A Brief History On December 5, 2014, the American space agency, NASA, successfully launched an Orion space capsule with a Delta IV Heavy rocket supplying the lifting power. The unmanned Orion space capsule launched on this test flight is the first of America’s next generation of manned space vehicles. Digging Deeper The US has been without a manned space system of its own since the last of the Space Shuttles were retired in 2011. American astronauts have had to hitch rides with spacecraft from other countries in order to go to and from the International Space Station. The Orion, named…

A Brief History On December 4, 1619, 38 British settlers landed from the ship, Margaret (out of Bristol, England) along the North shore of the James River in Virginia in order to found a new town in the Virginia Colony called Berkeley Hundred. Digging Deeper Apparently oblivious to just how idiotic it is to arrive in North America in December instead of the Spring when crops could be planted and impending Winter would not threaten survival, these eager settlers were dropped off by the crew of the Margaret and by order of the Virginia Company of London (known by various…

A Brief History On December 3, 2005, Dick Rutan, record breaking aviator, became the first man to pilot a rocket powered airplane to deliver US Mail when he flew an XCOR Aerospace E-Z Rocket from Mojave, California to California City (both cities in the County of Kern). Digging Deeper Various forms of “email” have been around since the 1960’s, but when email joined forces with the Internet old fashioned paper letters became “snail mail.” Actually, the term snail mail was first used as far back as 1942 and numerous times since, usually as a derisive complaint about how long it…

A Brief History On December 2, 1988, Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, thus becoming the first ever female head of government of a modern Islamic country. Not only that, but she twice became Prime Minister, the first time from 1988-1990 and the second time around from 1993-1996. And to think, the United States still has never had a woman as President… Digging Deeper Bhutto was born into a political family in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1953. Her father served as Prime Minister in the 1970’s until he was ousted in a military coup in 1977.…

A Brief History On December 1, 1913, automaker and industrialist extraordinaire Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line to the world of manufacturing. This seemingly simple measure actually required careful thought and planning, with every aspect of the assembly line idealized for efficient production. This method of building cars allowed Ford to sell his product cheaply enough that it could be bought by the masses, resulting in half of all cars in the world being a Ford product by the 1920’s. Here we list 9 such monumental advancements in the world of industry, epic innovations that have made our modern…