Browsing: Science & Technology

A Brief History On October 21, 1978, the Australian pilot of a Cessna 182 (small single engine propeller airplane) disappeared, but not before he radioed to Melbourne air traffic control that he was being shadowed by “not an aircraft.” Digging Deeper The 20 year old pilot, Frederick Valentich, had 150 flying time under his belt, and was authorized to fly at night in clear conditions. Although strongly desiring a career in the Australian Air Force, he had been rejected on academic grounds and had failed key tests to start a career in commercial aviation. He was apparently a lackluster pilot,…

A Brief History On October 3 and 4 of 1993, US Army Special Forces known as Task Force Ranger fought Somali militia men in a frantic battle memorialized in the book (1999) and movie (2001) titled Black Hawk Down. Also known as the First Battle of Mogadishu (obviously more battles were fought there), this action resulted in 18 American soldiers killed and 73 wounded, as well as the death of a Malaysian and a Pakistani soldier allied with the US forces, and 9 of those allied soldiers wounded. This clash was the bloodiest battle US troops participated in since the…

A Brief History On September 27, 1956, US Air Force test pilot, Capt. Milburn Apt, flew into history when he piloted his Bell X-2 rocket powered experimental airplane to a speed of 2094 mph, the first man to fly at or over Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound). Digging Deeper Capt. Apt would not live to enjoy his record flight of Mach 3.2, as moments later the rocket plane tumbled out of control, causing Apt to eject. Ejection took place with the pilot inside his encapsulated cockpit, and it was necessary for the pilot to leave the capsule…

A Brief History On September 24, 1960, the naval world entered a new phase in history when the nuclear powered aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise (CVN- 65) was first launched.  The first aircraft carrier with nuclear power, the Big E sported 8 nuclear reactors heating steam in 4 turbine engines, putting out an astounding 280,000 horsepower. Digging Deeper The Enterprise had speed as all carriers must to facilitate aircraft launching and quickly getting to where they are needed, but the most remarkable feature of those mighty atomic engines was the fact that the ship could travel non-stop for 20 to 25…

A Brief History On September 22, 1979, a huge, unidentified double flash of light was seen by a US reconnaissance satellite near the Prince Edward Islands near Antarctica.  Known as the “Vela Incident” because of the satellite’s name, Vela Hotel, not much is publicly known about the incident, as the US government has kept much of the information secret. Digging Deeper The origin of the mysterious flash has been speculated to be a nuclear test kept secret from the rest of the world, perhaps by Israel and or South Africa, possibly a joint venture by those two nations.  Other explanations…