Word: descents
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Aboard the spacecraft, the astronauts were briskly preparing for the final perilous moments of descent. They had jettisoned the Service Module just before the atmosphere dramatically braked their speed from 24,602 miles per hour to only 168. Then, before the searingly hot gasses that envelop a spacecraft on re-entry blacked out communications, Neil Armstrong reported, almost nostalgically: "We have the moon in the field of view right...
...within a few miles of the moon, Eagle's computer reported: "Program alarm." Eagle's on-board computer was being asked to make too many calculations in the frenetic moments before touchdown. It had begun to balk at having to track Columbia while also making the final descent. "It gave us grave concern," said Director of Flight Operations Chris Kraft. Mission Control quickly spotted the cause and ordered the rendezvous radar turned off to remedy the situation. And then, unhappy with the terrain of the landing site, Armstrong took over the manual controls. Had he not done...
...moon, Aldrin and Armstrong donned their space suits and crawled through a tunnel for a final checkout of the lunar module before its long separation from the command module. They paid particular attention to Eagle's propulsion systems?the tanks containing the hypergolic fuels that fire the descent and ascent engines, and the pressure gauges on the helium that forces the fuels into the combustion chambers, where they burn upon contact with one another. Efficient and businesslike, they completed the check 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Two minutes before the spacecraft disappeared behind the moon on its 13th revolution, Houston...
...past, Honduras and El Salvador have managed to live together in relative peace. Their people speak a common dialect that reflects their Spanish-Indian descent. They are both plagued by poverty and illiteracy, both are ruled by military leaders, and both depend economically on agricultural exports to the U.S. (coffee from El Salvador, bananas from Honduras...
...normal perceptive sense that has atrophied, and that hallucination is often another misnomer-a way that scientists have of labeling things to seal off inquiry. In her new pursuit, she is clear-eyed, dedicated and calm. Her next book is to be called Briefing for a Descent into Hell...