contador was still dangerous, but he couldn’t make up the time he’d lost at the beginning of the race. Another Spaniard, Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez, finished sixth and won the polka-dot jersey for best climber.
Amid it all, seemingly untouched by the chaos, was Evans.
“A few people always believed in me. I always believed in me. And we did it!” the 34-year-old rider said after his triumphant entry into Paris on Sunday.
Up every mountain, Evans was never more than one cycle length behind his rivals. With a small lead that he’d picked up in the early stages and a lot of strength in the time trials, he knew he didn’t need to attack to win.
Still, when Andy Schleck broke away from the field on the climb of the Galibier pass on Thursday, some thought Evans’ BMC team made a critical mistake. But Evans remained calm. He went into the time trial needing to make up almost a minute on Schleck. He made up almost 2 1/2 .
“The real highlight of it all was the last three or four kilometers of the time trial,” Evans said. “The hardest part had been done until that point and coming into that finish I knew we were on the right track so that was just incredible. For once, the last four kilometers of a time trial wasn’t that hard.”
The race for the green jersey, given to the best sprinter, was far more clear. Trying to counter the almost-untouchable speed of Britain’s Mark Cavendish, organizers introduced another major sprint in the middle of each stage. But Cavendish won the green jersey anyway despite trailing to the finish of every mountain stage.
“The Tour de France for me is so far ahead of everything else,” said Cavendish, the winner of five stages this year who at age 26 is already fifth on the career list of stage winners.
“I’ll keep coming back for as long as my legs can keep coming back, and I’ll keep trying to win for as long as my legs can keep trying to win.”
The first week of this race made for plenty of rough riding. Crashes undermined Contador’s chances and forced out Bradley Wiggins, Jurgen Van Den Broeck and Alexandre Vinokourov, who immediately announced his retirement.
A rash move by a TV car sent rider Juan Antonio Flecha flying and catapulted Johnny Hoogerland into a barbed wire fence. He needed dozens of stitches but finished the stage—and the race—and held the polka-dot jersey for a time.
The French went crazy for Voeckler, who expected to hold the yellow jersey for only a day or two but showed extraordinary strength to stay with Evans and the Schlecks through most of the mountain stages and finished fourth overall.
Voeckler discovered the strength of French feeling for him and his teammate Pierre Rolland—the best young rider—when he was cheered the whole way Saturday.
“I felt that France was entirely behind us,” Voeckler said. “If we’ve given the public a little pleasure in these difficult times, so much the better.”
The last French winner was Bernard Hinault in 1985, but the country finally has hopes for the future—if not with the 32-year-old Voeckler then with young riders such as Rolland and Jerome Coppel. In all, five French riders finished in the top 15.
Another strong showing was made by Norway. Sprinter Thor Hushovd had looked to be past his best, but he outlasted younger riders and won two stage. Compatriot Edvald Boasson Hagen, 24 and riding in his first Tour, also won two stages, proving himself a sprinter, a climber and even a time trialer. He set himself up as a future contender.
By the race’s end, their country was consumed by grief. Before the final stage, the two riders stood together as the pack marked a minute of silence for the victims of the twin attacks in Norway.
Contador began the race to bood by fans after his positive drug test following last year’s Tour victory. The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear an appeal by cycling authorities next month after the Spaniard was cleared by the Spanish federation.
Contador summed up the race on Twitter as “a different Tour, with troubles but that I finish with a very good taste.”
He added: “I’m thinking on 2012!”

Source: Yahoo Sports

Sabtu, 16 Juli 2011

Harry Potter Stars Then and Now

Check out Harry Potter Stars Then and Now:
It's been nearly a decade since Harry Potter first waved his wand on the big screen. Ahead of the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, we chart the growing pains of the Potter stars


Emma Watson


Emma Watson rose to fame playing the bookish Hermione Granger in all eight of the Harry Potter films. Outside of the Potter films, the actress remained busy; between attending Brown University and appearing in Burberry campaigns, she designed a clothing collection in collaboration with fair-trade brand People Tree. All eyes were on Watson after she gave her signature waves a chic pixie crop in August 2010. "My mom has short hair, and I've always thought that women with short hair were so beautiful," she told InStyle. "I wasn't allowed to cut my hair during Harry Potter, so as soon as filming stopped, I was like, let's do this!" Although her days at Hogwarts may be over, the ever-fashionable Watson is currently the face of Lancome, and can be seen in the upcoming films My Week With Marilyn and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Daniel Radcliffe




Daniel Radcliffe's life was changed forever after beating out thousands for the role of Harry Potter at the age of eleven. "I was a kid, among other kids," he told Entertainment Weekly. "To be 'special' just because I had been picked for this part was just...bizarre." Radcliffe made the transition to the Great White Way between filming Harry Potter, starring in the play Equus during its run on London's West End, and later on Broadway in New York. Today, Radcliffe looks every bit the accomplished actor with his crisp black suit and windswept hair. He is currently starring as J. Pierrepont Finch in the Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

Rupert Grint



Rupert Grint played Harry's best friend Ron Weasley in all eight of the Potter films. The actor shares many similarities with his character, from his high-spirited personality, to his fear of spiders. "I had always felt a connection to Ron," Grint told Entertainment Weekly. When he wasn't practicing magic spells at Hogwarts School, the actor appeared in independent films like Driving Lessons and Cherrybomb. These days, Grint has a more buttoned-up look thanks to his tailored blazer and groomed hair. He can be seen next in the 2012 war film Comrade.

Tom Felton



Although he appeared in two films and two TV movies prior to Harry Potter, Tom Felton catapulted to fame after taking on the role of bad boy Draco Malfoy. "I think my ability to lie was half the reason I was offered Draco," Felton said of his role. "At the very first audition, they just lined us up and asked us which bits of the book we were looking forward to in the film. I hadn't read the book, so I said the same as the guy next to me—which director Chris Columbus saw through in a heartbeat!" Now, Felton is less-sinister (and not as platinum!) than his Slytherin character, changing from his Hogwarts uniform to more clean-cut ensembles. The actor can be seen next in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Apparition.

Bonnie Wright



Bonnie Wright went from Ron Weasley's adorable younger sister Ginny, to the love interest of Hogwarts's Golden Boy. She and Radcliffe shared their first on-screen kiss in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. "It was a little hard to kiss someone you've known that long, and also on top of that in front of all the cast and crew," Wright told Entertainment Weekly of the scene. "But that was a scene a lot of people were looking forward to, and we're both actors. I think it went well!" Gone are the days of playful ponchos and cowboy boots. These days, Wright sticks to chic dresses and trendy heels. In April, the actress was engaged to boyfriend Jamie Campbell Bower, who appeared as young Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and Caius Volturi in Breaking Dawn.

Matthew Lewis



Like many of his peers, Matthew Lewis was a huge fan of the Harry Potter books before landing the role of brave Gryffindor Neville Longbottom. "At my audition, I was given a ticket stub that said I was number 743 in the queue. We waited four and a half hours," he told Entertainment Weekly on his audition. "My mom kept saying 'Can we go now? I will buy you a McDonald's if you wanna go,' but I was such a huge fan of the books, I said I wouldn't leave!" Lewis was first seen on the red carpet in a crisp black suit and tousled hair. These days, the actor opts for a more relaxed getup while flaunting a new tattoo.

James and Oliver Phelps

James and Oliver Phelps stole our hearts as Fred and George Weasley, the hilarious older brothers of Ron and Ginny. While the twins may be hard to tell apart on-screen, the two couldn't be more different in real life. "We've learned to watch each other's backs, but we have pretty different personalities," James told People. "I tend to joke around a bit more, while Oliver is more sensitive." After finishing up on the set of Harry Potter, the dynamic duo retired their bold ginger hairstyles and three-piece suits in exchange for their natural brown hue and casual jeans and polos.

Evanna Lynch




Like her character Luna Lovegood, Irish actress Evanna Lynch has an eccentric style all her own. Lynch reportedly wore a pair of radish-shaped earrings, similar to Luna's, when she auditioned for the part. She may not wear the accessories on the red carpet, but she's ready for her close-up thanks to her keen fashion sense and loose ringlets.

Source: Yahoo & Guardian

The gas platform that will be the world's biggest 'ship'


Shell has unveiled plans to build the world's first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platform. The 600,000-tonne behemoth - the world's biggest "ship" - will be sited off the coast of Australia. But how will it work?
Deep beneath the world's oceans are huge reservoirs of natural gas. Some are hundreds or thousands of miles from land, or from the nearest pipeline.
Tapping into these "stranded gas" resources has been impossible - until now.
At Samsung Heavy Industries' shipyard on Geoje Island in South Korea, work is about to start on a "ship" that, when finished and fully loaded, will weigh 600,000 tonnes.
That is six times as much as the biggest US aircraft carrier.

By 2017 the vessel should be anchored off the north coast of Australia, where it will be used to harvest natural gas from Shell's Prelude field.
Once the gas is on board, it will be cooled it until it liquefies, and stored in vast tanks at -161C.
Every six or seven days a huge tanker will dock beside the platform and load up enough fuel to heat a city the size of London for a week.
The tankers will then sail to Japan, China, Korea or Thailand to offload their cargo.
"The traditional way of producing gas offshore was through pipelines. You brought gas up to a platform and piped it to the 'beach'. That is the way it's done in the North Sea," said Scotsman Neil Gilmour, Shell's general manager for FLNG.

The World’s Biggest Ships:
  • The Seawise Giant was the biggest ship ever built. Fully laden it weighed 657,000 tonnes. It was scrapped in 2009
  • Shell refers to its FLNG platform as a "facility" rather than a ship - fully loaded it will weigh 600,000 tonnes
  • Daewoo are building 10 Triple-E container ships for Maersk. Weighing 165,000 tonnes, each can carry 18,000 containers
  • The Titanic, in comparison, weighed a measly 52,000 tonnes. It sank on its maiden journey in 1912



'Cyclone alley'
But the Prelude gas field is 200km (124 miles) from Western Australia's Kimberley Coast and there are no pipelines there to be used.
Johan Hedstrom, an energy analyst in Australia with Southern Cross Equities, told the BBC: "The FLNG concept is an elegant solution because you don't need so much fixed infrastructure.
"You don't need the pipeline or the onshore refinery and when you run out of gas you can just pull up stumps and go to the next field."
Mr Gilmour said Shell had to overcome a "raft of technical challenges", ensuring for example that the vast amount of equipment on board would work in choppy seas.
The Prelude field is in the middle of what is known as "cyclone alley", an area prone to extremely stormy weather.
But Mr Gilmour said the vessel had been built to withstand category-five cyclones and even a "one-in-10,000-years' storm" producing 300km/h (185mph) gusts and 20m-high (65ft) waves.
The double-hulled vessel is designed to last 50 years.
When the Prelude field is exhausted, in 25 years' time, it will be completely refurbished and packed off to start work on another field off the coast of Australia, Angola, Venezuela or wherever.
Mr Hedstrom said: "FLNG is a neat way of going forward. The way that energy prices are going it does look like a good industry to be in and I think they could make a lot of money out of it."
The price of LNG has risen markedly as demand has increased.
LNG currently sells for $14 per one million British thermal units in Japan, where the price was boosted by the tsunami, which cut the production of nuclear power.
The project, estimated to cost between $8bn (£5bn) and $15bn (£9.5bn), could provide 3.6 million tonnes of gas a year.


Flaring off
Nick Campbell, an energy analyst with Inenco, said Shell's move into FLNG was a "smart move".
"Shell are positioning themselves in an emerging market, not just in China - where gas usage has increased by 20% - but in India, which is also increasing its demand," he said.
The project is expected to generate 12 billion Australian dollars (£8bn) in tax revenues for the Australian federal government and could benefit their trade balance by 18 billion Australian dollars over the life of Prelude.
Australia's Minister for Resources and Energy has welcomed the Prelude project, drawing attention to the reduced environmental footprint as compared with a land-based scheme.
But there has been opposition from environmentalists. Martin Pritchard from Environs Kimberley says he is concerned about the potential for "oil leaks and spills".
WWF Western Australia, meanwhile, argues that the underwater wellheads and pipelines will harm the tropical marine environment, and estimates the project will emit more than two million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year.
The gas raised from the seabed is purified during the process of liquefaction, and waste products will be flared off. This week the Australian government said it would tax carbon emissions from major polluters at A$23 (£15) per tonne.
But Mr Gilmour says the Prelude project could be the first of several. Shell has already identified the Sunrise gas field in the Timor Sea as having potential for FLNG.
The ship, whose first section will be laid in 2012, has no name. Shell normally refers to it merely as a "facility".
"There are only four or five dry docks globally which could have built this facility and there are certainly no yards in the UK large enough," says Mr Gilmour.
He has been to Geoje Island and, speaking in a broad Ayrshire accent, he said of Samsung's yard: "It's an extraordinary place.
"It's just a phenomenal yard. Samsung is very hi-tech, world class. There are going to be some very spectacular images coming out of there during the building process."

Source: BBC News

Kamis, 14 Juli 2011

How One Man Flies Like a Bird - Watch Video

What does it feel like to fly like a bird by using a jet-propelled wing? Only one man on Earth knows, and he shared his story with the crowd at TED Global in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Tuesday.
Yves Rossy’s invention allows him to fly by attaching to his back a four-engine jet suit with wings, which he starts up after jumping out of a helicopter or plane.
Check out the Video of the man Who files like a bird Below:
Unlike similar aircraft, Rossy’s has no steering controls. Rather, he uses his body to steer — arching his back gains altitude and pushing his shoulders forward sends him into a dive. “If you put steering in it’s more like an airplane. … I wanted to keep freedom of movement,” Rossy told the TED Global crowd.
Traveling at speeds of up to 190 miles per hour and a height of 3,000 meters, the aircraft can stay in the air for about 10 minutes, which was enough time for Rossy to cross the English Channel. He also recently flew above the Grand Canyon.
The device isn’t quite ready for mass consumption, however. Rossy, who served as both a commercial and military pilot earlier in his life, has had to use the wing’s escape parachute about 20 times — sometimes after becoming disoriented in the clouds, others after more than one of the engines fails.
Rossy, who does hope that one day his invention or something like it could be used by anyone, summarized the experience by saying, “I don’t have feathers, but I feel like a bird sometimes. It’s an unreal feeling.”
You can check what one of his flights and invention look like in the video below from his Grand Canyon mission:


Source: Mashable

Selasa, 12 Juli 2011

The History of the Space Shuttle in Pictures

From its first launch 30 years ago to its final launch on July 8th 2011, NASA's Space Shuttle program has seen moments of dizzying inspiration and of crushing disappointment. The program has sent up 135 missions, ferrying more than 350 humans and thousands of tons of material and equipment into low Earth orbit. Fourteen astronauts have lost their lives along the way -- the missions have always been risky, the engineering complex, the hazards extreme. We'd like to look back at the past few decades of shuttle development and missions as we await the next steps toward human space flight.
Please Click the pictures to see the enlarged view:
Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off from Kennedy Space Center, on April 12, 1981. Commander John Young and pilot Robert Crippen were onboard STS-1, the first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle program. (Reuters/NASA/KSC)


While on a visit to watch the launch of Apollo 16 on April 15, 1972, Russian Poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko (left) listens as Kennedy Space Center Director Dr. Kurt H. Debus explains the space shuttle program. In the right foreground is a model of one the proposed Space Shuttle ship and rocket concepts. (AP Photo) #


A scale model of the proposed Space Shuttle wing configuration. Photo taken on March 28, 1975. (NASA) #


This November 6, 1975 photo shows a scale model of the Space Shuttle attached to a 747 carrier, inside NASA's 7 x 10 wind tunnel.(NASA) #


Part of the crew of the television series Star Trek attend the first showing of America's first Space Shuttle, named Enterprise, in Palmdale, California, on September 17, 1976. From left are Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, DeForest Kelly and James Doohan. (AP Photo) #


The inside view of a liquid hydrogen tank designed for the Space Shuttle external tank, viewed on February 1, 1977. At 154 feet long and more than 27 feet in diameter, the external tank is the largest component of the Space Shuttle, the structural backbone of the entire Shuttle system, and is the only part of the vehicle that is not reusable. (NASA) #


A technician works on sensors installed in the back end of a scale model of the Space Shuttle in NASA's 10X10 foot wind tunnel, on February 15, 1977. (NASA) #


At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this space shuttle mock-up, dubbed Pathfinder, is attached to the Mate-Demate Device for at fit-check on October 19, 1978. The mock-up, constructed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, possessed the general dimensions, weight and balance of a real space shuttle. (NASA) #


The Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise flies free after being released from NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft over Rogers Dry Lakebed during the second of five free flights carried out at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, on January 1, 1977. A tail cone over the main engine area of Enterprise smoothed out turbulent air flow during flight. It was removed on the two last free flights to accurately check approach and landing characteristics. (NASA) #


Space Shuttle Columbia arrives at launch complex 39A in preparation for mission STS-1 at Kennedy Space Center, on December 29, 1980.(Reuters/NASA/KSC) #


Looking aft toward the cargo bay of NASA's Space Shuttle Orbiter 102 vehicle, Columbia, Astronauts John Young (left) and Robert Crippen preview some of the intravehicular activity expected to take place during the orbiter's flight test, at Kennedy Space Center October 10, 1980. (Reuters/NASA/KSC) #


Flight director Charles R. Lewis (left) studies a chart display on his console's monitor in the mission operations control room (MOCR) in the Johnson Space Center's Mission Control Center, in April of 1981. (NASA) #


The two solid rocket boosters are jettisoned from the climbing space shuttle Columbia as a successful launch phase continues for NASA's first manned space mission since 1975, on April 12, 1981. Astronauts John W. Young and Robert L. Crippen are aboard Columbia.(NASA) #


The Space Shuttle Columbia on Rogers Dry lakebed at Edwards AFB after landing to complete its first orbital mission on April 14, 1981. Technicians towed the Shuttle back to the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center for post-flight processing and preparation for a return ferry flight atop a modified 747 to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (NASA/JSC) #


The Space Shuttle Columbia is carried atop a NASA 747 at the Edwards Air Force Base, California, on November 25, 1981.(AP Photo/Lennox McLendon) #


Nighttime launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia, on the twenty-fourth mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program, on January 12, 1986.(NASA) #


Astronaut Sally Ride, mission specialist on STS-7, monitors control panels from the pilot's chair on the Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Challenger in this NASA handout photo dated June 25, 1983. Floating in front of her is a flight procedures notebook. (Reuters/NASA) #


The Space Shuttle Enterprise passes through a hillside that has been cut to clear its wingspan, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, on February 1, 1985. The orbiter is en route to Space Launch Complex Six aboard its specially-designed 76-wheel transporter.(Tech. Sgt. Bill Thompson/USAF) #


High angle overall view of Space Shuttle Enterprise in launch position on the Space Launch Complex (SLC) #6, during the ready-to-launch checks to verify launch procedures at Vandenberg Air Force Base, on February 1, 1985. (Tech. Sgt. Bill Thompson/USAF) #


The space shuttle orbiter Discovery lands on Edwards Air Force Base in California, following completion of the 26th Space Transportation System mission. (Tech. Sgt. Mike Haggerty/USAF) #


Christa McAuliffe tries out the commander's seat on the flight deck of a shuttle simulator at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on September 13, 1985. McAuliffe was scheduled for a space flight on the Space Shuttle Challenger in January, 1986. (AP Photo) #


Ice forms on equipment on launch pad 39-B, on Jan. 27, 1986, at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, before the ill-fated launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. (AP Photo/NASA) #


Spectators in the VIP area at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, watch as the Space Shuttle Challenger lifts from Pad 39-B, on January 28, 1986. (AP Photo/Bruce Weaver) #


The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center. The shuttle, carrying a crew of seven, including the first teacher in space, was destroyed, all aboard were killed. (NASA) #


Spectators at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, react after they witnessed the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986. (AP Photo) #


The Space Shuttle Columbia (left), slated for mission STS-35, is rolled past the Space Shuttle Atlantis on its way to Pad 39A. Atlantis, slated for mission STS-38, is parked in front of bay three of the Vehicle Assembly Building following its rollback from Pad 39A for repairs to the liquid hydrogen lines. (NASA) #


A Florida Air National Guard F-15C Eagle aircraft assigned to the 125th Fighter Wing, flies a patrol mission as the Space Shuttle Endeavor launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on December 5, 2001. (Tsgt. Shaun Withers/USAF) #


Fish-eye view of the Space Shuttle Atlantis as seen from the Russian Mir space station during the STS-71 mission on June 29, 1995.(NASA/JSC) #


Cosmonaut Valeriy V. Polyakov, who boarded Russia's Mir space station on January 8, 1994, looks out Mir's window during rendezvous operations with the Space Shuttle Discovery. (NASA) #


Mission Specialist Bruce McCandless II, is seen further away from the confines and safety of the Space Shuttle Challenger than any previous astronaut has ever been from an orbiter in this February 12, 1984 photo. (Reuters/NASA) #


A modified Space Shuttle Main Engine is static fired at Marshall Space Flight Center's Technology Test Bed, in Huntsville, Alabama, on December 22, 1993. (NASA/MSFC) #


Astronaut Joseph R. Tanner, STS-82 mission specialist, is backdropped against Earth's limb and a sunburst effect in this 35mm frame exposed by astronaut Gregory J. Harbaugh, his extravehicular activity (EVA) crew mate, on February 16, 1997. The two were making their second space walk and the fourth one of five for the STS-82 crew, in order to service the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (NASA) #


The fist two components of the International Space Station are joined together on December 6, 1998. The Russian-built FGB, also called Zarya, nears the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the U.S.-built Node 1, also called Unity (foreground). (NASA/JSC) #


During the first Gulf War, in April of 1991, black smoke pours from burning oil wells in the Kuwaiti desert, seen from Earth orbit by an astronaut onboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis during mission STS-37. The Iraqi army set fire to the oil wells in the region as they withdrew from their occupation of that country. (NASA/Getty Images) #


Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-134) makes its final landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 1, 2011. (Reuters/NASA/Bill Ingalls) #


Billows of smoke and steam infused with the fiery light from Space Shuttle Endeavour's launch on the STS-127 mission fill NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A in July of 2009. (NASA) #


Space shuttle external tank ET-118, which flew on the STS-115 mission in September 2006, was photographed by astronauts aboard the shuttle about 21 minutes after lift off. The photo was taken with a hand-held camera when the tank was about 75 miles above Earth, traveling at slightly more than 17,000 mph. (NASA) #


The space shuttle twin solid rocket boosters separate from the orbiter and external tank at an altitude of approximately 24 miles. They descend on parachutes and land in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast, where they are recovered by ships, returned to land, and refurbished for reuse. (NASA) #


Though astronauts and cosmonauts often encounter striking scenes of Earth's limb, this very unique image, part of a series over Earth's colorful horizon, has the added feature of a silhouette of the space shuttle Endeavour. The image was photographed by an Expedition 22 crew member prior to STS-130 rendezvous and docking operations with the International Space Station on February 9, 2010. The orange layer is the troposphere, where all of the weather and clouds which we typically watch and experience are generated and contained. This orange layer gives way to the whitish Stratosphere and then into the Mesosphere. (NASA) #


NASA space shuttle Columbia hitched a ride on a special 747 carrier aircraft for the flight from Palmdale, California, to Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on March 1, 2001. # 


The high temperatures which were to be encountered by the Space Shuttle were simulated in the tunnels at Langley in this 1975 test of the thermal insulation materials which were used on the orbiter. (NASA) #


While fire-rescue personnel prepare evacuation litters, two stand-in "astronauts" prepare to use an exit slide from a Shuttle mockup during a rescue training exercise in Palmdale, California, on April 16, 2005. (NASA / Tony Landis) #


The Space Shuttle Challenger moves through the fog on its way down the crawler way en route to Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in this NASA handout photo dated November 30, 1982. (Reuters/NASA) #


Donnie McBurney (left) and Chris Welch, both of Merrit Island, Florida, watch from atop their body boards as the space shuttle Discovery lifts off from Cape Canaveral, October 29, on mission STS-95. John Glenn returned to space aboard Discovery for the first time in 36 years. (Reuters) #


After its second servicing mission, the Hubble Space Telescope begins its separation from the Space Shuttle Discovery on February 19, 1997. (NASA) #


This photo provided by NASA taken from the ground using a telescope with a solar filter shows the NASA space shuttle Atlantis in silhouette during solar transit, Tuesday, May 12, 2009, from Florida. (AP Photo/Thierry Legault, NASA) #


In this image from a NASA video, the silhouette of Space Shuttle Columbia Commander for mission STS-80, Kenneth Cockrall, is visible against the front windows of the Space Shuttle during reentry on December 7, 1996. The orange glow in the window is from ionizing atoms in the atmosphere caused by the friction of air against the Shuttle's surface during reentry. (NASA/Getty Images) #


Space Shuttle Discovery lands in the Mojave Desert on September 11, 2009 at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base near Mojave, California. (David McNew/Getty Images) #


The Space Shuttle Endeavour rests atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft in the Mate-Demate Device (MDD) at the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California, shortly before being ferried back to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (NASA/Les Teal) #


The Space Shuttle Discovery cuts a bright swath through the early-morning darkness as it lifts off from Launch Pad 39A on a scheduled 10-day flight to service the Hubble Space Telescope. (NASA) # 


Near the end of the mission, the crew aboard space shuttle Discovery was able to document the beginning of the second day of activity of the Rabaul volcano, on the east end of New Britain. On the morning of Sept. 19, 1994, two volcanic cones on the opposite sides of the 6-kilometer sea crater had begun to erupt with very little warning. Discovery flew just east of the eruption roughly 24 hours after it started and near the peak of its activity. (NASA) #


A view photographed from the International Space Station in 2007 shows the Space Shuttle Atlantis above the Earth, as the two spacecraft were nearing their link-up in Earth orbit. (NASA) #


Following a catastrophic failure during re-entry, debris from the space shuttle Columbia streaks across the Texas sky on Saturday morning, February 1, 2003. The orbiter and all seven crew members were lost. (AP Photo/Jason Hutchinson) #


A floor grid is marked with a growing number of pieces of Columbia debris in this NASA handout photo dated March 13, 2003. The Columbia Reconstruction Project Team attempted to reconstruct the orbiter as part of the investigation into the accident that caused the destruction of Columbia and loss of its crew as it returned to Earth on mission STS-107. (Reuters/NASA) #


Rollout of space shuttle Discovery is slow-going due to the onset of lightning in the area of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on August 4, 2009. The rollout was in preparation for launch on the STS-128 mission to the International Space Station.(Justin Dernier/NASA) #


New Zealand in the background, astronaut Robert L. Curbeam Jr. (left) and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang, both STS-116 mission specialists, participate in the mission's first of three planned sessions of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction continues on the International Space Station on December 12, 2006. (NASA) #


Xenon lights help lead space shuttle Endeavour home to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour landed for the final time on the Shuttle Landing Facility's Runway 15, marking the 24th night landing of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. (NASA) #


The docked space shuttle Endeavour, backdropped by a nighttime view of Earth and a starry sky are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 28 crew member on the International Space Station, on May 28, 2011. (NASA) #


At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the STS-133 crew takes a break from a simulated launch countdown to ham it up on the 195-foot level of Launch Pad 39A. From left are, Pilot Eric Boe, Mission Specialist Michael Barratt, Commander Steve Lindsey, and Mission Specialists Tim Kopra, Nicole Stott, and Alvin Drew. (NASA/Kim Shiflett) #


Shock wave condensation collars, backlit by the sun, occurred during the launch of Atlantis on STS-106, on September 8, 2001. The phenomenon was captured on an engineering 35mm motion picture film, and one frame was digitized to make this still image. Although the primary effect is created by the Orbiter forward fuselage, secondary effects can be seen on the SRB forward skirt, Orbiter vertical stabilizer and wing trailing edges. (NASA) #


The International Space Station and the docked space shuttle Endeavour, fly at an altitude of approximately 220 miles. This May 23, 2011 photo was taken by Expedition 27 crew member Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 following its undocking. The pictures taken by Nespoli are the first taken of a shuttle docked to the International Space Station from the perspective of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.(NASA) #


Source: The Atlantic