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Newark Airport ‘s Ambitious Makeover Plan …

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The iPads offer “visual menus” as well as your up-to-date flight status
.

It’s about to get a lot more enjoyable to wait for a flight at Newark Liberty International Airport’sUnited Terminal.An ambitious new $120 million makeover plan of Terminal C by airport amenity manager OTG includes 55 new restaurants headed by celebrated chefs (see the list here), new retail spaces, and visual upgrades galore.

visualmenu

OTG

As part of the plan, OTG will be installing 6,000 new iPads so passengers can order from the fancy new menus.When passengers sit down at one the iPads, they scan their boarding pass or enter their United MileagePlus account number. The screen then shows updated flight information, which is always visible, even when the screen shifts to the food menus of the new restaurants.

Shopping is also possible from the iPads, and passengers can order travel amenities like ear buds or a neck pillow. Orders are expected to arrive at your seat in 15 minutes, and passengers can pay for both food and other items with either credit card or their MileagePlus award points.

For the tech obsessed, there will also be power outlets at every seat and over 10,000 in total.

Master architect David Rockwell’s Rockwell Group, which has designed everything from the Academy Awards to restaurants, was behind over half of the spaces in the new terminal. According to Fast Company, this includes the “beer garden” with an intricate metal roof and an Italian-style cafe area with huge columns.

NewarkAirport1

Rockwell Group

The first new restaurants will be open for business in summer of 2015, with the whole project completed in 2016.

“We didn’t really believe them when they said they wanted this,” Rockwell told Fast Company. “We did something that was kind of out there and they said ‘Well, we’d really like it to be incredible.’ That’s when I realized this is really about pushing the boundary of these airport spaces and making them [about] communalfood and art.”Renovations for the new restaurants have already started and existing restaurants will continue to close gradually so the spaces can be updated. The first new restaurants will be open for business in summer of 2015, with the whole project completed in 2016.

NewarkAirport2

Rockwell Group

Plenty of new seating will be offered throughout the terminal, with iPads for ordering food, drink, and items from your seat. There will also be 10,000 power outlets throughout the terminal.

SOURCE::::Dennis Green in http://www.businessinsider.in

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What is the Lake-Effect Snow ?

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Image Credit: pmarkham

 

What is lake-effect snow? If you live on the downwind side of a large lake, you’re probably all too familiar with this weather phenomenon. It happens when cold winter air moves over a relatively warm body of water. What you get are small-scale but intense snowstorms. A powerful lake-effect snow storm hit the Buffalo, New York area this week, and is continuing through Friday, November 21, 2014. See pictures and read more about the effects of the November 2014 lake-effect snow storm.

This article,  is  based on a 2011 interview with Tom Niziol, longtime meteorologist-in-charge of the National Weather Service in Buffalo, New York and who joined the Weather Channel in early 2012. He told EarthSky that accurate forecsting of lake-effect snow is a challenge cause:

[Lake-effect snow] occurs on such a small scale, almost on the scale of a summertime thunderstorm. One portion of a neighborhood or city might be under heavy snow, where a few miles away you may be under sunny skies.


Photo credit: Square Foot Staffing
He said Buffalo, New York on the eastern shore of Lake Erie, is notorious for its lake-effect snowstorms. Niziol said cold air moving in from Canada triggers the snowfall.

As that air moves across the warm water of the Great Lakes, heat and moisture from the lake rises up into that air mass. That moisture eventually condenses out into snowflakes. And when we get to the downwind shores, we end up with lake-effect snow.

Niziol said similar snowstorms happen around the globe. The coasts of the United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Korea, for example, get what’s called ocean-effect snow, from cold air moving across warm seas.

So at a whole range of latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, right around the globe, we see the same activity.

Niziol gave an earlier example of how dramatic lake effect snow can be.

In early December, 2010, in the western New York area around the city of Buffalo, one of these snow bands set up off Lake Erie. The band was about 8-10 miles wide. The northern portion of Buffalo had green grass throughout most of this event. The southern portion of Buffalo, however, only about 10-12 miles away, picked up 40 inches of snowfall.

He said that lake-effect snow can begin in early fall and continue throughout the winter months.

Early in the fall, we see the same type of activity – cold air moving across a warm body of water – but it’s actually warm enough that we see lake effect rainshowers occur. As we get into November to early December, the air is cold enough to turn that into snow.

But if the lake freezes over, it can bring a halt to these seasonal snowstorms.

Lake Erie is a very shallow lake. In January it develops a significant amount of ice cover. The ice cover acts as a cap, in a simple way, to limit the amount of heat and moisture that can come through that ice and then modify that air mass.

Niziol said that the most important thing for people who experience lake effect snow to know is how to be prepared for an unexpected snowstorm.

Be prepared for winter weather conditions. Have extra clothes in your car, make sure your cellphone is charged, have a shovel in the car, some water, granola bars, extra food as well. Because you never know when you leave the house, even if you have a forecast with you, what it will be like when you drive through one of these snow bands.

Lake-effect snow belts may include portions of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, northern and western portions of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, northern Indiana, northeastern Ohio, northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York state.

Bottom line: Lake-effect snow happens when cold winter air moves over a relatively warm body of water. What you get are small-scale but intense snowstorms.

SOURCE::::www.earthsky.org

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This 8 Year old Woos Cyber Experts…Meet Reuben Paul !!!

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US-based Reuben Paul speaking at the Ground Zero Summit in New Delhi. Photo: V Sudershan
The Hindu   ….US-based Reuben Paul speaking at the Ground Zero Summit in New Delhi. Photo: V Sudershan

He may not be old enough to open a Facebook account, but has a tip or two about how Internet users can protect their content from hackers. This and much more found mention in eight-year-old Reuben Paul’s keynote address on the second day of a summit on cyber security held here.

On Children’s Day, Reuben’s presentation also focussed on online threats faced by millions of children using the Internet across the world. He discussed various aspects like cyber bullying, exposure to undesirable content and falling prey to hacking.

The large audience, which listened to him with rapt attention, was not only exclusively adult but comprised renowned cyber experts and even policy-makers.

Most of them said that Reuben not only impressed them with his repository of knowledge but also his skills and style.

The audience were treated to a display of Reuben’s secondary skills – his deftness of Kung Fu, something he has been learning for a while.

Hailed as a prodigy, Reuben even serves as the CEO of a company that develops Apps which help children learn mathematics, science and, of course, cyber security.

It all began at the age of five, said father Mano Paul – an expert on cyber security himself who travels across the globe delivering lectures on the subject.

Mr. Paul, who hails from Tamil Nadu and was living in Orissa before migrating to the United States nearly a decade ago, said Reuben was drawn to computers instinctively and his sheer inquisitiveness had won him worldwide reputation.

His mother Sangeetha said his aptitude to learn doesn’t stop at computers and Kung Fu.

“He goes for swimming, gymnastics, piano and hockey lessons. He also plans to join cooking and basketball classes from next year,” she said.

So does it affect his grades? “He is an A-lister,” she said, adding that a balance between studies and other activities was maintained by going for one activity per day.

SOURCE:::: SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR in http://www.thehindu.com

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“Modi Shares Story Of Architect Walter Burley Griffin With Obama and Abbott…”

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Walter Burly Griffin passed away in 1937 and was buried in Lucknow.
Special ArrangementWalter Burly Griffin passed away in 1937 and was buried in Lucknow.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday shared with his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott and U.S. President Barack Obama the fascinating story of Walter Burley Griffin the well-known American architect who designed Australian capital Canberra and buried in Lucknow.

Griffin, who died on February 11, 1937 at the age of 61 years, was a landscape architect who hailed from the U.S. He is known for designing Canberra, Australia’s capital city and has been credited with the development of the L-shaped floor plan, the carport and an innovative use of reinforced concrete.

Influenced by the Chicago-based Prairie School, Griffin developed a unique modern style. He worked in partnership with his wife Marion Mahony Griffin.

Griffin came to India in 1935 to design a library for the Lucknow University. He stayed on to design several other buildings in Lucknow, including the headquarters of the famed daily, The Pioneer, for which he also regularly wrote. However, he passed away in 1937 before completing most of his assignments and was buried in Lucknow.

Rosetta’s Lander Philae Touches Down on Comet…

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Rosetta’s Lander Philae Touches Down on Comet

Early this morning, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft deployed its comet lander, “Philae.” At 11:03 a.m. EST, ESA confirmed that signals were received from Philae on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It is the first time in history that a spacecraft has landed on a comet. Rosetta is an international mission led by the ESA, with instruments provided by its member states, and additional support and instruments provided by NASA.
> LIVE: ESA’s Rosetta Coverage

 

SOURCE:::www.nasa.gov

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Favorite Spot Aboard the ISS !!!

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Cupola observatory module at the ISS is perhaps the favorite spot of every crewmember aboard the International Space Station, and it not only has the largest windows on the ISS but the largest windows ever installed on a spacecraft.

Commander Chris Hadfield, who has spent a total of 166 days in space, used these fantastic windows for the incredible 45,000 images he took in space.

It’s top, circular window, is the largest with a 31-inch diameter. But all of the windows are big enough to identify from the outside which astronauts are in the module.

And crew members take advantage of the fact by photographing each other while peering out, as their crewmates are on a spacewalk.

The size of the windows, although relatively large for space, give us a great perspective of just how small the Cupola module – and the rest of the ISS – really is.

Cupola, which is Italian for “dome,” is 4.9 feet tall and less than 10 feet in diameter. So, you can’t fit more than an astronaut or two inside at one time.

We found this fantastic image of European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst peaking out of Cupola showing just how cramped life on the ISS can be. It’s kind of adorable.

cupola iss gerst

Alexander Gerst

ESA Alexander Gerst inside the Cupola observatory module.

Here’s another shot of just his hand perhaps waving hello to the camera, “Titanic” style:

iss cupola

Alexander Gerst

Alexander Gerst’s hand in the Cupola module.

Gerst recently returned to Earth after spending over five months aboard the ISS.

While in space from May 28 through Nov. 9, Gerst performed over 50 experiments, which included a spacewalk to improve the ISS and installing ESA’s furnace that can suspend and cool molten metal in mid-air.

Gerst compiled an impressive collection of images during his space mission, which you can find here on Flickr.

international space station

Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

NASA astronaut Nicholas Patrick hanging on to Cupola.

SOURCE::::www.businessinsider.in

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” Who Invented the Elevator …” ?

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The history of the elevator, if you define it as a platform that can move people and objects up and down, is actually a rather long one. Rudimentary elevators are known to have been in use in ancient Rome as far back as 336 B.C., with the first reference of one built by the talented Archimedes.

elevator

These early elevators were open cars rather than enclosed ones, and consisted of a platform with hoists that would enable the car to move vertically. The hoists were typically worked manually, either by people or animals, though sometimes water wheels were used.  Romans continued to use these simple elevators for many years, usually to move water, building materials, or other heavy items from one place to another.

As for the dedicated passenger elevator, this was created in the 18th century, with one of the first used by King Louis XV in 1743. He had an elevator constructed at Versailles that would carry him from his apartments on the first floor to his mistress’ apartments on the second floor. This elevator wasn’t much more technologically advanced than those used in Rome. To make it work, men stationed in a chimney pulled on the ropes. They called it a “flying chair.”

It wasn’t until the 1800s that elevator technology really started to advance. For starters, elevators no longer needed to be worked manually. In 1823, two British architects—Burton and Hormer—built a steam-powered “ascending room” to take tourists up to a platform for a view of London. Several years later, their invention was expanded upon by architects Frost and Stutt who added a belt and counter-weight to the steam power.

Soon enough, hydraulic systems began to be created as well, using water pressure to raise and lower the elevator car. However, this wasn’t practical in some cases—pits had to be dug below the elevator shaft to enable the piston to pull back. The higher the elevator went, the deeper the pit had to be. Thus, this wasn’t a viable option for taller buildings in big cities.

So despite the hydraulic systems being somewhat safer than steam-powered/cabled elevators, the steam powered ones with cables and counterweights, stuck around. They had just one major drawback: the cables could snap, and sometimes did, which sent the elevator plummeting to the bottom of the shaft, killing passengers and damaging building materials or other items being transported. Needless to say, no one was jumping to get on these dangerous elevators and so passenger elevators up to this point were largely a novelty.

The man who solved the elevator safety problem, making skyscrapers possible, was Elisha Otis, who is generally known as the inventor of the modern elevator. In 1852, Otis came up with a design that had a safety “brake.” In the event that the cables broke, a wooden frame at the top of the elevator car would snap out and hit the walls of the shaft, stopping the elevator in its tracks.

Otis himself demonstrated the device, which he called a “safety hoist,” at the New York World’s Fair in 1854, when he went up in a make-shift elevator himself and had the ropes cut. Rather than plummeting to his death as the audience thought might happen, his safety hoist snapped out, catching the elevator within seconds. Needless to say, the crowd was impressed.

Otis went on to found his own elevator company, which installed the first public elevator in a New York building in 1874. The Otis Elevator Company is still known today as the world’s largest elevator manufacturer.

While the cable elevator design has remained, many additional improvements have been made, the most obvious of which is that elevators now run on electricity rather than steam power, a change that came about starting in the 1880s. The electric elevator was patented by Alexander Miles in 1887, though one had been built by the German inventor Werner von Siemens in 1880.

Otis’ safety hoist wasn’t the end of safety innovation, either. These days, it’s virtually impossible for an elevator to plummet and kill passengers. There are now multiple steel cables to hold the elevator’s weight, plus a number of different braking systems to stop an elevator from falling if the cables somehow snap. If, despite all these safety measures, the elevator does fall, there are shock absorbers at the bottom of the shaft, making it unlikely death will occur and reducing the possibility of serious injury.

SOURCE:::www.today i foundout.com

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Few Surprising Facts about the Fall of Berlin Wall …

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Nov. 9 marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the iconic barrier that completely enclosed East Berlin between 1961 and 1989 and symbolized the height of Cold War tensions.

West Berliners crowd in front of the Berlin Wall early

West Berliners crowd in front of the Berlin Wall Nov. 11, 1989, as they watch East German border guards demolish a section to open a crossing point. (Photo: Gerard Malie, AFP/Getty Images) 

 

Around the world, the international German community and others are marking the milestone with celebrations and shared memories. In Germany, artists have recreated the Wall with illuminated white balloons along the path that the structure once traced. The 8,000 balloons stretch more than nine miles across the city, according to the German embassy in London.

With the anniversary putting the Cold War fresh in most people’s minds, here are nine facts about the Berlin Wall that may be new to you:

• A mistake helped lead to the fall of the Wall. The flood of East Germans and West Germans to the Wall, which led to its ultimate collapse, came after East German Politburo member Guenther Schabowski on Nov. 9, 1989, mistakenly announced that East Germans would be allowed to cross into West Germany effective immediately, according to National Public Radio.

• What the world saw as the Berlin Wall was actually two concrete barriers with a 160-yard “death strip” in between that included watchtowers, trenches, runs for guard dogs, flood lights and trip-wire machine guns, according to History.com.

• Parts of the Wall are on display or in private safekeeping all over the world. One section of the Wall is in a men’s room of the Main Street Casino in Las Vegas, History.com reports. Urinals are mounted on the graffiti-covered segment, which is protected by glass. Another section is in the gardens of the Vatican. If you don’t feel like traveling to Italy or Vegas to see a part of the Wall, you can have your own little slice for as little as $10 on eBay. And you can consider that a steal; an 8,000-pound slab went for $23,500 at an Atlanta auction

• A mass exodus of East Germans into West Germany began almost 15 years before the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961. In fact, so many left that by the time the Wall went up, East Germany lost one-sixth of its population, according to the Berlin Wall Memorial website.

• The Wall and several U.S. presidents shared a relationship. President Kennedy visited in the summer of 1963, not long before his assassination that November. He said in a rousing speech that Berlin could help the world understand the divisions between the Communist and non-Communist world.

In 1987, Reagan challenged Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “Tear down this wall” during a June 1987 speech near the Wall.

When Clinton visited in 1994, he told the crowd of Berliners, “You have proved that no Wall can forever contain the mighty power of freedom.”

During President Obama’s June 2013 visit, he noted neither he nor German Chancellor Angela Merkel looked like their predecessors.

“The fact that we can stand here today, along the fault line where a city was divided, speaks to an eternal truth: No wall can stand against the yearning of justice, the yearnings for freedom, the yearnings for peace that burns in the human heart,” he said.

• The formal reunification of East and West Germany did not happen until Oct. 3, 1990, almost a year after the fall of the Wall, according to History.com.

• A July 1988 concert by Bruce Springsteen in East Berlin may have led to the growing sense of dissent in the walled city that contributed to the fall of the Wall, according to the CBC. “The Boss” told the crowd in German, “I’ve come to play rock ‘n’ roll for you in the hope that one day all the barriers will be torn down.”

Another in the U.S. music industry, conductor Leonard Bernstein, performed a series of concerts in venues on both sides of the barrier just weeks after the November 1989 fall of the Wall. Bernstein’s international orchestra included musicians from the four countries that had occupied Berlin after World War II: the United States, the former Soviet Union, France and England. Bernstein led Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and altered its final movement, “Ode to Joy,” to become “Ode to Freedom.”

• Some parts of the barrier became world famous. Checkpoint Charlie, formally known as Checkpoint C, was the nickname that Western Allies gave the best-known border crossing point between East and West Berlin.

Also, the Brandenburg Gate is an 18th-century arch that is built on the site of a former gate that marked the start of a road that led from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg. Because of its location, it was associated with the Berlin Wall for a time.

• The physical demolition of the Berlin Wall was not complete until 1992, according to the BBC.

SOURCE::::www.usatoday.com

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Virgin Galactic disaster: Survivor Pilot’s Version…

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THE pilot who miraculously survived the Virgin spaceship disaster has revealed how he was blasted from the wreckage of the disintegrating rocket ship and plummeted nearly ten miles back to Earth.

Having suffered serious injuries, the experienced test pilot only regained consciousness halfway into his fall but was composed enough to give a thumbs-up to colleagues in a passing aircraft to show he was alive.

Peter Siebold spoke for the first time about the tragedy that killed his close friend, copilot Mike Alsbury, revealing he blacked out as the craft broke up around him at 50,000ft but was saved by his emergency parachute.

Siebold, 43, a married father of two, said: “I must have lost consciousness at first. I can’t remember anything about what happened but I must have come to during the fall. I remember waving to the chase plane and giving them the thumbs-up to tell them I was OK. I know it’s a miracle I survived.”

Perished ... Mike Alsbury was a close friend and colleague of Peter Siebold.

Perished … Mike Alsbury was a close friend and colleague of Peter Siebold. Source: AP

Survivor ... Peter Siebold can’t remember much of what happened that day. 

Survivor … Peter Siebold can’t remember much of what happened that day.  Source: AP

The Mail on Sunday reported that despite his injuries, Siebold — who is yet to speak to crash investigators — returned home to his family on Monday, just three days after Sir Richard Branson’s SpaceShipTwo tore apart.

He gave his amazing account of survival to his father, Dr Klaus Siebold, who visited him yesterday at his modest ranch home in Tehachapi, California, on the edge of the Mojave Desert where the spaceship crashed.

CRASHING DOWN: Is this the end of Branson’s space dreams?

PILOT IDENTIFIED: Michael Alsbury named as the man who perished.

LONG ROAD AHEAD: Investigation may take a year

Dr Siebold, who is also a pilot, travelled to California from his home in Seattle to see his son. He said Peter was in good spirits despite suffering serious injuries, including a shattered shoulder.

Both pilots were strapped into standard pilot seats and wearing thin flight suits and emergency parachutes when SpaceShipTwo was released from its mothership WhiteKnightTwo shortly after 10am on October 31.

Explosion ... These three images show the space craft’s demise.

Explosion … These three images show the space craft’s demise. Source: AP

The craft’s rocket was ignited at 50,000ft (15.24km). The pilots, wearing oxygen masks, were pinned against their seats by gravitational forces as the craft accelerated at more than 1500km/h.

Then disaster occurred. Preliminary investigations suggest that the rocket ship’s folding wings — designed to slow it down and achieve safe speeds during landing — deployed early, causing the ship to break up due to the tremendous turbulence around the craft.

Alsbury was trapped in the cockpit but Siebold was thrown clear of the wreckage or somehow unbuckled his seatbelt. He then plunged towards Earth at speeds topping 193km/h. Witnesses reported seeing Siebold descending with part of the base of his seat still attached. It is likely that his oxygen mask, attached to a portable tank, remained in place. But at that altitude, the sudden decompression and extreme G-forces would have caused him to black out in seconds.

His emergency parachute deployed t about 20,000ft. It is not known if he pulled the cord or if it unfurled automatically. Both pilots were wearing parachutes calibrated to open automatically at a certain height in the event they became unconscious during an emergency.

Incredible ... Siebold has no idea how he managed to exit the space ship, given it has no

Incredible … Siebold has no idea how he managed to exit the space ship, given it has no ejection seat. Source: AFP

Dr Siebold, 79, explained: “He doesn’t know how he managed to exit SpaceShipTwo. They don’t have an ejection seat. They have a panel they take out and they have to crawl towards the hole and jump out. But the plane broke up suddenly. I’m sure he was unconscious because he could not have maintained consciousness at 50,000ft.

“He doesn’t remember anything from the actual crash. He came to during the descent. He must have woken up about halfway down. When he was on the way down the chase plane was circling him and he was waving and giving the thumbs-up to indicate he was all right while he was dangling from the parachute.

“He’s recovering at home. He broke the head of the humerus bone that sits in the right shoulder. He’s got a rib and lung contusion and there is an issue with his eyes because of the cold. It was around minus 60 degrees up there.

“It’s a medical miracle he survived considering the temperature, the lack of oxygen and the barotrauma [injury caused by a sudden change in pressure].”

The pilot’s horrified wife, Traci, and children 12-year-old Alexandra and Nick, nine, were standing with the family of Mike Alsbury as the tragedy unfolded.

The body of Alsbury, 39, was found still strapped into his seat on a desert road by construction workers. His parachute did not deploy. His wife Michelle said she had “lost the love of my life”.

Dr Siebold said: “Mike’s children and my grandchildren were all watching the flight so the emotional impact of that is tremendous.

Mike, second from right, was a friend and neighbour of Siebold.

Mike, second from right, was a friend and neighbour of Siebold. Source: Supplied

“Mike was a friend and neighbour. Their children are the same age and friends. Peter is asking himself whether he could have done more and why he got out and Mike didn’t? Traci is a strong woman. She’s drained but very much in charge.

“She’s protecting Peter and she’s holding up incredibly well most of the time. He’s on pain medication, which is making him tired and confused.” Dr Siebold, who split with Peter’s mother Barbara when his son was five, spoke proudly of teaching his son to fly: “Flying was the only thing Peter was ever really interested in. I flew privately — that was my recreation — so he grew up with it. It’s what we did together. We would go to the airport after school.”

At 16, Siebold studied aviation at California State University and landed a job with Scaled Composites — the company conducting last week’s test flight for Virgin Galactic — before he graduated.

“He worked as an engineer and pilot, starting from the bottom and working his way up,” Dr Siebold said proudly.

Siebold began working as a test pilot and engineer with Virgin Galactic at the start of its space program a decade ago.

“He told me straight away he was involved with Virgin Galactic,” his father continued. “Safety was a great concern but I had total confidence in his piloting skills.

“Peter would say, ‘These aeroplanes fly just beautifully.’ He was never worried about the safety aspect of it.”

Big sky dreaming ... Sir Richard Branson vowed to become an astronaut by the end of the y

Big sky dreaming … Sir Richard Branson vowed to become an astronaut by the end of the year. Source: AP

The October 31 flight was so routine that Dr Siebold had no idea his son was piloting the pioneering craft that day until his panicked daughter-in-law phoned.

“I picked up the phone oblivious to what had happened. I said, ‘Hi Traci, how are you?’ cheerful as usual and she said, ‘It’s serious. Peter had an accident. We don’t know exactly but it looks like he hurt his shoulder and he’s on his way to the hospital.’

“We were worried but the main thing was we knew he was alive.

“I hope he’s going to recover enough to be able to fly again. That’s his life. We’re focusing hour to hour rather than day to day.”

Yesterday, it was revealed that 24 passengers who have paid $A290,000 each for the chance to go into space — alongside celebrities including Angelina Jolie and Kate Winslet — have demanded their money back.

Virgin Galactic chief executive George Whitesides claimed it was unsurprising passengers had pulled out, adding: “I think what is relevant is that the vast majority have said, ‘Don’t give up, keep going, we’re with you’.”

Before the accident, billionaire Sir Richard Branson vowed he and son Sam would become astronauts by the end of this year and the first space tourist flights would begin next spring. But the Virgin Galactic project has been beset by years of delays and safety fears, including previous accidents with SpaceShipOne which necessitated a redesign of the ship’s engines and fuel.

The investigation into this month’s crash is now likely to delay any commercial flight for at least another year. But Branson has vowed to press ahead with the project, while acknowledging the risks taken by his test pilots. Last night, Mr Whitesides paid tribute to Siebold, saying: “It will be regarded as one of the most amazing test flight survival stories of all time.

SOURCE:::: Peter Sheridan IN NEWS.COM.AU

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