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Il ruolo svolto dalle balene nell'assorbimento della CO2.
The role played by whales in the absorption of CO2.
#freepaulwatson
A short series of 6 photographs taken at the Centre Pompidou.
Une petite série de 6 photos prises au Centre Pompidou.
Artist : Simon Hantaï
If you recognise yourself in these photos and prefer they are not here, just let me know (or if you would like a copy of the photo).
Si vous vous reconnaissez dans cette photo et préfériez que la photo ne soit pas publiée, dites le moi (ou bien si vous aimeriez en avoir une copie).
April 2012
The Netherlands
Candid shots in and around the Public Transport in The Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
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Amsterdam
June 2012
The Netherlands
Urban life in the Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
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The Hague
April 2012
The Netherlands
Late night liquor on Queensnight!
(good business)
Urban life in the Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
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An older SOB Flirt (left), coupled with a new Flirt 3 from the first series. These trains run in regional traffic on the S4 line. The new trains no longer have buffers because the front has been optimized for crashes due to a new standard. In the past, the energy absorption capacity was defined only for buffers and the absorption capacity of longitudinal forces of the car body. However, these defined forces were already achieved at speeds of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour. In addition, there were no regulations on the behavior of car bodies beyond the dimensioning force, except that the end walls should be particularly resistant. In the event of accidents, the car body was often kinked before or after the first bogie; in other cases the car body climbed up and separated from the bogies. Different scenarios are now being defined that a train has to withstand without impairing the survival space of the driver and passengers. Under the front of the Flirt 3 there are now deformation elements that guarantee the train driver a survival space in the event of a collision. On the sides there is anti-climbing protection and also the coupler was crash optimized. The two trains side by side. Switzerland, May 6, 2021.
A short series of 6 photographs taken at the Centre Pompidou.
Une petite série de 6 photos prises au Centre Pompidou.
Artist : Simon Hantaï
If you recognise yourself in these photos and prefer they are not here, just let me know (or if you would like a copy of the photo).
Si vous vous reconnaissez dans cette photo et préfériez que la photo ne soit pas publiée, dites le moi (ou bien si vous aimeriez en avoir une copie).
The Hague
June 2012
Urban life in the Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
Please do not reproduce or use this picture without my explicit permission.
If you ask nicely I will probably say yes, just ask me first!
If you happen to be in one of my frames and have any objections to this.
Please contact me!
Please no glossy awards, scripted comments and big thumbnails back to your own work.
I will remove them...
Sunset on April 30, 2014 from near Silver City, New Mexico, on a hazy evening with a lot of obscuring dust from high winds earlier in the day. Shot with the 135mm lens and Canon 6D.
District 789, Beijing
July 2012
China
Urban life
Canon 550D
Please do not reproduce or use this picture without my explicit permission.
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The Hague
August 2012
The Netherlands
With all this nice material from China one might almost forget to post pictures from home
Urban life in the Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
Please do not reproduce or use this picture without my explicit permission.
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Years after the absorption of the Chicago & North Western into Union Pacific (and many more years after the creation of Metra). this CTA bus's destination sign still says CNW.
An appreciated daylight visitor in the garden.
This species possesses good night or scotopic vision. Its eye includes two different kinds of ommatidium; each contains nine light sensitive cells, of which seven contain a pigment whose absorption spectrum peaks in the green part of the spectrum, but in one type the remaining two receptors have peak absorption in the blue and in the other type they have peak reception in the ultra violet. The moth therefore has the cellular prerequisites for trichromatic colour vision. Adults have been shown to be capable of making colour discriminations at night-time levels of illumination, and they sustain these discriminations despite changes in the spectral content of the incident light; that is, they show colour constancy.
Scheveningen/The Hague
May 2012
The Netherlands
"New" project i will be working on documenting beachlife in the Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
Please do not reproduce or use this picture without my explicit permission.
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Unless they are astronauts, humans must view the Universe through the window of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Although a clear sky is relatively transparent to visible light, bright astronomical objects — most noticeably the Sun — can paint the entire sky with luminosity, colour and shadow to be captured by both landscape painters and photographers.
How does this happen and what physical processes are responsible for these beautiful colours, gradations and patterns?
The talk explains some of this and is illustrated with spectacular images of the sky from space and from above the European observatories in the Chilean Atacama desert.
It concludes with some remarks about how we will characterise the atmospheres of Earth-like planets orbiting other stars.
A text version of the talk can be downloaded at:
herschelsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/How-the...
A video of the webinar given to the Herschel Society can be found at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9v9pFluF-M
and one to the Daylight Academy at:
daylight.academy/news/virtual-talk-on-the-colour-of-sky-r...
Robert (Bob) Fosbury is currently an emeritus astronomer at the European Southern Observatory and an honorary professor at the Institute of Ophthalmology at UCL. He worked for 26 years at the European Space Agency (ESA) as part of ESA‘s collaboration with NASA on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) project based at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) near Munich in Germany.
Fosbury joined this initiative in 1985, more than 5 years before launch. During the latter part of this period, Bob served on NASA‘s Ad Hoc Science Working Group and ESA‘s Study Science Team as they developed the instrument concepts for the James Webb Space Telescope, the next-generation space observatory.
He has worked on topics including solar-type stars, the environments of black holes in quasars and active galaxies, the nature of galaxies in the early Universe and, most recently, on ways of characterising the atmospheres of earth-like exoplanets.
In retirement, he has turned to studies of animal, including human, vision by working with visual neuroscientist on the effects environmental light on animal systems.
Amsterdam
June 2012
The Netherlands
Urban life in the Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
Please do not reproduce or use this picture without my explicit permission.
If you ask nicely I will probably say yes, just ask me first!
If you happen to be in one of my frames and have any objections to this.
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Please no glossy awards, scripted comments and big thumbnails back to your own work.
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Amsterdam
Mei 2012
The Netherlands
Urban life in the Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
Please do not reproduce or use this picture without my explicit permission.
If you ask nicely I will probably say yes, just ask me first!
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The word Allah
The Semitic language which is spoken in the celestial spheres, is the language in which the angels and God address each other. Adam Safi-Allah spoke the same language in paradise. Adam and eve then came into the world and settled in Arabia. Their children also spoke the same language. Then as a result of the descendants of Adam spreading in the world, this language passed from Arabic, Persian, Latin and into English and God was then known by different names in the different languages. As Adam lived in Arabia, there are many words of the Semitic language which are still found in the Arabic language. God addressed the Prophets, Adam as Adam Safi-Allah, Noah as Nuh Nabi-Allah, Abraham as Ibraheem Khalil-Allah, Moses as Musa Kalim-Allah, Jesus as I’sa Ruh-Allah and Mohammed Rasul-Allah. All these titles, in the Semitic language were written on the Tablet before the arrival of the Prophets. This is why the Prophet Mohammed said: “I was a Prophet even before I came in to this world.”
Many people believe that the word Allah is a name given by Muslims, this is not so.
The Prophet Mohammed’s fathers name was Abd-Allah, at a time when Islam did not exist. Prior to the advent of Islam the Name Allah was announced with the title of every Prophet. When the souls were created, the first Name on their tongue was Allah and when the soul entered the body of Adam, it said, Ya-Allah, and only then it entered the body. Many religions understand this enigma and chant the Name Allah and many others because of doubt are deprived of the Name.
Any name which is used to point towards God is worthy of respect.
In other words, which points towards God. The mystical effect of the Name of God has been diversified due to the different names. Every letter of the alphabet has a separate numeric value. This is also a celestial knowledge. All the numeric values are connected with all of the human race. Occasionally the numeric values do not agree with the astronomical calculations as a result of which people become afflicted. Many people go to astrologers and experts of this knowledge and have charts prepared based on the stars. They name their children on this basis.
Just as the letters (a, b, j, d,) (1, 2, 3, 4) when added have the numerical value of ten. Similarly every name has a separate numeric value. As God has been given so many different names, this has caused a conflict between the numeric value of the different names. If all the people called upon God by the same name, then despite the fact that they would all have separate religions, they would all be united inwardly. They too, like Nanak Sahib and Baba Farid would then say:
“All the souls have been created by the light of God, even though their environment and communities are separate.”
The angels that are assigned tasks in the world are also taught the languages of the people of the world.
It is important for the people of every Prophet that they recite, chant and affirm the Title of their Prophet which was granted by God to the Prophet at his time, for the recognition, spiritual grace and purification of his people. The recital and affirmation should be in the same method and in the language of their Prophet.
The entry of any individual into any religion is subject to the condition that the individual accepts and affirms the Title of the Prophet of that religion. Just as the affirmation and the verbal vows are a condition of any marriage.
Entry into the heavens has been made subject to the acceptance and affirmation of the Titles of the Prophets. In the western world many Muslims and Christians have no knowledge of their Prophet’s Title furthermore many do not even know their Prophets original name (in the original language of the Prophet.)
People who only verbalize the affirmation of their Prophet’s Title rely upon their good deeds. Those that reject and do not affirm their Prophet’s Title are refused entry to paradise. Those individuals in whose hearts the affirmation of their Prophet’s Title has descended (entered) they will enter paradise without any accountability.
The revealed celestial Scriptures, whichever language they are in so long as they are in the original form, are a means to finding God. Where the texts and the translations that have been adulterated, just as adulterated flour is harmful for the stomach, the adulterated books have become harmful and people of the same religion and the same of Prophet have divided into so many sects.
To be sure of the straight and guided path it is better that you are guided by the Light (of God) also.
The method of producing light.
In prehistoric times stones would be rubbed together to make fire. Whereas a spark can also be produced by rubbing two metals together. In a similar way electricity is made from water. Similarly by the friction of the blood inside the human body, in other words electric energy is produced by the vibrating heartbeat. In every human being there is present, approximately one and a half volts of electricity due to which the body is energetic. As the heartbeat slows in old age, this reduces the electricity in the body and this in turn also causes a reduction of the energy level in the body.
Firstly, the heartbeat has to be made vibrant and pronounced. Some do this by dancing, some by sports and exercise and some people try to do this by meditating and chanting the Name of God Allah.
When the heartbeat becomes vibrant and pronounced then by chanting the Name Allah try to synchronize it with every heartbeat. Alternatively try to synchronize Allah with one heartbeat and Hu with the other. Some time by placing your hand on the heart and when you feel your heartbeat, again try to synchronize the Name Allah by chanting it with the rythm of the heartbeat and imagine that the Name Allah is entering the heart.
The chanting of Allah Hu is better and more effective but if anyone has an objection, or a fear of chanting Hu, then instead of being deprived one should solely use the Name Allah, repetitively in the chanting. It is beneficial for people who chant and practice this discipline and who read mantras to physically remain as clean as possible as the:
“disrespectful are unfulfilled and the respectful are fulfilled.”
The first method for producing light.
Write Allah on a paper in black ink, and do this exercise for as long as you wish on a daily basis. Soon thereafter, the Word Allah will be transported from the paper and hover over the eyes. Then with one-pointed concentration, attempt to transport the word from the eyes to the heart.
The second method for producing light.
Write Allah on a zero watt bulb, in yellow. Whilst you are awake or just before sleep, concentrate and try to absorb it into the eyes. When it appears on the eyes then try to transport it to the heart.
The third method for producing light.
This method is for those people who have perfect spiritual guides and teachers and who due to their spiritual connection are spiritually assisted by them.
Sit alone and imagine that your index finger is a pen. Using your finger and with your concentration, attempt to write Allah on your heart. Call upon your spiritual teacher (spiritually), so that he too may, hold your finger, and write Allah on your heart. Continue to do this exercise everyday, until you see Allah written on your heart.
By the first and second method, the Name Allah becomes inscribed on the heart, just as it was written and seen by you but when it becomes synchronized with the heartbeat, then it slowly starts to shine. In the synchronized method, the assistance of the spiritual teacher is provided and for this reason it is seen shining and well written on the heart right from the beginning.
Many Prophets and Saints have come into the world, and just for the sake of testing this, if you feel it appropriate, concentrate or call upon all of them when you are practicing your meditation.
Whilst concentrating on any Prophet or Saint, during your meditating practice, if the rhythm of your heartbeat increases, in its vibration or you feel an improvement then this means that your destiny (spiritual fruits) lies with that Prophet or Saint.
Thereafter it is beneficial to concentrate on that same person whenever you practice your meditation as spiritual grace is transferred in this way, because every Saint is spiritually connected to a Prophet, even if that Prophet is not physically living.
The spiritual fruit (grace) of every illuminated person is in the hands of one Saint or another. It is essential that the Saint is living. Sometimes a very fortunate person is gifted with celestial spiritual grace by a perfect Saint who is not living, but this is very rare. However Saints not living in our human realm can provide worldly spiritual grace and assistance to people from their tombs. This is known as Owaisi spiritual grace.
The recipients of such spiritual grace often get entangled in their spiritual insights, visions and dreams because the spiritual guide providing the assistance is in the spiritual realm and so too is Satan and the recognition of the two becomes difficult.
Along with the spiritual grace it is important to have knowledge, for which a living Saint is more appropriate. If a person (Saint) possesses spiritual grace but is without knowledge, that person is known as a Majzoob (Godly but abstracted due to the complete absorption into the Essence of God and who is not in full control of his faculties).
A person (Saint) having spiritual grace and knowledge is known as a Mehboob (literally, loved one). Such people (Saints) as a result of their knowledge provide worldly spiritual assistance as well as spiritual grace and benefit. Whereas the Majzoobs are known to provide worldly spiritual assistance to people by their unusual but accepted practices of shouting obscenities and poking people with their wooden sticks.
If any (Prophet or Saint) appears but does not help or assist you then put Gohar Shahi to the test.
You may belong to any religion, there is no condition in this respect as long as the individual is not eternally ill-fated.
Many people have received the spiritual grace of Qalb meditation from the Moon. This is obtained when there is a full Moon from the East. Look at it with concentration and when you see the image of Gohar Shahi on it say Allah, Allah, Allah three times and you will be blessed with this spiritual grace. Thereafter without any fear or reservation practice the meditation as described.
Believe (the fact) that the image on the Moon has spoken to many people in many different languages. You can try looking and speaking to it also.
About Muraqba
(transcendental meditation)
(Literally. journey. Meditation in which the soul leaves the human body)
Many people without having acquired the illumination of the spiritual entities (‘Lata’if/Shaktian’) and without attaining spiritual strength and prowess try to engage in this meditation. They either fail to reach the meditative state or become the subject of Satanic interference. This type of meditation is for illuminated people, whose spiritual entity of the self has been purified and the Qalb has been cleansed. The practice or attempt at this type of meditation is foolish no matter what type of physical worship is used to achieve this. To collect and gather the strength of the soul and the spiritual entities and then to travel to a place is what is known as meditation.
Sainthood is the one fourtieth part of Prophecy.
Every dream, meditative journey, inspiration or revelation of a Prophet is accurate and authentic and does not need verification. Only fourty out of a hundred dreams, meditative journeys, inspirations and revelations of Saints are accurate the remaining sixty percent are inaccurate.
God cannot be understood without knowledge
The lowest type of meditative journey is started only after the illumination and awakening of the spiritual entity of the Qalb. This is impossible without first achieving the meditation of the Qalb (meditation with the vibrating heartbeat synchronized with the Name Allah). It takes one jerk or shake to bring the person out of this meditative state and back to consciousness. The faculty of the augury (foretelling the future by reading verses or looking into designated books) is also connected to the Qalb.
The next stage is the meditative journey of the soul. It takes three jerks or shakes to return a person back to normality from this meditative state.
The third stage of the meditative journey is done by the spiritual entity, Anna and the soul together. The soul travels along with the spiritual entity Anna, to the realm of souls just as the Archangel Gabriel accompanied the Prophet Mohammed to the realm of souls.
People who are in this meditative state are sometimes even taken to be buried in their graves and they are unaware of this happening to them. Such a meditative state and journey was taken by the “Companions of the Cave” as a result of which they remained asleep in the cave for more than three hundred years.
When this meditative state and journey was undertaken by the Sheikh, Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, in the jungle, the occupants of the jungle would regard the Sheikh as dead and would take him to a grave for burial but the meditative journey would break just before the burial (the Sheikh would return to consciousness).
How to recognize a special inspiration and revelation from God.
When a person has awakened and illuminated the spiritual entities in the chest and is worthy of receiving the rays of the Grace of God, then at that point God communicates with that person. God is All-Powerful and can do as he pleases and thus communicate with the human being in any way fit, but he has made a special method for his recognition so that his friends can be saved from the deception of Satan.
Firstly, text in the Semitic language appears on the seekers heart and its translation is seen in the language of the seekers mother-tongue. The text is white and shiny and the eyes close automatically and look at the text (internally). The text then passes the Qalb and moves towards the spiritual entity Sirri as a result of which it shines even more. Then the text moves towards the spiritual entity, Akhfa and from here it shines more and then moves onto the tongue. The voice then spontaneously starts to repeat that text.
If this inspiration is from Satan then an illuminated heart will dull the text and if the text is strong and prominent then the spiritual entities Sirri or Akhfa destroy that text. Further if due to the weakness of the spiritual entities the text does arrive at the tongue, then the voice will prevent it from being spoken into words.
This type of inspiration is for special types of Saints, whereas in respect of ordinary Saints, God sends messages to them through the angels or other spiritual entities. When the Archangel Gabriel accompanies the special and inspired text, this is known as revelation which is confined to the Prophets.
For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags
The Act oISwalIowing Exodus 7: 12 tells us that Aaron's staff "swallowed" (Y?:l'1) those of the magiciansIn Egypt "swallowing" (sbb or C3m)was an act of great magical significance. Ritner remarks:Consumption entails the absorption of an object and the acquisition of its benefits or traits. Altern:uively, the act can serve a principally hostile function, whereby "devour" signifies "todestroy"-though even here the concept of acquiring power may be retaine:d.~b -For instance, we read in spell 612 of the Coffin Texts: "I have swallowed the seven uraei."27 Swallowing gods (like the uraeus) was proscribed by Egyptian magic as a potion for death.28The "Cannibal Hymn" in the Pyramid Text, spells 273-74, also state:The Kingis onewhoeatsmenandliveson the gods.,TheKingeatstheirmagic,swallowstheir spirits.29 See also Coffin Text, spell 1017: "I have eaten Maat, I have swallowed magic."3o In addition, in Egyptian magical parlance, c3m "to swallow," is "to know:'31 and "to know" someone is to have power over that person. For example, in the Book of the Heavenly Cow we find Ra's warning against the magicians who employ the magic in their bodies:Moreover, guard against those magicians who know (rb) their spells, since: the god Heka is in them himself. Now as for the one who ingests/knows (C3111)him. I am there.J~Therefore, when Aaron uses the "staff of God" (cf. Exod. 4:20), the symbol of his authority, to devour the staffs and authority of the magicians, the Egyptian magicians would have perceived this as an absorption of their power and knowledge. This explains why the text attributes the act of swallowing to Aaron's "staff" and 25. Cf. the curse for adultery in Num. 5:23-24 which involves the ingestion of a priestly text; noted by Ritner. Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice. 109. Interestingly. both Terence E. Fretheim, Exodus (Louisville,1991). 113: and Currid, "The Egyptian Setting of the 'Serpent'," 206. see the: word "swallow" as a linguitic connector to Exod. 14: 16, 14:26, in which the Reed Sea "swallows" the Egyptians.26. Ritner, Egyptian Magical Practice, 103.27. Ibid., 104.28. Ibid., 105.29. Ibid., 103.30. Ibid., 88.31. Ibid., 106. Cf. the English expression "hard to swallow" in the sense of "difficult to comprehend."32. Ibid., 106.50 JANES 24 (1996)not to Aaron's serpent, a textual peculiarity that clearly bothered the classical rabbisas well.33Perhaps it is with the Egyptian conception of "knowledge" in mind, therefore,that we shouldunderstand God's repeated words to Moses: "By this (demonstration of power) you shall know that I am Yahweh" (7: 17). More on this below.
Dalishan, Beijing
Juli 2012
The story: www.flickr.com/photos/d44n/7982253921/in/photostream/
The news: www.globaltimes.cn/content/720568.shtml
Canon 550D
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Mors was a French pioneer car manufacturer from 1895 until its absorption by Citroën in 1925.
Cars 'n' Coffee Oldtimers Zuid-Kennemerland
Kopje van Bloemendaal, 3 augustus 2022.
Scheveningen/The Hague
June 2012
The Netherlands
Beachlife in the Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
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wearandcheer.com/time-start-getting-fiber-diet/
There are abundance of reasons you require further fiber in your diet. Fiber might be amazing your mom or grandma rants plus raves concerning, but receiving enough fiber in your diet is really significant for everybody. Fiber aids the body in many ways ranging from cardiovascular fitness, d...
by Staff Author on Wear and Cheer - Fashion, Lifestyle, Cooking and Celebrities - Visit Now wearandcheer.com/time-start-getting-fiber-diet/
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Just about every rocky shoreline in the Galapagos Islands is home to the marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), the only sea-going lizard in the world. The marine iguana is an extraordinary animal that lives on land but feeds in the sea, grazing on a variety of seaweed – on exposed rocks, in subtidal areas, or by diving deeper into the cold seawater. This habit, totally unique in iguanas and in fact all lizard species of the world, provides them with an abundant food source. However, they cannot withstand the cold temperatures of the sea for too long and must pull out on land to warm up.Marine iguanas also mate and nest on land. While they have few predators in the sea, on land, young iguanas fall prey to hawks, herons, and other birds. Predation by introduced cats has had a major impact on many populations. Found throughout the islands, concentrations of up to 4,500 individuals per mile are not uncommon in some areas. The total population has been estimated at between 200,000 and 300,000.
The short, blunt nose is well-adapted to feeding on algae growing on rocks. The flattened tail is perfect for swimming, propelling the iguana through the water while its legs hang useless at its sides. Iguanas rid themselves of excess salt, consumed along with the algae, by a special gland connected to their nostrils. Marine iguanas are an excellent example of a species well-adapted and continuing to adapt to their environment. While marine iguanas feed mainly on algae, they have also been known to consume crustaceans and grasshoppers. On one or two islands, a small percentage of marine iguanas have been observed feeding on terrestrial vegetation, perhaps an adaptation to the near complete absence of nutritional sea algae during strong El Niño events.
When marine iguanas go hungry, they don’t just become thinner, they get shorter too. A scientist recently found that in times of El Niño-induced famine, the marine iguanas will shrink in length and then regrow as food becomes plentiful again. This finding, reported in the scientific journal Nature, is the first of a shrinking adult vertebrate. The adult iguanas can switch between growth and shrinkage repeatedly throughout their lifetime – a perfect adaptation to the boom and bust cycles in Galapagos associated with El Niño. The researchers postulate that bone absorption accounts for much of the reduction, with iguanas literally digesting part of their bones to survive.
Marine iguanas show their color as they mature – the young are black, while adults range from red and black, to black, green, red and grey, depending on the island, with Española marine iguanas being the most colorful of all, and earning them the nickname “Christmas Iguanas.” Marine iguanas become more colorful in the breeding season, at which time males defend territories on land where they mate with the females, who then lay their eggs in burrows. Marine iguanas lay 2 to 3 large eggs, which hatch between 2 ½ and 4 months later. Marine iguanas are known to live up to 60 years.
May 2012
The Netherlands
Candid shots in and around the Public Transport in The Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
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Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park.
The deep blue color of the water in the center of the pool results from the water's selective absorption of red wavelengths of visible light.
Title: John Sanders performing AA5 (sic) (Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer) sample analysis, Varian Techtron, 679 Springvale Road, Mulgrave
Author / Creator: Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007 photographer.
Date: 1968
Varian Techtron was the result of a merger between the Australian company Techtron and the American firm Varian Associates in 1967. The Springvale Road site (then in Springvale North, but now in Mulgrave) was established by Techtron and is still in use, but now as Agilent Technologies (which acquired Varian in 2009). Techtron Appliances was established in 1938 and it and its successor companies have produced a variety of electronic and analytic equipment for industry and scientific research, notably including Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometers (AAS) to CSIRO specifications.
See locale on Google Maps.
Subjects:
Sanders, John.
Varian Techtron.
Atomic absorption spectroscopy Instruments.
Laboratory technicians.
Gelatin silver prints.
Index terms:
Australia; Victoria; Wolfgang Sievers; Varian Techtron; Mulgrave; Atomic absorption spectroscopy; John Sanders
Notes: Job number inscribed in pencil on reverse of image: 4014 F
Vintage print with the photographer's studio stamp on reverse.
Title taken from information supplied by Varian Australia, courtesy of the photographer.
Printed by Wolfgang Sievers at an unknown date from his negative made in 1968.
Copyright status: This work is in copyright
Conditions of use: Copyright restrictions apply.
For Copyright queries, please contact the National Library of Australia.
Source: SLV
Identifier(s): Accession no: H2000.195/224
Source / Donor
Purchased 2000.
Series / Collection: Wolfgang Sievers collection.
Link to online item:
handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/308718
Link to this record:
search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1fe7t3h/SLV_ROSETTAIE18...
search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1fe7t3h/SLV_VOYAGER1757329
The Sun in smoke from Washington State forest fires obscuring skies in southern Alberta, August 25, 2015. The Sun was dim enough to observe naked eye and throigh binoculars at times. A large sunspot group, #AR2403, was just visible naked eye.
This is a compopsite two exposures taken with no filter: a short exposire (for the Sun disk to show the sunspot) and a longer exposure (for the sky), both taken through a 200mm telephoto lens with 1.4x extender on the Canon 60Da, to replicate the view through binoculars.
The ploughing here was done a part of a ploughing match at Woodmancott in 1983.
Ploughing prepares land for crop-growing. In each pass across a field, the plough cuts out a slice of earth and turns it over.
This has the effect of burying weeds, aerating the soil and easing the absorption of surface moisture. After a period of weathering, which helps to break down heavy clods into a more crumbly texture, the land can be harrowed to produce an even seed bed. Essential features of the plough have remained the same since medieval times: a horizontal beam to which is attached a ploughshare and knife coulter to cut the furrow slice, and a mouldboard to turn it over. Improvements in design and efficiency evolved over the centuries but quickened in pace from the Victorian period. Regional variations in the type of plough used were once very marked, but gradually faded in the later nineteenth century as manufacture became concentrated upon fewer large firms rather than local craftsmen. As horses were replaced by tractors with specially designed implements, the process of ploughing has progressively speeded up so that it can now be completed much more quickly and with fewer people.
Ploughs are traditionally drawn by working animals such as horses or cattle, but in modern times may be drawn by tractors. A plough may be made of wood, iron, or steel. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture.
Ploughs were initially human powered, but the process became considerably more efficient once animals were pressed into service. The first animal powered ploughs were undoubtedly pulled by oxen, and later in many areas by horses (generally draught horses) and mules, although various other animals have been used for this purpose. In industrialised countries, the first mechanical means of pulling a plough were steam-powered (ploughing engines or steam tractors), but these were gradually superseded by internal-combustion-powered tractors.
Draught horses or dray horses (from the Old English dragan meaning to draw or haul), less often called a work horses or heavy horses, are a large horse bred for hard heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labor. There are a number of breeds, with varying characteristics but all share common traits of strength, patience, and a docile temperament which made them indispensable to generations of pre-industrial farmers.
Draft horses and draft crossbreds are versatile breeds used today for a multitude of purposes, including farming, draft horse showing, logging, recreation, and other uses. They are also commonly used for crossbreeding, especially to light riding breeds such as the Thoroughbred for the purpose of creating sport horses. While most draft horses are used for driving, they can be ridden and some of the lighter draft breeds are capable performers under saddle.
These Shire horses are a breed that comes in many colours, including black, bay and grey. They are a tall breed, with mares standing 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm) and over and stallions standing 17 hands (68 inches, 173 cm) and over. The breed has an enormous capacity for weight pulling, and Shires have held the world records for both largest overall horse and tallest horse at various times. Throughout its history, the breed has been popular for pulling brewery wagons delivering ale to customers. This practice continues today, with the breed also being used for forestry, leisure and promotional pursuits.
In 1878, the British organization now known as the Shire Horse Society was created, with the American Shire Horse Association beginning in 1885. The breed was exported from Britain to the United States in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but popularity fell as mechanisation increased, reaching a low point in the 1950s and 60s. Popularity began to increase again in the 1970s and after. However, population numbers are still considered to be at critical levels by both the UK-based Rare Breeds Survival Trust and the US-based American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
Horse power was still widespread on UK farms at the start of World War 2
www.reading.ac.uk/merl/interface/advanced/farming/impleme...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_horse
Diergaarde Blijdorp (Zoo)
June 2012
The Netherlands
Urban life in the Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
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Taipei
Taiwan
2013
Candid shots in and around Public Transport
Nikon D7100 + 35mm 1.8
Latest blogpost: thecovertphotographer.wordpress.com/2013/09/01/up-close-a...
Immense and ancient Ceiba tree shows how little we really are.
"The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir
Scheveningen/The Hague
March 2012
My girl and her brother at the beach on the first really sunny spring-day of this year
Beachlife in and around Scheveningen
Ricoh GRD IV
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Sanlitun, Beijing
July 2012
China
The Village in the Sanlitun district is Beijing's capitalistic shrine, a temple for the young, the rich and the affluent. It houses most modern western brands and even features an Apple store, A Starbucks and of course a Mac-D. I don't know whether to love or hate it, its certainly an interesting place to walk around and a great place for photography
Urban life
Ricoh GRD IV
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Many spiritual traditions speak of moments of disorientation close to enlightenment. The Sufi’s call it bewilderment. There is also the risky absorption of passion so as to understand its every nuance, as is practiced in Tantric traditions. Apparent setbacks must come close to the summit because they would simply dislodge a quester if they struck any earlier. They are particularly associated with paths that follow erotic love. It is a powerful way of aligning with the divine. It is tremendous but tricky. If the possessive element of eros has left Dante, he is still learning to let love carry him forward, prior to the juncture when it can be born within him, as it was in Mary at the hour of the Incarnation…
… Dante retreats within himself. He returns to his center. Love addresses him in various ways he remarks. As he reflects on his experience again, he sees how love can strike boldly, as it did when he first saw Beatrice, or with nuance, as it does more commonly, drawing the individual toward what is beautiful and good. Love is always calling in the soul, Dante continues, referring to love as the Alpha and Omega. But however it calls, the calling must be understood to be followed.
-Mark Vernon, Dante’s Divine Comedy, A guide for the spiritual journey
/*******
On an August evening…it is dark outside and the sun has set. What a spectacle I must be to the neighbors;) I am spinning with the iPhone of my hand;) This is the result! I am amazed at the depth and the mystery! An abstract photograph from a strange neighbor…
-rc
Beijing
July 2012
China
Urban life
Canon 550D
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Had a pair of broadband diffuser/absorption acoustic panels built. Combined with a set of heavy, lined velvet curtains to cover the big glass doors out to the deck, the improvement in room sonics is incredible.
June 2012
The Netherlands
Candid shots in and around the Public Transport in The Netherlands
Ricoh GRD IV
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The Space Shuttle program, operated by NASA from 1981 to 2011, was a groundbreaking human spaceflight program that utilized various components, including the Space Shuttle Orbiter, the Space Shuttle External Tank (ET), and the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). In this response, we will focus on the Space Shuttle External Tank and Booster Rockets, discussing their design, purpose, and key aspects. Please note that the following information is based on the program up until 2000, as specified in your request.
Space Shuttle External Tank (ET):
The Space Shuttle External Tank played a crucial role in the Space Shuttle launch system. It was the largest component of the Space Shuttle stack and provided the primary propellant for the Orbiter's main engines. Here are some key points about the External Tank:
Design and Structure:
The External Tank had a cylindrical shape and consisted of three major components: the forward liquid oxygen (LOX) tank, the aft liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank, and a connecting intertank structure.
The LOX tank, located at the forward end, contained approximately 1.4 million liters (380,000 gallons) of liquid oxygen.
The LH2 tank, positioned at the aft end, held around 1.9 million liters (526,000 gallons) of liquid hydrogen.
The intertank structure connected the LOX and LH2 tanks and housed various components, including avionics, electrical wiring, and feedlines.
The tanks were constructed using lightweight materials, such as aluminum alloys, to reduce the overall weight of the External Tank.
Function:
The primary function of the External Tank was to supply propellant to the Space Shuttle's three main engines.
The LOX and LH2 stored in the External Tank were funneled through feedlines and supplied to the Orbiter's engines at an optimal mix ratio for combustion.
As the propellant was consumed, the tank's structure progressively lightened, reducing its mass and enabling more efficient ascent to orbit.
Unlike the Solid Rocket Boosters, the External Tank was not reusable and was jettisoned after its propellant was depleted.
Thermal Protection:
The External Tank experienced extreme temperature variations during launch and reentry, requiring robust thermal protection measures.
The LOX tank was covered with sprayed-on foam insulation to prevent excessive heat absorption from the environment and maintain the propellant's low temperature.
The LH2 tank, due to its extremely low temperature, did not require extensive insulation but instead relied on a combination of passive and active cooling techniques.
Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs):
The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters were two large, reusable rocket motors attached to the sides of the External Tank. Here's some information about the SRBs:
Design and Structure:
Each Solid Rocket Booster was approximately 45 meters (149 feet) long and 3.7 meters (12.2 feet) in diameter.
The boosters were composed of several cylindrical segments, including the forward skirt, motor segments, aft skirt, and nozzle.
The motor segments contained solid propellant, which provided the necessary thrust during the Shuttle's initial ascent phase.
The nozzles at the aft end directed the exhaust gases generated by the propellant combustion.
Function:
The Solid Rocket Boosters were responsible for providing the majority of the thrust required for the Space Shuttle to break free from Earth's gravity.
They ignited prior to liftoff and remained active for approximately two minutes, during which they consumed their solid propellant.
The boosters worked in conjunction with the Orbiter's main engines to propel the entire Space Shuttle stack off the launch pad and into space.
Following burnout, the SRBs were jettisoned and subsequently recovered from the ocean, refurbished, and prepared for future missions.
Parachute Recovery:
After separation, the SRBs were equipped with parachutes to facilitate their controlled descent and landing in the ocean.
A combination of drogue chutes and main parachutes slowed the descent and ensured a gentle impact with the water.
Recovery ships positioned in the retrieval area would retrieve the boosters, tow them back to land, and prepare them for refurbishment and reuse.
Reusability and Refurbishment:
The Solid Rocket Boosters were designed to be reusable, offering cost savings for the Space Shuttle program.
After recovery, the boosters underwent an extensive refurbishment process, including disassembly, cleaning, inspection, replacement of worn or damaged components, and propellant reload.
This refurbishment process allowed each SRB to be flown multiple times, reducing overall launch costs.
In summary, the Space Shuttle External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters were integral components of the Space Shuttle system. The External Tank provided the necessary propellants for the Orbiter's main engines, while the Solid Rocket Boosters generated the majority of the thrust during the initial ascent phase. The External Tank was not reusable and was jettisoned after use, while the SRBs were recovered, refurbished, and reused for subsequent missions. These components worked together to propel the Space Shuttle into orbit, advancing human space exploration and scientific endeavors.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources and operate facilities on each other's property.
Though the first Apollo flights and all Project Mercury and Project Gemini flights took off from the then-Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the launches were managed by KSC and its previous organization, the Launch Operations Directorate. Starting with the fourth Gemini mission, the NASA launch control center in Florida (Mercury Control Center, later the Launch Control Center) began handing off control of the vehicle to the Mission Control Center in Houston, shortly after liftoff; in prior missions it held control throughout the entire mission.
Additionally, the center manages launch of robotic and commercial crew missions and researches food production and in-situ resource utilization for off-Earth exploration. Since 2010, the center has worked to become a multi-user spaceport through industry partnerships, even adding a new launch pad (LC-39C) in 2015.
There are about 700 facilities and buildings grouped throughout the center's 144,000 acres (580 km2). Among the unique facilities at KSC are the 525-foot (160 m) tall Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking NASA's largest rockets, the Launch Control Center, which conducts space launches at KSC, the Operations and Checkout Building, which houses the astronauts dormitories and suit-up area, a Space Station factory, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) long Shuttle Landing Facility. There is also a Visitor Complex on site that is open to the public.
Since 1949, the military had been performing launch operations at what would become Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In December 1959, the Department of Defense transferred 5,000 personnel and the Missile Firing Laboratory to NASA to become the Launch Operations Directorate under NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
President John F. Kennedy's 1961 goal of a crewed lunar landing by 1970 required an expansion of launch operations. On July 1, 1962, the Launch Operations Directorate was separated from MSFC to become the Launch Operations Center (LOC). Also, Cape Canaveral was inadequate to host the new launch facility design required for the mammoth 363-foot (111 m) tall, 7,500,000-pound-force (33,000 kN) thrust Saturn V rocket, which would be assembled vertically in a large hangar and transported on a mobile platform to one of several launch pads. Therefore, the decision was made to build a new LOC site located adjacent to Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island.
NASA began land acquisition in 1962, buying title to 131 square miles (340 km2) and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km2). The major buildings in KSC's Industrial Area were designed by architect Charles Luckman. Construction began in November 1962, and Kennedy visited the site twice in 1962, and again just a week before his assassination on November 22, 1963.
On November 29, 1963, the facility was named by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11129. Johnson's order joined both the civilian LOC and the military Cape Canaveral station ("the facilities of Station No. 1 of the Atlantic Missile Range") under the designation "John F. Kennedy Space Center", spawning some confusion joining the two in the public mind. NASA Administrator James E. Webb clarified this by issuing a directive stating the Kennedy Space Center name applied only to the LOC, while the Air Force issued a general order renaming the military launch site Cape Kennedy Air Force Station.
Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly six miles (9.7 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km2). KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
From 1967 through 1973, there were 13 Saturn V launches, including the ten remaining Apollo missions after Apollo 7. The first of two uncrewed flights, Apollo 4 (Apollo-Saturn 501) on November 9, 1967, was also the first rocket launch from KSC. The Saturn V's first crewed launch on December 21, 1968, was Apollo 8's lunar orbiting mission. The next two missions tested the Lunar Module: Apollo 9 (Earth orbit) and Apollo 10 (lunar orbit). Apollo 11, launched from Pad A on July 16, 1969, made the first Moon landing on July 20. The Apollo 11 launch included crewmembers Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, and attracted a record-breaking 650 million television viewers. Apollo 12 followed four months later. From 1970 to 1972, the Apollo program concluded at KSC with the launches of missions 13 through 17.
On May 14, 1973, the last Saturn V launch put the Skylab space station in orbit from Pad 39A. By this time, the Cape Kennedy pads 34 and 37 used for the Saturn IB were decommissioned, so Pad 39B was modified to accommodate the Saturn IB, and used to launch three crewed missions to Skylab that year, as well as the final Apollo spacecraft for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project in 1975.
As the Space Shuttle was being designed, NASA received proposals for building alternative launch-and-landing sites at locations other than KSC, which demanded study. KSC had important advantages, including its existing facilities; location on the Intracoastal Waterway; and its southern latitude, which gives a velocity advantage to missions launched in easterly near-equatorial orbits. Disadvantages included: its inability to safely launch military missions into polar orbit, since spent boosters would be likely to fall on the Carolinas or Cuba; corrosion from the salt air; and frequent cloudy or stormy weather. Although building a new site at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico was seriously considered, NASA announced its decision in April 1972 to use KSC for the shuttle. Since the Shuttle could not be landed automatically or by remote control, the launch of Columbia on April 12, 1981 for its first orbital mission STS-1, was NASA's first crewed launch of a vehicle that had not been tested in prior uncrewed launches.
In 1976, the VAB's south parking area was the site of Third Century America, a science and technology display commemorating the U.S. Bicentennial. Concurrent with this event, the U.S. flag was painted on the south side of the VAB. During the late 1970s, LC-39 was reconfigured to support the Space Shuttle. Two Orbiter Processing Facilities were built near the VAB as hangars with a third added in the 1980s.
KSC's 2.9-mile (4.7 km) Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) was the orbiters' primary end-of-mission landing site, although the first KSC landing did not take place until the tenth flight, when Challenger completed STS-41-B on February 11, 1984; the primary landing site until then was Edwards Air Force Base in California, subsequently used as a backup landing site. The SLF also provided a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) abort option, which was not utilized. The SLF is among the longest runways in the world.
On October 28, 2009, the Ares I-X launch from Pad 39B was the first uncrewed launch from KSC since the Skylab workshop in 1973.
Beginning in 1958, NASA and military worked side by side on robotic mission launches (previously referred to as unmanned), cooperating as they broke ground in the field. In the early 1960s, NASA had as many as two robotic mission launches a month. The frequent number of flights allowed for quick evolution of the vehicles, as engineers gathered data, learned from anomalies and implemented upgrades. In 1963, with the intent of KSC ELV work focusing on the ground support equipment and facilities, a separate Atlas/Centaur organization was formed under NASA's Lewis Center (now Glenn Research Center (GRC)), taking that responsibility from the Launch Operations Center (aka KSC).
Though almost all robotics missions launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), KSC "oversaw the final assembly and testing of rockets as they arrived at the Cape." In 1965, KSC's Unmanned Launch Operations directorate became responsible for all NASA uncrewed launch operations, including those at Vandenberg Space Force Base. From the 1950s to 1978, KSC chose the rocket and payload processing facilities for all robotic missions launching in the U.S., overseeing their near launch processing and checkout. In addition to government missions, KSC performed this service for commercial and foreign missions also, though non-U.S. government entities provided reimbursement. NASA also funded Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launch pad maintenance and launch vehicle improvements.
All this changed with the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984, after which NASA only coordinated its own and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ELV launches. Companies were able to "operate their own launch vehicles" and utilize NASA's launch facilities. Payload processing handled by private firms also started to occur outside of KSC. Reagan's 1988 space policy furthered the movement of this work from KSC to commercial companies. That same year, launch complexes on Cape Canaveral Air Force Force Station started transferring from NASA to Air Force Space Command management.
In the 1990s, though KSC was not performing the hands-on ELV work, engineers still maintained an understanding of ELVs and had contracts allowing them insight into the vehicles so they could provide knowledgeable oversight. KSC also worked on ELV research and analysis and the contractors were able to utilize KSC personnel as a resource for technical issues. KSC, with the payload and launch vehicle industries, developed advances in automation of the ELV launch and ground operations to enable competitiveness of U.S. rockets against the global market.
In 1998, the Launch Services Program (LSP) formed at KSC, pulling together programs (and personnel) that already existed at KSC, GRC, Goddard Space Flight Center, and more to manage the launch of NASA and NOAA robotic missions. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and VAFB are the primary launch sites for LSP missions, though other sites are occasionally used. LSP payloads such as the Mars Science Laboratory have been processed at KSC before being transferred to a launch pad on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
On 16 November 2022, at 06:47:44 UTC the Space Launch System (SLS) was launched from Complex 39B as part of the Artemis 1 mission.
As the International Space Station modules design began in the early 1990s, KSC began to work with other NASA centers and international partners to prepare for processing before launch onboard the Space Shuttles. KSC utilized its hands-on experience processing the 22 Spacelab missions in the Operations and Checkout Building to gather expectations of ISS processing. These experiences were incorporated into the design of the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), which began construction in 1991. The Space Station Directorate formed in 1996. KSC personnel were embedded at station module factories for insight into their processes.
From 1997 to 2007, KSC planned and performed on the ground integration tests and checkouts of station modules: three Multi-Element Integration Testing (MEIT) sessions and the Integration Systems Test (IST). Numerous issues were found and corrected that would have been difficult to nearly impossible to do on-orbit.
Today KSC continues to process ISS payloads from across the world before launch along with developing its experiments for on orbit. The proposed Lunar Gateway would be manufactured and processed at the Space Station Processing Facility.
The following are current programs and initiatives at Kennedy Space Center:
Commercial Crew Program
Exploration Ground Systems Program
NASA is currently designing the next heavy launch vehicle known as the Space Launch System (SLS) for continuation of human spaceflight.
On December 5, 2014, NASA launched the first uncrewed flight test of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), currently under development to facilitate human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Launch Services Program
Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa)
Research and Technology
Artemis program
Lunar Gateway
International Space Station Payloads
Camp KSC: educational camps for schoolchildren in spring and summer, with a focus on space, aviation and robotics.
The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the center's support facilities are located, is 5 miles (8 km) south of LC-39. It includes the Headquarters Building, the Operations and Checkout Building and the Central Instrumentation Facility. The astronaut crew quarters are in the O&C; before it was completed, the astronaut crew quarters were located in Hangar S at the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex (now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station). Located at KSC was the Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station (MILA), a key radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex.
Facilities at the Kennedy Space Center are directly related to its mission to launch and recover missions. Facilities are available to prepare and maintain spacecraft and payloads for flight. The Headquarters (HQ) Building houses offices for the Center Director, library, film and photo archives, a print shop and security. When the KSC Library first opened, it was part of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. However, in 1965, the library moved into three separate sections in the newly opened NASA headquarters before eventually becoming a single unit in 1970. The library contains over four million items related to the history and the work at Kennedy. As one of ten NASA center libraries in the country, their collection focuses on engineering, science, and technology. The archives contain planning documents, film reels, and original photographs covering the history of KSC. The library is not open to the public but is available for KSC, Space Force, and Navy employees who work on site. Many of the media items from the collection are digitized and available through NASA's KSC Media Gallery Archived December 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine or through their more up-to-date Flickr gallery.
A new Headquarters Building was completed in 2019 as part of the Central Campus consolidation. Groundbreaking began in 2014.
The center operated its own 17-mile (27 km) short-line railroad. This operation was discontinued in 2015, with the sale of its final two locomotives. A third had already been donated to a museum. The line was costing $1.3 million annually to maintain.
The Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (O&C) (previously known as the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building) is a historic site on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places dating back to the 1960s and was used to receive, process, and integrate payloads for the Gemini and Apollo programs, the Skylab program in the 1970s, and for initial segments of the International Space Station through the 1990s. The Apollo and Space Shuttle astronauts would board the astronaut transfer van to launch complex 39 from the O&C building.
The three-story, 457,000-square-foot (42,500 m2) Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) consists of two enormous processing bays, an airlock, operational control rooms, laboratories, logistics areas and office space for support of non-hazardous Space Station and Shuttle payloads to ISO 14644-1 class 5 standards. Opened in 1994, it is the largest factory building in the KSC industrial area.
The Vertical Processing Facility (VPF) features a 71-by-38-foot (22 by 12 m) door where payloads that are processed in the vertical position are brought in and manipulated with two overhead cranes and a hoist capable of lifting up to 35 short tons (32 t).
The Hypergolic Maintenance and Checkout Area (HMCA) comprises three buildings that are isolated from the rest of the industrial area because of the hazardous materials handled there. Hypergolic-fueled modules that made up the Space Shuttle Orbiter's reaction control system, orbital maneuvering system and auxiliary power units were stored and serviced in the HMCF.
The Multi-Payload Processing Facility is a 19,647 square feet (1,825.3 m2) building used for Orion spacecraft and payload processing.
The Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) contains a 70-by-110-foot (21 by 34 m) service bay, with a 100,000-pound (45,000 kg), 85-foot (26 m) hook height. It also contains a 58-by-80-foot (18 by 24 m) payload airlock. Its temperature is maintained at 70 °F (21 °C).[55]
The Blue Origin rocket manufacturing facility is located immediately south of the KSC visitor complex. Completed in 2019, it serves as the company's factory for the manufacture of New Glenn orbital rockets.
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) was originally built for the Saturn V, the largest and most powerful operational launch vehicle until the Space Launch System, for the Apollo crewed Moon landing program. Since the end of the Apollo program in 1972, LC-39 has been used to launch every NASA human space flight, including Skylab (1973), the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (1975), and the Space Shuttle program (1981–2011).
Since December 1968, all launch operations have been conducted from launch pads A and B at LC-39. Both pads are on the ocean, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the VAB. From 1969 to 1972, LC-39 was the "Moonport" for all six Apollo crewed Moon landing missions using the Saturn V, and was used from 1981 to 2011 for all Space Shuttle launches.
Human missions to the Moon required the large three-stage Saturn V rocket, which was 363 feet (111 meters) tall and 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter. At KSC, Launch Complex 39 was built on Merritt Island to accommodate the new rocket. Construction of the $800 million project began in November 1962. LC-39 pads A and B were completed by October 1965 (planned Pads C, D and E were canceled), the VAB was completed in June 1965, and the infrastructure by late 1966.
The complex includes: the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a 130,000,000 cubic feet (3,700,000 m3) hangar capable of holding four Saturn Vs. The VAB was the largest structure in the world by volume when completed in 1965.
a transporter capable of carrying 5,440 tons along a crawlerway to either of two launch pads;
a 446-foot (136 m) mobile service structure, with three Mobile Launcher Platforms, each containing a fixed launch umbilical tower;
the Launch Control Center; and
a news media facility.
Launch Complex 48 (LC-48) is a multi-user launch site under construction for small launchers and spacecraft. It will be located between Launch Complex 39A and Space Launch Complex 41, with LC-39A to the north and SLC-41 to the south. LC-48 will be constructed as a "clean pad" to support multiple launch systems with differing propellant needs. While initially only planned to have a single pad, the complex is capable of being expanded to two at a later date.
As a part of promoting commercial space industry growth in the area and the overall center as a multi-user spaceport, KSC leases some of its properties. Here are some major examples:
Exploration Park to multiple users (partnership with Space Florida)
Shuttle Landing Facility to Space Florida (who contracts use to private companies)
Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)-3 to Boeing (for CST-100 Starliner)
Launch Complex 39A, Launch Control Center Firing Room 4 and land for SpaceX's Roberts Road facility (Hanger X) to SpaceX
O&C High Bay to Lockheed Martin (for Orion processing)
Land for FPL's Space Coast Next Generation Solar Energy Center to Florida Power and Light (FPL)
Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF) to United Paradyne Corporation (UPC)
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North since 1995, has a variety of exhibits, artifacts, displays and attractions on the history and future of human and robotic spaceflight. Bus tours of KSC originate from here. The complex also includes the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center, north of the VAB and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, six miles west near Titusville. There were 1.5 million visitors in 2009. It had some 700 employees.
It was announced on May 29, 2015, that the Astronaut Hall of Fame exhibit would be moved from its current location to another location within the Visitor Complex to make room for an upcoming high-tech attraction entitled "Heroes and Legends". The attraction, designed by Orlando-based design firm Falcon's Treehouse, opened November 11, 2016.
In March 2016, the visitor center unveiled the new location of the iconic countdown clock at the complex's entrance; previously, the clock was located with a flagpole at the press site. The clock was originally built and installed in 1969 and listed with the flagpole in the National Register of Historic Places in January 2000. In 2019, NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program, and the launch of Apollo 10 on May 18. In summer of 2019, Lunar Module 9 (LM-9) was relocated to the Apollo/Saturn V Center as part of an initiative to rededicate the center and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program.
Historic locations
NASA lists the following Historic Districts at KSC; each district has multiple associated facilities:
Launch Complex 39: Pad A Historic District
Launch Complex 39: Pad B Historic District
Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) Area Historic District
Orbiter Processing Historic District
Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Disassembly and Refurbishment Complex Historic District
NASA KSC Railroad System Historic District
NASA-owned Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Industrial Area Historic District
There are 24 historic properties outside of these historic districts, including the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Vehicle Assembly Building, Crawlerway, and Operations and Checkout Building.[71] KSC has one National Historic Landmark, 78 National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) listed or eligible sites, and 100 Archaeological Sites.
Further information: John F. Kennedy Space Center MPS
Other facilities
The Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) is responsible for the preparation of solid rocket booster segments for transportation to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The RPSF was built in 1984 to perform SRB operations that had previously been conducted in high bays 2 and 4 of the VAB at the beginning of the Space Shuttle program. It was used until the Space Shuttle's retirement, and will be used in the future by the Space Launch System[75] (SLS) and OmegA rockets.