Word: aloftness
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...largest, most sophisticated spacecraft ever built. Launched in May 1973 it was occupied by three different teams of astronauts in succession, one of which remained aloft for 84-days, a space endurance record that was not broken until this March by two Soviet cosmonauts. Now the 85-ton Skylab, unused by astronauts since 1974 but still circling 389 km (242 miles) above the earth every 90 minutes, is in deep trouble. Gradually moving lower, it may enter the atmosphere and disintegrate by November 1979 or even earlier. Large chunks of Skylab might well survive the fiery plunge through...
Unlike almost any other sport, kite flying involves no standardized equipment or rules; it appeals equally to the mystic and the scientist, the fresh-air buff and the do-it-yourselfer who devises and builds his own bird of balsam and plastic. The variety of kites aloft can make a city sky look like a sociocultural anthology of man's immemorial urge...
When the Hawkeye reports "multiple radar contacts inbound" to the carrier, the U.S. commander sends more F-14s aloft. And on his direct line to the Pentagon command center, he requests permission for "weapon release" so that he can order his men to fire before being attacked...
...Aloft, Melling insisted upon notifying ground control of his destination. "If we don't, we're likely to hit another aircraft...
...fact, their very first attempt to man Salyut 6 was an embarrassing flop. A week after it was sent aloft in September with no one on board, Soyuz 25 tried to link up with it, apparently as part of the Kremlin's celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution and the 20th anniversary of the flight of the first earth satellite, Sputnik. But Soyuz 25 slammed into one of Salyut's two docking ports, holding only briefly and then drifting away. Soviet controllers had to summon the cosmonauts back to earth...