Word: repairable
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
NASA plans to announce today whether it will send the astronauts outside to repair the damage - something they could do by attaching a protective plate, dabbing on insulating paint, or squeezing on a layer of epoxy-like insulation. None of the fixes is perfect, though all of them do help - and all of them entail the added danger of an unscheduled spacewalk. (Two astronauts went out on a scheduled spacewalk this morning to replace equipment on the international space station, and two more walks are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday...
...Federal Government small (and political risks low), Congress earmarks pet projects and then allows states to spend the remaining federal funds any way they like. Without real oversight or clear national goals, many local politicians opt for flashy projects that employ a lot of people instead of undertaking boring repairs that no one notices until disaster strikes. "Cities and states have been sinking millions of dollars into convention centers, stadiums--anything that shines," says Christopher Swope, an editor at Governing magazine, who covers transportation. "At the same time, they're neglecting the stuff that's not so sexy...
...determining how often they want a reading of the sensors - once a minute, once a month, once a year. The sensors could eventually replace the jobs of inspectors altogether. Farrar argues that it would be more cost-effective in the long run because states could focus on sending a repair crew only when they already know there's a problem (and exactly where and what it is). "It would lead to much more continuous monitoring of bridges, as opposed to the limited monitoring done right now," says Farrar. Most states have to inspect their bridges only every two years...
...they didn't spot the weak points? It may well be that the real breaking point was hidden, or simply wasn't obvious under normal inspection. In fact, as everyone knows by now, the bridge was deemed "structurally deficient" starting in 1990. That didn't result in an emergency repair order, but rather an intention to replace the bridge by 2020 - not unusual, evidently, since the designation doesn't suggest imminent danger. According to Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, speaking Thursday afternoon at a press conference, there are no fewer 70,000 to 80,000 bridges...
...Libya's boldest move to repair relations with the West came in 2003, when it announced the scrapping of its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs - an act the U.S., Britain, and other Western governments had demanded as prerequisite for renewing relations with Tripoli. Bilateral contacts have increased since, including partnerships between Western and Libyan intelligence services that Gaddafi and European officials credit for thwarting terror attacks on both sides of the Mediterranean. Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair traveled to Tripoli in May to hail Libya's "completely transformed" behavior, and predicted that the flourishing security and defense relationship...