In the name of everything one holds sacred … it's real. Far from being a dare, or some elaborate satire on the end of ideas in Hollywood, it appears that Ridley Scott's movie based on the board game Monopoly is really in development.
To be candid, when Lost in Showbiz first handled this story last year, it was more for its novelty value than out of any serious belief that a collaboration between Universal, Ridley, and the games manufacturer Hasbro would actually get within a million earth miles of pre-production stage. But here we are, faced with a detailed piece in the LA Times in which the producer Frank Beddor explains how he convinced Sir Rid that he wanted to be a part of the magic.
I created a comedic, lovable loser who lives in Manhattan and works at a real estate company and he's not very good at his job but he's great at playing Monopoly. And the world record for playing is 70 straight days – over 1,600 hours – and he wanted to try to convince his friends to help him break that world record. They think he is crazy. They kid him about this girl and they're playing the game and there's this big fight. And he's holding a Chance card and after they've left he says, 'Damn, I wanted to use that Chance card,' and he throws it down. He falls asleep and then he wakes up in the morning and he's holding the Chance card, and he thinks, 'That's odd.'
He's all groggy and he goes down to buy some coffee and he reaches into his pocket and all he has is Monopoly money. All this Monopoly money pours out. He's confused and embarrassed and the girl reaches across the counter and says, 'That's OK.' And she gives him change in Monopoly money. He walks outside and he's in this very vibrant place, Monopoly City, and he's just come out of a Chance Shop. As it goes on, he takes on the evil Parker Brothers in the game of Monolopy. He has to defeat them. It tries to incorporate all the iconic imageries - a sports car pulls up, there's someone on a horse, someone pushing a wheelbarrow - and rich Uncle Pennybags, you're going to see him as the maître d' at the restaurant and he's the buggy driver and the local eccentric and the doorman at the opera. There's all these sight gags.
It was that pitch, that's where Sir Ridley got excited. After I pitched it to him, he put out his hand and said, 'What do I have to be part of this movie?'
Be insane? Naturally, it now falls to us to begin dreaming of fantasy casts - I myself will be praying Sir Rid makes it the third of his Russell Crowe epics - before sitting back to wait for the inevitable moment at which the words "mired in development hell" are uttered, and some measure of human sanity is restored.
Wrestler writer channels `nerd rage'
When director Darren Aronofsky sought a screenwriter to turn his idea about a broken-down wrestler seeking one last shot into a movie, he turned to writer Robert Siegel.
The Wrestler went on to be nominated for a slew of awards last year, including Oscar nominations for its stars, Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. And the script for the original film that drew Aronofsky to Siegel, Big Fan, is finally hitting Toronto theatres Friday.
Big Fan "has a similar vibe" to The Wrestler, said Siegel, as he talked with the Star in a downtown hotel dining room this week. "At least superficially they are stories of guys on the fringes of the sports world."
Comic Patton Oswalt (who voiced Remy in Ratatouille) plays Paul, a 35-year-old parking-lot attendant who still lives with his mother in Staten Island, N.Y. A rabid New York Giants fan, Paul can't wait for his nightly calls to a local sports radio station, where he reads carefully scripted rants loaded with sports clichés.
But when Paul finally comes face-to-face with his hero, Giants star linebacker Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm), after following him to a Manhattan strip club, he ends up crashing into reality with heartbreaking results.
Siegel has once again penned a script that features a very believable anti-hero. But this time, he's also directing the dark film, which drew comparisons to Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
"I like writing character-driven stuff. Character interests me even more than the story," explained Siegel, 38, former editor-in-chief of the American newspaper satire, The Onion.
Siegel started working on Big Fan when he was still at The Onion, but he left after nine years on the mock paper to take some "low-level Hollywood writing jobs" to pay the rent while he finished the Big Fan script. Soon it was making the rounds in Hollywood, and directors – including Aronofsky – started calling.
Aronofsky was one of several "high-profile" directors interested in the project, said Siegel. But although the two met and talked at length about Big Fan, Siegel was reluctant to relinquish control of the movie. "I just wasn't that excited about somebody else directing it," he said. "It sounds cheesy, but I felt maybe the script was just waiting for me. I was pretty ambivalent about having some big-name director involved."
But Aronofsky was clearly impressed with Siegel and came back to him for The Wrestler script. That project took Siegel away from Big Fan for two years.
Unlike The Wrestler, which Siegel wrote "with Mickey Rourke in my head" even though the actor hadn't even been cast, Siegel didn't have anybody in mind for chubby loner Paul. He knew he didn't want to cast obvious choices like Paul Giamatti or Philip Seymour Hoffman, and he needed an actor in his 30s to play the role.
He sent the script to Oswalt.
"I didn't test him, I didn't ask him to read," said Siegel. "I knew he was a very smart guy and I knew he was funny and I knew he understood the psychology of nerd rage, based on his comedy."
Siegel has a soft spot for Toronto; The Wrestler was picked up for distribution at TIFF, a day after winning the Golden Lion top prize at the Venice Film Festival.
But he added that people are mistaken if they think critical success equals a big payday. "People think if you have a successful movie, money just falls from the sky," Siegel said with a smile. "There's an opportunity for me to make lots of money, but I would have to write Ice Age 4 or The Hangover 2. I would have to come up with an idea for something with vampires and Seth Rogen.
"It's hard to get any movie made and it's even harder when you don't have Johnny Depp attached and you don't have aliens."
The Wrestler went on to be nominated for a slew of awards last year, including Oscar nominations for its stars, Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. And the script for the original film that drew Aronofsky to Siegel, Big Fan, is finally hitting Toronto theatres Friday.
Big Fan "has a similar vibe" to The Wrestler, said Siegel, as he talked with the Star in a downtown hotel dining room this week. "At least superficially they are stories of guys on the fringes of the sports world."
Comic Patton Oswalt (who voiced Remy in Ratatouille) plays Paul, a 35-year-old parking-lot attendant who still lives with his mother in Staten Island, N.Y. A rabid New York Giants fan, Paul can't wait for his nightly calls to a local sports radio station, where he reads carefully scripted rants loaded with sports clichés.
But when Paul finally comes face-to-face with his hero, Giants star linebacker Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm), after following him to a Manhattan strip club, he ends up crashing into reality with heartbreaking results.
Siegel has once again penned a script that features a very believable anti-hero. But this time, he's also directing the dark film, which drew comparisons to Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
"I like writing character-driven stuff. Character interests me even more than the story," explained Siegel, 38, former editor-in-chief of the American newspaper satire, The Onion.
Siegel started working on Big Fan when he was still at The Onion, but he left after nine years on the mock paper to take some "low-level Hollywood writing jobs" to pay the rent while he finished the Big Fan script. Soon it was making the rounds in Hollywood, and directors – including Aronofsky – started calling.
Aronofsky was one of several "high-profile" directors interested in the project, said Siegel. But although the two met and talked at length about Big Fan, Siegel was reluctant to relinquish control of the movie. "I just wasn't that excited about somebody else directing it," he said. "It sounds cheesy, but I felt maybe the script was just waiting for me. I was pretty ambivalent about having some big-name director involved."
But Aronofsky was clearly impressed with Siegel and came back to him for The Wrestler script. That project took Siegel away from Big Fan for two years.
Unlike The Wrestler, which Siegel wrote "with Mickey Rourke in my head" even though the actor hadn't even been cast, Siegel didn't have anybody in mind for chubby loner Paul. He knew he didn't want to cast obvious choices like Paul Giamatti or Philip Seymour Hoffman, and he needed an actor in his 30s to play the role.
He sent the script to Oswalt.
"I didn't test him, I didn't ask him to read," said Siegel. "I knew he was a very smart guy and I knew he was funny and I knew he understood the psychology of nerd rage, based on his comedy."
Siegel has a soft spot for Toronto; The Wrestler was picked up for distribution at TIFF, a day after winning the Golden Lion top prize at the Venice Film Festival.
But he added that people are mistaken if they think critical success equals a big payday. "People think if you have a successful movie, money just falls from the sky," Siegel said with a smile. "There's an opportunity for me to make lots of money, but I would have to write Ice Age 4 or The Hangover 2. I would have to come up with an idea for something with vampires and Seth Rogen.
"It's hard to get any movie made and it's even harder when you don't have Johnny Depp attached and you don't have aliens."
The Adam Lambert AMA video on YouTube has been extremely
The Adam Lambert AMA video on YouTube has been extremely popular for the past couple of days. Those that missed the Adam Lambert AMA performance are searching for the YouTube video to see what all the controversy is about. A lucky few will be successful and find an Adam Lambert AMA video on YouTube. They will get excited, link it in their blog and email all of their friends. Then, a short few minutes later they try to re-visit the link only to realize that it has been pulled by Dick Clark Productions because of a copyright claim. Then, you have to delete your blog post (which was bringing in thousands of page views and ad revenue), email your friends a retraction (to avoid looking like an idiot) and try to find another link to the video (and try to save it to your computer this time.)
So what's the big deal? Why does Dick Clark Productions even care that people uploaded the video on to YouTube? Isn't it actually a GOOD thing? After all - viewing the Adam Lambert AMA performance was technically free..
Dick Clark Productions owns the rights to the Adam Lambert AMA performance. They can sell, distribute, and reproduce copies of the performance as they see fit. The copyright protects their financial interest in the production. After all - they did most likely spent a lot of money on the production. With all the controversy surrounding the Adam Lambert performance, distributing the video could bring in a significant amount of money.
Dick Clark Productions isn't pulling the Adam Lambert AMA video on YouTube because they are a buzz kill. They aren't doing it because they are embarrassed of the performance. They have deleted the videos as they pop up on YouTube because they want to protect their financial interests. This is something that everyone should accept and understand.
So what's the big deal? Why does Dick Clark Productions even care that people uploaded the video on to YouTube? Isn't it actually a GOOD thing? After all - viewing the Adam Lambert AMA performance was technically free..
Dick Clark Productions owns the rights to the Adam Lambert AMA performance. They can sell, distribute, and reproduce copies of the performance as they see fit. The copyright protects their financial interest in the production. After all - they did most likely spent a lot of money on the production. With all the controversy surrounding the Adam Lambert performance, distributing the video could bring in a significant amount of money.
Dick Clark Productions isn't pulling the Adam Lambert AMA video on YouTube because they are a buzz kill. They aren't doing it because they are embarrassed of the performance. They have deleted the videos as they pop up on YouTube because they want to protect their financial interests. This is something that everyone should accept and understand.
Best Headlights Designing
A headlamp is a lamp, usually attached to the front of a vehicle such as a car, with the purpose of illuminating the road ahead during periods of low visibility, such as darkness or precipitation. Headlamp performance has steadily improved throughout the automobile age, spurred by the great disparity between daytime and nighttime traffic fatalities.
Many people improve their headlights designing and ability as its not only able to give a better look on your car appearance overall, but in some cases it might also ensure your safety especially if you have to get through dark routes in everyday. Are You wondering to know the place where to get those items for the improvements, I show you the best site, that is at Carid.com.
Carid.com focused in providing car parts and accessories inside, which it means that visiting this site will ease you in finding any car parts or accessories you, might needed to arrange your custom headlights project. Projector Headlights provide the versatile element in style that factory headlights never could. The alluring Angel Eyes that captured the attention of the industry have handed down even more hot and accessible options for the future. Now, get yourself into the page and there you will see many options of car lightning systems to look and apply on your car. Find out the best advice of headlights improvement inside with more options of projectors to choose , visit at Carid.com.
Many people improve their headlights designing and ability as its not only able to give a better look on your car appearance overall, but in some cases it might also ensure your safety especially if you have to get through dark routes in everyday. Are You wondering to know the place where to get those items for the improvements, I show you the best site, that is at Carid.com.
Carid.com focused in providing car parts and accessories inside, which it means that visiting this site will ease you in finding any car parts or accessories you, might needed to arrange your custom headlights project. Projector Headlights provide the versatile element in style that factory headlights never could. The alluring Angel Eyes that captured the attention of the industry have handed down even more hot and accessible options for the future. Now, get yourself into the page and there you will see many options of car lightning systems to look and apply on your car. Find out the best advice of headlights improvement inside with more options of projectors to choose , visit at Carid.com.
island of bali is one of the world's most popular holiday
The exotic island of bali is one of the world's most popular holiday destinations, offering something for everyone including a wide range of activities that all of the family will enjoy. bali blends its beautiful nature with the glamour of top class resort , chic coctail bars and internationally acclaimed restaurant.
It's home to some of the most sumtuous and sophisticated hotels and private villas on the globe, while also hosting the highest concentration of spas in the whole of shoutheast asia. Furthermore,there are endless dining possibilities , restaurant can be found in abundance throughout all of the tourist areas, and the variety of style , setting, ambience and cuisine is huge.
Finally , the compact size of the island means that all of its scenery is easly accesible throught day trips. activities abound from surfing, golfing and diving, to adventure tours and theme parks, its has also proved it self to be an alluring wedding destination.
this guide provides important tips on where to stay , as well as ideas for outdoor activities , and where to go for spa treatments, fine dining and entertainment.
At rest & relax Bali , we cherish the experience of a memorable occasion, good food and above all, time well spent with family , friends and lovers, enjoying the wonders and incredible choice that Bali has to offer, flip through the pages and join us on journey of discovery.
It's home to some of the most sumtuous and sophisticated hotels and private villas on the globe, while also hosting the highest concentration of spas in the whole of shoutheast asia. Furthermore,there are endless dining possibilities , restaurant can be found in abundance throughout all of the tourist areas, and the variety of style , setting, ambience and cuisine is huge.
Finally , the compact size of the island means that all of its scenery is easly accesible throught day trips. activities abound from surfing, golfing and diving, to adventure tours and theme parks, its has also proved it self to be an alluring wedding destination.
this guide provides important tips on where to stay , as well as ideas for outdoor activities , and where to go for spa treatments, fine dining and entertainment.
At rest & relax Bali , we cherish the experience of a memorable occasion, good food and above all, time well spent with family , friends and lovers, enjoying the wonders and incredible choice that Bali has to offer, flip through the pages and join us on journey of discovery.
island of bali is one of the world's most popular holiday
The exotic island of bali is one of the world's most popular holiday destinations, offering something for everyone including a wide range of activities that all of the family will enjoy. bali blends its beautiful nature with the glamour of top class resort , chic coctail bars and internationally acclaimed restaurant.
It's home to some of the most sumtuous and sophisticated hotels and private villas on the globe, while also hosting the highest concentration of spas in the whole of shoutheast asia. Furthermore,there are endless dining possibilities , restaurant can be found in abundance throughout all of the tourist areas, and the variety of style , setting, ambience and cuisine is huge.
Finally , the compact size of the island means that all of its scenery is easly accesible throught day trips. activities abound from surfing, golfing and diving, to adventure tours and theme parks, its has also proved it self to be an alluring wedding destination.
this guide provides important tips on where to stay , as well as ideas for outdoor activities , and where to go for spa treatments, fine dining and entertainment.
At rest & relax Bali , we cherish the experience of a memorable occasion, good food and above all, time well spent with family , friends and lovers, enjoying the wonders and incredible choice that Bali has to offer, flip through the pages and join us on journey of discovery.
It's home to some of the most sumtuous and sophisticated hotels and private villas on the globe, while also hosting the highest concentration of spas in the whole of shoutheast asia. Furthermore,there are endless dining possibilities , restaurant can be found in abundance throughout all of the tourist areas, and the variety of style , setting, ambience and cuisine is huge.
Finally , the compact size of the island means that all of its scenery is easly accesible throught day trips. activities abound from surfing, golfing and diving, to adventure tours and theme parks, its has also proved it self to be an alluring wedding destination.
this guide provides important tips on where to stay , as well as ideas for outdoor activities , and where to go for spa treatments, fine dining and entertainment.
At rest & relax Bali , we cherish the experience of a memorable occasion, good food and above all, time well spent with family , friends and lovers, enjoying the wonders and incredible choice that Bali has to offer, flip through the pages and join us on journey of discovery.
Download Mobile Phone Ringtones
A ringtone or ring tone is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming call or text message. Not literally a tone, the term is most often used today to refer to customizable sounds used on mobile phones, A phone “rings” when its network indicates an incoming call and the phone thus alerts the user. For landline telephones, the call signal can be an electric current generated by the switch to which the telephone is connected. For mobile phones, the network sends the phone a message indicating an incoming call.
Mobile phones and ringtones enjoy a partnership that ensures each other's popularity. While ringtones distinguish one brand's creativity from the other, they also function as a form of self-expression of a person's personality, MP3 and polyphonic ringtones are just a few of the types of mobile ringtones available. In truth, these tones are what bring a mobile phone to life since they give off lively sounds that reflect the character and mood of the phone's owner.
Have your phone personalized by the kind of ringtone you choose. Let your mobile phone be part of your style statement using your favorite ringtones. To find your favorite your Ringtones visit http://www.ringtonesleader.net and Download Ringtones
Mobile phones and ringtones enjoy a partnership that ensures each other's popularity. While ringtones distinguish one brand's creativity from the other, they also function as a form of self-expression of a person's personality, MP3 and polyphonic ringtones are just a few of the types of mobile ringtones available. In truth, these tones are what bring a mobile phone to life since they give off lively sounds that reflect the character and mood of the phone's owner.
Have your phone personalized by the kind of ringtone you choose. Let your mobile phone be part of your style statement using your favorite ringtones. To find your favorite your Ringtones visit http://www.ringtonesleader.net and Download Ringtones
The Leonid Meteor Shower will hit its peak early in the morning Tuesday
For those far enough from city lights and fortunate enough to have clear skies, it will be quite a sight and here's some tips on where and how to see it.
Of course not all will be so lucky. Meteorologists in the Grand Rapids area in Michigan have already said it may be difficult to see due to clouds in the region, and the same will hold true for others.
Scientists have also said the show is likely to be less spectacular in North America. The best viewing spot on the planet for the Leonid Meteor Shower is predicted to be Asia.
But for those who don't see it in person, here's a glimpse at what the shower might look like, with up to 30 to 300 shooting stars per hour.
WATCH A PREVIEW OF THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER:
Of course not all will be so lucky. Meteorologists in the Grand Rapids area in Michigan have already said it may be difficult to see due to clouds in the region, and the same will hold true for others.
Scientists have also said the show is likely to be less spectacular in North America. The best viewing spot on the planet for the Leonid Meteor Shower is predicted to be Asia.
But for those who don't see it in person, here's a glimpse at what the shower might look like, with up to 30 to 300 shooting stars per hour.
WATCH A PREVIEW OF THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER:
The Name 'Lorenzo Von Matterhorn'
The Name 'Lorenzo Von Matterhorn' is quite the rage amongst web surfers today, not bad for being the entirely fictional pseudonym of an entirely fictional How I Met Your Mother character. Lorenzo Von Matterhorn is but one of Barney's (Neil Patrick Harris) many non de plume's on the show.
The Name 'Lorenzo Von Matterhorn' Von Matterhorn made an appearance this evening, setting off an explosion of web interest – most of it propelled by the discovery of a Wikipedia page that had been created for the character. The page is a lot fun, mostly talking about Matterhorn's afflictions – he suffers from phallumegaly, or bigness of penis disorder – and various hobbies. Problem is, Wikipedia – as we all know – is a bastion of fact, and so this little bit of How I Met Your Mother fun had to go.
Once Wikipedia found out that the Wikipedia entry was part of a show-related hoax, they redirected the entry to Barney's character page – in the process jettisoning some highly entertaining 'facts' about Mr. Matterhorn. But don't worry, we've fetched some of Lorenzo Von Matterhorn's most delightful details from the clutches of google cache. Here they are for your enjoyment.
The Name 'Lorenzo Von Matterhorn' Von Matterhorn made an appearance this evening, setting off an explosion of web interest – most of it propelled by the discovery of a Wikipedia page that had been created for the character. The page is a lot fun, mostly talking about Matterhorn's afflictions – he suffers from phallumegaly, or bigness of penis disorder – and various hobbies. Problem is, Wikipedia – as we all know – is a bastion of fact, and so this little bit of How I Met Your Mother fun had to go.
Once Wikipedia found out that the Wikipedia entry was part of a show-related hoax, they redirected the entry to Barney's character page – in the process jettisoning some highly entertaining 'facts' about Mr. Matterhorn. But don't worry, we've fetched some of Lorenzo Von Matterhorn's most delightful details from the clutches of google cache. Here they are for your enjoyment.
NASA's fourth space-rated space shuttle
NASA's fourth space-rated space shuttle, OV-104 "Atlantis," was named after the two-masted boat that served as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts from 1930 to 1966. The boat had a 17-member crew and accommodated up to five scientists who worked in two onboard laboratories, examining water samples and marine life. The crew also used the first electronic sounding devices to map the ocean floor.
Image to right: During its second major overhaul, Atlantis received the new Multifunction Electronic Display System, or "glass cockpit." Credit: NASA
Construction of the orbiter Atlantis began on March 3, 1980. Thanks to lessons learned in the construction and testing of orbiters Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger, Atlantis was completed in about half the time in man-hours spent on Columbia. This is largely attributed to the use of large thermal protection blankets on the orbiter's upper body, rather than individual tiles requiring more attention.
Weighing in at 151,315 pounds when it rolled out of the assembly plant in Palmdale, Calif., Atlantis was nearly 3.5 tons lighter than Columbia. The new orbiter arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 9, 1985, and over the next seven months was prepared for her maiden voyage.
Like her seafaring predecessor, orbiter Atlantis has carried on the spirit of exploration with several important missions of her own. On Oct. 3, 1985, Atlantis launched on her first space flight, STS-51-J, with a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense. The vehicle went on to carry four more DOD payloads on later missions.
Image to left: Riding twin plumes of flame produced by its Solid Rocket Boosters, Space Shuttle Atlantis clears the tower as it launches on mission STS-46. Credit: NASA
Atlantis also served as the on-orbit launch site for many noteworthy spacecraft, including planetary probes Magellan and Galileo, as well as the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. An impressive array of onboard science experiments took place during most missions to further enhance space research in low Earth orbit.
Starting with STS-71, Atlantis pioneered the Shuttle-Mir missions, flying the first seven missions to dock with the Russian space station. When linked, Atlantis and Mir together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time. The missions to Mir included the first on-orbit U.S. crew exchanges, now a common occurrence on the International Space Station. On STS-79, the fourth docking mission, Atlantis ferried astronaut Shannon Lucid back to Earth after her record-setting 188 days in orbit aboard Mir.
In recent years, Atlantis has delivered several vital components to the International Space Station, including the U.S. laboratory module, Destiny, as well as the Joint Airlock Quest and multiple sections of the Integrated Truss structure that makes up the Station's backbone. As NASA seeks to fulfill the Vision for Space Exploration, beginning with the completion of the Station, Atlantis will be called upon for many missions to come.
Construction Milestones - OV-104
Upgrades and Features
By early 2005, Atlantis had undergone two overhauls known as Orbiter Maintenance Down Periods. Some of the most significant upgrades and new features included:
Image to right: During its second major overhaul, Atlantis received the new Multifunction Electronic Display System, or "glass cockpit." Credit: NASAConstruction of the orbiter Atlantis began on March 3, 1980. Thanks to lessons learned in the construction and testing of orbiters Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger, Atlantis was completed in about half the time in man-hours spent on Columbia. This is largely attributed to the use of large thermal protection blankets on the orbiter's upper body, rather than individual tiles requiring more attention.
Weighing in at 151,315 pounds when it rolled out of the assembly plant in Palmdale, Calif., Atlantis was nearly 3.5 tons lighter than Columbia. The new orbiter arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 9, 1985, and over the next seven months was prepared for her maiden voyage.
Like her seafaring predecessor, orbiter Atlantis has carried on the spirit of exploration with several important missions of her own. On Oct. 3, 1985, Atlantis launched on her first space flight, STS-51-J, with a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense. The vehicle went on to carry four more DOD payloads on later missions.
Image to left: Riding twin plumes of flame produced by its Solid Rocket Boosters, Space Shuttle Atlantis clears the tower as it launches on mission STS-46. Credit: NASAAtlantis also served as the on-orbit launch site for many noteworthy spacecraft, including planetary probes Magellan and Galileo, as well as the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. An impressive array of onboard science experiments took place during most missions to further enhance space research in low Earth orbit.
Starting with STS-71, Atlantis pioneered the Shuttle-Mir missions, flying the first seven missions to dock with the Russian space station. When linked, Atlantis and Mir together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time. The missions to Mir included the first on-orbit U.S. crew exchanges, now a common occurrence on the International Space Station. On STS-79, the fourth docking mission, Atlantis ferried astronaut Shannon Lucid back to Earth after her record-setting 188 days in orbit aboard Mir.
In recent years, Atlantis has delivered several vital components to the International Space Station, including the U.S. laboratory module, Destiny, as well as the Joint Airlock Quest and multiple sections of the Integrated Truss structure that makes up the Station's backbone. As NASA seeks to fulfill the Vision for Space Exploration, beginning with the completion of the Station, Atlantis will be called upon for many missions to come.
Construction Milestones - OV-104
| Jan. 29, 1979 | Contract Award |
| March 30, 1980 | Start structural assembly of crew module |
| Nov. 23, 1981 | Start structural assembly of aft-fuselage |
| June 13, 1983 | Wings arrive at Palmdale from Grumman |
| Dec. 2, 1983 | Start of Final Assembly |
| April 10, 1984 | Completed final assembly |
| March 6, 1985 | Rollout from Palmdale |
| April 3, 1985 | Overland transport from Palmdale to Edwards |
| April 9, 1985 | Delivery to Kennedy Space Center |
| Sept. 5, 1985 | Flight Readiness Firing |
| Oct. 3, 1985 | First Flight (STS-51-J) |
Upgrades and Features
By early 2005, Atlantis had undergone two overhauls known as Orbiter Maintenance Down Periods. Some of the most significant upgrades and new features included:
- Installation of the drag chute
- New plumbing lines and electrical connections configuring the orbiter for extended duration missions
- New insulation for the main landing gear doors
- Improved nosewheel steering
- Preparations for the Mir Orbiter Docking System unit later installed at Kennedy
- Installation of the International Space Station airlock and Orbiter Docking System
- Installation of the Multifunction Electronic Display System, or "glass cockpit"
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)