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British Airways is part of history"BRITISH AIRWAYS"
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11-24-2004 Transportation marvels of the 20th century Edition: 2* DID YOU KNOW Supersonic jets? Bullet trains? Space shuttles that orbit the earth? These are the machines that make fantasy a reality. The Supersonic Jet Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
Supersonic jets became famous with the Concorde. A product of a collaboration between British Airways and Air France, this passenger jet traveled across the Atlantic, from Europe to the United States, at twice the speed of sound (Mach 2, about 1350mph). It covered the distance between London and New York in three and a half hours instead of the normal eight. Of the 20 Concordes that were built, only 14 actually flew in service. Of the remaining, one crashed, and one was cannabalised for spare parts. The Concorde carried 100 passengers and 9 crew members for British Airways. The Concorde had a unique design - a needle-shaped body with a nose that drooped to 5 degrees for take- off and 12.5 degrees for landing to help pilots see ahead. The Concorde retired from British Airways in October 2003, ending the era of supersonic passenger transportation after more than 25 years of service. The Bullet Train The Japanese gave the world its high-speed bullet train system. By the 1980s, France, Britain and Germany had developed their own high speed rail networks that now cross Europe. The trains, depending on the routes they travel, can run between 110 and 300m/ ph. The Shinkansen (as the Japanese describe the trains themselves) have a service life of 15 to 20 years and have a reputation for safety, punctuality and speed. Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
The Space Shuttle The advent of the Space Shuttle gave mankind a reusable space craft that could launch like a rocket and land like an airplane. This would in the future make it possible for man to not only orbit space but journey to the Moon or Mars for longer periods of time. The idea of a reusable space transportation system (STS) came about in 1972 under the Nixon Administration. The space shuttle consists of two solid rocket boosters (necessary for launch), an external fuel tank and the orbiter which carries the astronauts and payload. A typical shuttle mission lasts seven to eight days but can be extended to 14 days. Each shuttle is designed for 100 missions. Today there are four shuttle orbiters in NASA's fleet : Atlantis, Columbia, Discovery and Endeavour. (The Enterprise never flew into outer space but was used to test the aerodynamic design of the shuttle; and Challenger, later replaced by Endeavour, exploded in flight when a flame from a rocket booster set the craft ablaze in 1986. The entire crew was lost. Columbia was the first shuttle to orbit the Earth in 1981.).... Find the cheapest British Airways airline tickets here /cheap airfares home |