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February 8
The astronauts spent nearly three months in space
1974: Americans end outer space marathon
England have
Three US astronauts have returned safely to Earth after a record-breaking
stay in space.
The men - Dr Edward Gibson, Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Carr and Lieutenant
Colonel William Pogue - proved mankind can live in space for prolonged
periods.
They spent 85 days in the American space station, Skylab, which orbits the
Earth at a height of 270 miles.
It was Nasa"s last manned space flight for this decade and the third and
final mission to Skylab.
Skylab will now be abandoned as space junk and is expected to break up in
the atmosphere in about 11 years.
After a five hour journey through space the astronauts splashed down, as
planned, in the Pacific Ocean in spite of a leak in one of the two jets on their
landing craft.
Dr Gibson emerged from the scorched Apollo capsule saying "I feel
great".
The three men overcame many of the problems associated with living in
space, such as weightlessness.
The astronauts experimented with new diets and exercise routines to counter
the changes in muscle, blood and bone commonly experienced by space crews.
It will still take them several weeks to fully recover from their three
month trip, but they were already re-gaining their sense of gravity on board the
assault ship - New Orleans - that picked them up off San Diego.
The 20,000 photographs and 19 miles of sound recordings the astronauts
brought back with them will take scientists and astronomers several years to
analyse.
A joint US-Soviet mission early next year - the Apollo-Soyuz project - will
mark the last use of the rocket technology that landed Apollo on the moon and
launched Skylab.
Nasa"s first phase of extra-terrestrial adventure began 15 years ago and
has so far cost millions of dollars.
The second chapter of space discovery will begin in the 1980s with a
reusable shuttle.
Trumpeters sound the accession of the new monarch and Defender of the
Faith
1952: New Queen proclaimed for UK
Artificially 1969:
The Princess Elizabeth has formally proclaimed herself Queen and Head of
the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith.
Lords of the Council - numbering 150 - representatives from the
Commonwealth, officials from the City of London - including the Lord Mayor - and
other dignitaries witnessed the accession of the deceased king"s eldest daughter
this morning.
The new monarch read an official Proclamation - also ordered to be
published - declaring her reign as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second.
Queen Elizabeth II read: "By the sudden death of my dear father I am called
to assume the duties and responsibilities of sovereignty."
"My heart is too full for me to say more to you today than I shall always
work, as my father did throughout his reign, to advance the happiness and
prosperity of my peoples, spread as they are all the world over."
Her husband, Prince Philip of Greece, the Duke of Edinburgh, was also
present at the 20 minute meeting at St James"s Palace.
The couple returned to the UK yesterday after cutting short a tour of the
Commonwealth - beginning in Kenya a week ago - because of King George VI"s
sudden death on 6 February.
After the Accession Declaration, at 1000 GMT, the new Queen held her first
Privy Council meeting and her Proclamation was signed by the Lord Chancellor,
the Prime Minister, and many other Privy Counsellors along with representatives
of the Commonwealth and the City and the Lord Mayor of London.
During the ceremonies the 25-year-old Queen also took an oath to assure the
security of the Church of Scotland and approved several other Orders in
Council.
Other dignitaries formally announced the new sovereign across the UK and
Commonwealth.
In a statement this evening UK Home Secretary Sir David Fyfe asked the
nation for two minutes" silence on 15 February when the late King will be buried
at St George"s Chapel, Windsor.
Vocabulary:
dignitary : an important or influential (and often overbearing)
person(权贵，高官) |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:20:24