 |
| BBC Science |
"The dissolution of the Soviet Union was a process of systematic disintegration, which occurred in economy, social structure and political structure. It resulted in the abolition of the Soviet Federal Government ("the Union center") and independence of the USSR's republics on 26 December 1991. The process was caused by weakening of the Soviet government, which led to disintegration and took place from about 19 January 1990 to 31 December 1991. The process was characterized by many of the republics of the Soviet Union declaring their independence and being recognized as sovereign nation-states." (Wikipedia)
The Hollow Men by T.S. Elliot has appropriate verse, and sadly (I hope not prophetically), an appropriate ending:
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
Post 60s childhood drills of "duck-and-cover" and a stated strategy of "Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)," I still await the "peace dividend"...
*****
This time, a Soyuz-2 vehicle failed to put a communications satellite into orbit after lifting away from the country's Plesetsk spaceport.
Debris is said to have re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and crashed to the ground.
In August, a Soyuz failure on a mission to resupply the space station led to a six-week suspension of flights.
*****
Friday's failure now puts a major question mark against the next Soyuz launch, scheduled for 28 December (Wednesday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This flight is intended to put in orbit six satellites for the Globalstar satellite phone company.
And it will raise concern again among the partners on the International Space Station (ISS) that there may be systemic problems in the Russian launch sector.
Following the retirement of the American space shuttle in July, the Soyuz rocket is the only means of getting astronauts and cosmonauts to the ISS. August's failure saw manned flights stand down even longer than the six weeks for unmanned Soyuz rockets, and the hiatus put a severe strain on the operation of the space station.
Debris is said to have re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and crashed to the ground.
In August, a Soyuz failure on a mission to resupply the space station led to a six-week suspension of flights.
*****
Friday's failure now puts a major question mark against the next Soyuz launch, scheduled for 28 December (Wednesday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This flight is intended to put in orbit six satellites for the Globalstar satellite phone company.
And it will raise concern again among the partners on the International Space Station (ISS) that there may be systemic problems in the Russian launch sector.
Following the retirement of the American space shuttle in July, the Soyuz rocket is the only means of getting astronauts and cosmonauts to the ISS. August's failure saw manned flights stand down even longer than the six weeks for unmanned Soyuz rockets, and the hiatus put a severe strain on the operation of the space station.
BBC Science: Another Soyuz rocket launch fails
No comments:
Post a Comment