Word: launchpad
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...true too that the moon may be an appealing launchpad because lunar gravity, just one-sixth that of Earth's, makes payloads a lot lighter and launching them a lot easier. But things aren't quite that simple. An Apollo astronaut confessed that after his lunar module landed on the moon, he had the sobering realization that before he could return home, he would again have to get the ship moving very, very fast. As any astronaut knows, the two most challenging tasks in operating a spacecraft are starting and stopping it. If it's possible to avoid additional stops...
...Combat, which is allegedly linked to al-Qaeda. The German government denied claims that it had fronted a ransom of almost €5 million to secure the release of the tourists, and pledge to help track down the group's kidnappers. Space Tragedy BRAZIL A rocket exploded on its launchpad at the Alcantara Launch Center, killing 21 people and injuring 20. Those caught in the blast were mostly technicians carrying out final tests just days before the rocket's scheduled liftoff. Triggered by an accidental ignition of one of the rocket's four engines, the catastrophe marks Brazil's third...
Department stores are also paying more attention to tiny brands. For fall, Saks is planning to create a special corner in its flagship store devoted to one-of-a-kind designer items--a kind of launchpad, perhaps, for the next Habitual...
...astronauts as explorers, sublime pioneers who push ever farther into dark and unexplored territory. We understood when Roger Chaffee, Gus Grissom and Ed White died in a fire on Apollo I’s launchpad; they were paving the way to the moon. But today, NASA’s job has become far less glamorous, even mundane; astronauts either deploy ultra-secret military satellites or deliver supplies to the international space station...
QATAR The government is set on building strong ties to the U.S. to protect the tiny emirate from regional powers, especially Iraq and Iran. Thus Qatar is second only to Kuwait in its willingness to let the U.S. use its territory as a launchpad for war. It has agreed to let the U.S. use its al-Udeid facility as a U.S. air base and command and control center...