|
Winter Hawk
''Winter Hawk'' is a 1987 thriller (genre), thriller novel written by Craig Thomas (author), Craig Thomas. It is a novel set within a larger continuum linking many of Thomas's other books, including some characters last seen in ''Firefox Down'', itself a sequel to Thomas's ''Firefox (novel), Firefox''. Though the featured character is Mitchell Gant, the plot is composed of several running subplots surrounding the imminent launch of the Buran programme, Soviets' Space Shuttle and the planned signing of an historic arms reduction treaty between the United States of America and the Soviet Union. Plot summary The events of ''Winter Hawk'' transpire over a few days in which the Soviet Union will launch into Earth orbit the first in a series of space-based laser battle stations, the existence of which they have kept a closely guarded secret. The launch is meant to coincide with the signing of a new and apparently groundbreaking treaty dramatically reducing nuclear weapons to be kept b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Craig Thomas (author)
David Craig Owen Thomas (24 November 1942 – 4 April 2011) was a Welsh author of thrillers, most notably the Mitchell Gant and Kenneth Aubrey series of novels. Background Thomas was the son of the '' Western Mail'' rugby union writer JBG Thomas. He was educated at Cardiff High School. He graduated from University College, Cardiff in 1967, obtaining his M.A. after completing a thesis on Thomas Hardy. Thomas became an English teacher, working at Shire Oak Grammar School in Walsall Wood, where he was Head of the English Department, as well as King Edward VI Grammar School in Lichfield and other grammar schools in the West Midlands. Writing career After unsuccessfully trying script writing for radio, Thomas wrote part-time, with his wife as editor, in two fields: philosophical thoughts in books of essays; and techno-thrillers, a genre whose invention is often attributed to the better-known Tom Clancy, though many fans feel that Thomas was its true originator. Most of Thomas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space-based Laser
Space warfare is hypothetical combat in which one or more belligerents are situated in outer space. The scope of space warfare therefore includes ''ground-to-space warfare'', such as attacking satellites from the Earth; ''space-to-space warfare'', such as satellites attacking satellites; and ''space-to-ground warfare'', such as satellites attacking Earth-based targets. Space warfare in fiction is thus sub-genre and theme of science fiction, where it is portrayed with a range of realism and plausibility. , no actual warfare is known to have taken place in space, though a number of tests and demonstrations have been performed. International treaties are in place that attempt to regulate conflicts in space and limit the installation of space weapon systems, especially nuclear weapons. From 1985 to 2002 there was a United States Space Command, which in 2002 merged with the United States Strategic Command, leaving the United States Space Force (formerly Air Force Space Command unti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran border, west, Turkmenistan to the Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border, northwest, Uzbekistan to the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border, north, Tajikistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, northeast, and China to the Afghanistan–China border, northeast and east. Occupying of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains Afghan Turkestan, in the north and Sistan Basin, the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. , Demographics of Afghanistan, its population is 40.2 million (officially estimated to be 32.9 million), composed mostly of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks. Kabul is the country's largest city and ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jettison (aviation)
In aviation, to jettison is to discard fuel, external stores or other expendable items.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 292. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. The item is usually jettisoned by operating a switch or handle; external stores may be separated from the aircraft by use of explosive bolts or a mechanism. ;Fuel jettison : Fuel jettisoning or fuel dumping is an emergency procedure used by crews of to reduce an aircraft's weight in an emergency when the aircraft meet its maximum landing weight. ;External stores jettison :Some military aircraft can carry weapons (for example bombs or rockets) and fuel tanks on external hardpoints. The pilot can jettison them if necessary, so they do not inhibit actions during combat or in an emergency. Airports may establish specific safe areas for the jettison of external stores, when required. See also *Fuel dumping Fuel dumping (or a fuel jettison) is a procedure used by aircraft in certa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsized and oversized loads, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many similarities to the smaller Lockheed C-141 Starlifter and the later Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. The C-5 is among the largest military aircraft in the world. The C-5 Galaxy's development was complicated, including significant cost overruns, and Lockheed suffered significant financial difficulties. Shortly after entering service, cracks in the wings of many aircraft were discovered and the C-5 fleet was restricted in capability until corrective work was completed. The C-5M Super Galaxy is an upgraded version with new engines and modernized avionics designed to extend its service life to 2040 and beyond. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' (Orbiter Vehicle designation: OV‑104) is a Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. ''Atlantis'' was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985. ''Atlantis'' is also the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from October 3 to 7, 1985. ''Atlantis'' embarked on its 33rd and final mission, also the final mission of a space shuttle, STS-135, on July 8, 2011. STS-134 by ''Endeavour'' was expected to be the final flight before STS-135 was authorized in October 2010. STS-135 took advantage of the processing for the STS-335 Launch on Need mission that would have been necessary if STS-134's crew became stranded in orbit. ''Atlantis'' landed for the final time at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011. By th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soviet Military
The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and the Bolshevik Party from their beginnings in the Russian Civil War of 1917–1923 to the collapse of the USSR in 1991. In May 1992, Russian President Boris Yeltsin issued decrees forming the Russian Armed Forces, which subsumed much of the Soviet Armed Forces. Much of the former Soviet Armed Forces in the other 14 Soviet republics gradually came under those republics' control. According to the all-union military service law of September 1925, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of the Ground Forces, the Air Forces, the Navy, the State Political Directorate (OGPU), and the convoy guards. The OGPU was later made independent and amalgamated with the NKVD in 1934, and thus its Internal Troops were under the joint management of the Defence and Int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of STOL (Short TakeOff and Landing) or STOVL (Short TakeOff and Vertical Landing) aircraft cannot perform without a runway. In 1942, the Sikorsky R-4 became the first helicopter to reach full-scale production.Munson 1968.Hirschberg, Michael J. and David K. Dailey"Sikorsky". ''US and Russian Helicopter Development in the 20th Century'', American Helicopter Society, International. 7 July 2000. Although most earlier designs used more than one main rotor, the configuration of a single main rotor accompanied by a vertical anti-torque tail rotor (i.e. unicopter, not to be confused with the single-blade monocopter) has become the most comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force and its successors, along with 48 other nations. In NATO circles, the export versions, Mi-25 and Mi-35, are denoted with a letter suffix as "Hind D" and "Hind E". Soviet pilots called the Mi-24 the "flying tank" (russian: летающий танк, letayushchiy tank, links=no), a term used historically with the famous World War II Soviet Il-2 ''Shturmovik'' armored ground attack aircraft. More common unofficial nicknames were "Galina" (or "Galya"), "Crocodile" (russian: Крокодил, Krokodil, links=no), due to the helicopter's camouflage scheme, and "Drinking Glass" (russian: Стакан, Stakan, links=no), because of the flat glass plates that surround earlier Mi-24 variants' cockpits. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы) *1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы) , linking_name = the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , year_start = 1936 , event_start = Elevation to a Union Republic , date_start = 5 December , event1 = Jeltoqsan riots , date_event1 = 16 December 1986 , event2 = Sovereignty declared , date_event2 = 25 October 1990 , event3 = Renamed Republic of Kazakhstan , date_event3 = 10 December 1991 , event4 = Independence declared , date_event4 = 16 December 1991 , date_end = 26 December , event_end = Independence recognised , year_end = 1991 , p1 = Kazakh ASSR , s1 = Kazakhstan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to Russia. The Cosmodrome is the world's first spaceport for orbital and human launches and the largest (in area) operational Spaceport, space launch facility. All crewed Russian spaceflights are launched from Baikonur. The spaceport is in the Kazakh Steppe, desert steppe of Baikonur, about east of the Aral Sea and north of the river Syr Darya. It is near the Tyuratam railway station and is about above sea level. The spaceport is currently leased by the Government of Kazakhstan, Kazakh Government to the Russian Federation until 2050 and is managed jointly by the Roscosmos State Corporation, Roscosmos and the Russian Aerospace Forces. The shape of the area leased is an ellipse, measuring east–west by north–south, with the cosmodrome at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.svg "Click for more on -> Afghanistan")
