BBC News - Space shuttle Atlantis in historic final lift-off. Also, I show you images and cool facts about that. Also, 2 maximum cards: with Space Shuttles Atlantis and Discovery (I can find a maxicard related to ANY subject; if not, I will MAKE IT relate, more or less subtly)

"English: This image features the space shuttle Atlantis's cabin and forward cargo bay and part of the International Space Station while the two spacecraft remain docked, during STS-132's flight day four extravehicular activity of astronauts Garrett Reisman and Steve Bowen (both out of frame). Though three sessions of extravehicular activity (EVA) will involve only three astronauts (two on each occasion) who actually leave the shirt-sleeve environments of the two docked spacecraft, all twelve astronauts and cosmonauts on the two combined crews have roles in supporting the EVA work."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:STS-132_Atlantis_at_ISS_1.jpg

Atlantis OV-104
Atlantis launching STS-122 mission to dock with the International Space Station.
OV designation	OV-104
Country	United States
Contract award	29 January 1979
Named after	RV Atlantis
Status	Active
First flight	STS-51-J 3–7 October 1985
Last flight	STS-135 8- 20 July 2011
Number of missions	32
Crews	191
Time spent in space	293 days, 18 hours, 29 minutes, 37 seconds as of STS-132
Number of orbits	4,648
Distance travelled	120,650,907 miles (194,168,813 km) as of STS-132[1]
Satellites deployed	14
Mirdockings	7
ISSdockings	11

"The Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104) is the last active Space Shuttle orbiter in the Space Shuttle fleet belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States.^[2] The Atlantis was the fourth operational (and the next-to-the-last) Space Shuttle to be constructed by the Rockwell International company in Southern California, and it was delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida in April 1985.^[3][4] Atlantis is the only orbiter which lacks the ability to draw power from the International Space Station while docked there; it must continue to provide its own power through fuel cells.^[5]

Atlantis is nearing retirement, its last scheduled mission is STS-135, the last flight before the Shuttle program ends."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Atlantis

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Space_Shuttle_Atlantis

BBC News - Space shuttle Atlantis in historic final lift-off

The above postcard shows the Discovery Space Shuttle, not Atlantis, but hey!...

The stamp has a generic shuttle, unless some NASA expert begs to differ...or just differs.

The maxicard below has a stamp with the Discovery, but the postcard really shows the Atlantis!

See, you can't always have on hand, in due time for postmarking, the right stamp and the right postcard.

You just do your best, between the perfect TRIFECTA and the perfect DEFECTA, so to speak...:)

Trifecta: "It is also used to describe a situation when three elements come together at the same time."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifecta

I have created this maxicard with the postcard that I bought upon visiting this:

"The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world.^[2] 

It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and spaceflight, as well as planetary science and terrestrial geology and geophysics.^[2] Almost all space and aircraft on display are originals or backups to the originals. 

It is the second-most popular^[3] of the Smithsonian museums and operates an annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, at Dulles International Airport. 

The museum currently conducts restoration of its collection at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Air_and_Space_Museum_(United_States)

=================

Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ (wait until Beth posts the today's Linky tool for the meme, then make your entry, if you want to join).

BBC News - Space shuttle timeline. Also, I show you a few postcards with the SPACE SHUTTLE and the INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS)

Not just stunning pictures, but captivating text, too.

Click on the arrowhead sign, in the middle of the screen, to see the 21 slides.

BBC News - Space shuttle timeline

Read this, too: http://dorincard.blogspot.com/search?q=shuttle

A postcard folder, that I bought from the NASA Museum in Washington, D.C. http://www.nasm.si.edu/, containing the postcards shown on the back:

Also, a postcard from my collection, with the International Space Station (ISS):

International Space Station

The International Space Station on 30 May 2011 as seen from the departing Space Shuttle Endeavour during STS-134.
ISS Insignia
Station statistics
COSPAR ID	1998-067A
Call sign	Alpha
Crew	6 Expedition 28
Launch	1998–2012
Launch pad	Baikonur LC-81/23, LC-1/5 KSC LC-39,
Mass	417,289 kg (919,960 lb) (as of 03/09/2011)[1]
Length	51 m (167.3 ft) from PMA-2 to Zvezda
Width	109 m (357.5 ft) along truss, arrays extended
Height	c. 20 m (c. 66 ft) nadir–zenith, arrays forward–aft (27 November 2009)[dated info]
Pressurisedvolume	837 m3 (29,600 cu ft) (21 March 2011)
Atmospheric pressure	101.3 kPa (29.91 inHg, 1 atm)
Perigee	352 km (190 nmi) AMSL (21 March 2011)
Apogee	355 km (192 nmi) AMSL (21 March 2011)
Orbital inclination	51.6 degrees
Average speed	7,706.6 m/s (27,743.8 km/h, 17,239.2 mph)
Orbital period	91 minutes
Days in orbit	4626 (21 July)
Days occupied	3913 (21 July)
Number of orbits	72612 (21 July)
Orbital decay	2 km/month
Statistics as of 9 March 2011 (unless noted otherwise)
References: [2][3][4][5][6][7]
Configuration
Station elements as of May 2011 (exploded view)

"The International Space Station (ISS) is an internationally-developed research facility, which is being assembled in low Earth orbit and is the largest space station ever constructed.^[8] 

On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is expected to be finished in 2012. 

The station is expected to remain in operation until at least 2020, and potentially to 2028.^[9][10] 

Like many artificial satellites, the ISS can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. 

The ISS serves as a research laboratory that has a microgravity environment in which crews conduct experiments in biology,human biology, physics, astronomy and meteorology.^[11][12][13] 

The station has a unique environment for the testing of the spacecraft systems that will be required for missions to the Moon and Mars.^[14] 

The ISS is operated by Expedition crews, and has been continuously staffed since 2 November 2000—an uninterrupted human presence in space for the past 10 years and 261 days.^[15] 

As of June 2011, the crew of Expedition 28 is aboard.^[16]

The ISS is a synthesis of several space station projects that includes the American Freedom, the Soviet/Russian Mir-2, the European Columbus and the Japanese Kibō.^[17][18] 

Budget constraints led to the merger of these projects into a single multi-national programme.^[17] 

The ISS project began in 1994 with the Shuttle-Mir program,^[19] and the first module of the station, Zarya, was launched in 1998 by Russia.^[17] 

Since then, pressurised modules, external trusses and other components have been launched by American space shuttles, Russian Proton rockets and Russian Soyuz rockets.^[18] 

As of June 2011, the station consisted of 15 pressurised modules and an extensive integrated truss structure (ITS). 

The planned final module, the Russian laboratory module, is expected to launch in 2012. Power is provided by 16 solar arrays mounted on the external truss, in addition to four smaller arrays on the Russian modules.^[20] 

The station is maintained at an orbit between 278 km (173 mi) and 460 km (286 mi) altitude, and travels at an average ground speed of 27,724 km (17,227 mi) per hour, completing 15.7 orbits per day.^[21]"

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iss}

http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/ll201/dorincard/World%20collections/Aah%20%20From%20COSMOS/

BBC News - In pictures: The space shuttle. Also, I show you a SPACE SHUTTLE multiview postcard

Superb photos: BBC News - In pictures: The space shuttle

Read this, too: http://dorincard.blogspot.com/search?q=shuttle

Here's a postcard from my collection:

http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/ll201/dorincard/World%20collections/Aah%20%20From%20COSMOS/

Come on, English-speakers, Romanian is not such a different language! :) EXCLUSIV. Fotografie istorică pentru NASA, realizată de românul Cătălin Păduraru - Clubul de ştiinţă > EVZ.ro

EXCLUSIV. Fotografie istorică pentru NASA, realizată de românul Cătălin Păduraru - Clubul de ştiinţă > EVZ.ro

"Everyday I'm shuffling..."

"Everyday I'm shuttling"? No, it's the LAST time we're "shuttling"..Bravo, Catalin, e formidabil ce ai realizat! :)

From Facebook (see also the gorgeous photos here):
"NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (Little SDO)

Government Organization

About	Friends call me Little SDO and I am the first mission to be launched for NASA's Living With a Star Program (LWS) to better understand the causes of solar variability and its impacts on Earth. Oh yeah... Camilla the Rubber Chicken, she's my BFF!

Description	I am the first mission to be launched for NASA's Living With a Star (LWS) Program, a program designed to understand the causes of solar variability and its impacts on Earth.
Mission	I am designed to help us understand the Sun's influence on Earth and Near-Earth space by studying the solar atmosphere on small scales of space and time and in many wavelengths simultaneously.

Website

http://www.nasa.gov/sdo http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov http://solar-center.stanford.edu/ http://aia.lmsal.com/ http://lasp.colorado.edu/eve/ http://twitter.com/NASA_SDO http://www.little-sdo.blogspot.com http://ca.youtube.com/LittleSDOHMI http://www.youtube.com/user/SDOmission2009" =========== In case you missed my previous blogpost about the Shuttle Program, and the Atlantis Shuttle in particular: http://dorincard.blogspot.com/2011/07/bbc-news-space-shuttle-atlantis-in.html

The Toilet Of The Future Will Turn Poop Into Power | Fast Company. Also, I show you a postcard with an outhouse from Virginia, USA. No, it's not a scented postcard. Also, here's how they "GO TO THE RESTROOM" aboard the INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. Also, cool and disturbing facts about WATER

Please read: The Toilet Of The Future Will Turn Poop Into Power | Fast Company
No shit.
On a second thought...that's what's all about, and how to make it useful for mankind. :)

This a postcard from Virginia, USA.

=========

You always wanted to know HOW they DO IT in space.

No, we're not talking here about having sex in space - though I've read that a THIRD PERSON is needed. Not to "hold the candle", but to hold the "recipient", whatever that means.

We're talking here about urinating and defecating while in cosmos.

"Hygiene

The ISS does not feature a shower, although it was planned as part of the now cancelled Habitation Module. 

Instead, crewmembers wash using a water jet and wet wipes, with soap dispensed from a toothpaste tube-like container. 

Crews are also provided with rinseless shampoo and edible toothpaste to save water.^[152]

There are two space toilets on the ISS, both of Russian design, located in Zvezda and Tranquility.^[147] 

These Waste and Hygiene Compartments use a fan-driven suction system similar to the Space Shuttle Waste Collection System. 

Astronauts first fasten themselves to the toilet seat, which is equipped with spring-loaded restraining bars to ensure a good seal.^[146] 

A lever operates a powerful fan and a suction hole slides open: the air stream carries the waste away. 

Solid waste is collected in individual bags which are stored in an aluminium container. 

Full containers are transferred to Progress spacecraft for disposal.^[147][153]

Liquid waste is evacuated by a hose connected to the front of the toilet, with anatomically correct "urine funnel adapters" attached to the tube so both men and women can use the same toilet. 

Waste is collected and transferred to the Water Recovery System, where it is recycled back into drinking water."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iss

=============

From npr.org/freshair: 

The Worldwide 'Thirst' For Clean Drinking Water

"Las Vegas now pays residents $40,000 an acre to take out their lawns and replace them with rocks and native plants. That's much cheaper, Fishman says, than figuring out how to pump more water into the city, which takes 90 percent of its water from a lake plagued with drought issues. And, he says, by implementing stringent water usage rules — it's illegal in Las Vegas to spray a sidewalk with a sprinkler, for instance — the city has saved millions, both in dollars and in gallons.

"Las Vegas, over time, has come to recapture almost all of the water used anywhere [in the city] indoors," he says. "Although Las Vegas has what was, for a long time, the largest fountain on Earth and shark aquariums and lagoons that re-create the canals of Venice right on the strip, over the last 20 years, per-person water use in Vegas has fallen 100 gallons.""

Excerpt: 'The Big Thirst'

by CHARLES FISHMAN

"The oldest rock discovered so far on Earth — in northern Quebec — is 4.28 billion years old. 

That's an old rock — it's getting close to the age of the solar system itself, estimated at about 4.6 billion years.

But turn on the faucet in the bathroom to brush your teeth, and the water pouring out is probably just a bit older than Canada's old rock. 

Scientists don't agree on the precise age of the water on Earth, but it's certainly 4.3 or 4.4 or 4.5 billion years old. It's one of the more astonishing things about water — all the water on Earth was delivered here when Earth was formed, or shortly thereafter. 

The water around us is original equipment — it was included with the planet itself, in the first 100 million years or so. There is, in fact, no mechanism on Earth for creating or destroying large quantities of water. 

What we've got is what's been here, literally, forever.

And it all arrived on Earth in exactly the form it's in now: H2O.

Water not only came from space, it was created out in space.

 It is, in fact, cosmic juice, formed hundreds of millions, or even billions, of years before the solar system itself. 

Once you understand the lineage of water, you realize that the ads touting Evian ("born in the French Alps") and FIJI Water ("untouched by man") dramatically understate the case."

"As the stars coalescence and collapse in on themselves, they send shock waves out through the clouds of gas, which contain lots of loose hydrogen and oxygen. 

When the shock waves slam the hydrogens and oxygens into each other, they often form water. Hydrogen, for the record, is the most common element in the universe; oxygen is the third most common."

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/11/135241362/the-worldwide-thirst-for-clean-drinking-water