Word: orbiters
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...size and power, are more equal than the others? And so Europe is split again. Earlier this year, during the run-up to the Iraq war, it was France and Germany (plus Belgium and Luxembourg) against most of the rest who refused to be drawn into the anti-American orbit organized by the two Continental powers. Now, the lineup is not identical, but similar. As France and Germany cracked their whip, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland and Spain refused to cower, voting against the suspension of the stability pact. Britain is keeping quiet, presumably enjoying a battle of sovereignties in which...
Logitech's QuickCam Orbit ($130), with its unblinking camera eye and ominous red LED, evokes the HAL 9000, though its quirky, jerky movements suggest the work of Jim Henson. The motorized webcam uses facial recognition to stay locked on your mug, even as you move side to side or up and down. It doesn't always get things right--busy backgrounds can confuse the Orbit, and it may stop following you if it spies something of greater interest. (Hint: Keep any giant Tiki-god statues out of sight.) While videoconferencing or taking pictures, you may find it more practical...
...what drink did this panel choose to celebrate the end of the tasting process? A long, cold beer, of course. You could send a case of that stuff into orbit and it would still hit the spot every time...
...string of disastrous explosions in the mid-1990s. The Shenzhou has flown only four times in unmanned trials, in contrast with the Mercury program, which NASA tested more than a dozen times before Alan Shepard became the first American in space in 1961. All four Shenzhou craft returned from orbit, but not all accomplished their missions. The Shenzhou II is widely believed to have suffered damage from a hard landing during a blizzard two years...
...goes well, China's scientists are expected to adapt aspects of the manned space program for military use. Rockets big enough to blast a life-support system to the moon, for instance, will also be able to throw heavier military satellites into orbit. And the increased maneuverability of rockets and satellites could someday help Chinese missiles penetrate America's planned missile-defense system. Indeed, the Pentagon warned in a report to Congress in July that "China's manned space efforts almost certainly will contribute to improved military space systems in the 2010-2020 time frame." China's space program...