Tuesday, December 25, 2007
For New Orleans, the sky's no limit
The route to the moon and perhaps to Mars now goes through New Orleans -- and the detour couldn't come at a better time in the city's struggle to rebuild its shattered economy after Hurricane Katrina.
A worker rides a bicycle through NASA's Michoud Assembly Center in New Orleans in early December.
With thousands of houses still in ruins and its population reduced by almost 170,000, New Orleans is getting a boost in the form of high-wage jobs and contracts for next-generation space systems at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility.
Before the storm, New Orleans' economy thrived on low-wage tourism. But the $156 million payroll at Michoud -- some salaries are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars -- generates paychecks significantly above the city's median annual income of about $27,000.
Michoud, in the city's eastern section, had a cloudy future before the storm struck in August 2005: The space shuttle fuel tanks it used to turn out won't be needed after the shuttle program ends in 2010, and there was no sure replacement for one of the region's largest payrolls.
The outlook is much brighter now that three contracts associated with NASA's Constellation program have landed this year and last at Michoud. James Bray, director of Lockheed Martin's Orion project at Michoud, called the facility "a sleeping giant" for the New Orleans economy.
"It's been a jewel that a lot of people pass on the interstate and don't really realize is here," Bray said. "But if you look at the population of New Orleans and Slidell and along the Gulf Coast, you find very technical, qualified people that come into here and make the space program go."
Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin will build the Orion crew module at the 43-acre plant. Chicago-based Boeing Co. will build the $1.13 billion upper stage of the Ares I launch rocket and the rocket's $799.5 million navigation and control system there.
A worker rides a bicycle through NASA's Michoud Assembly Center in New Orleans in early December.
With thousands of houses still in ruins and its population reduced by almost 170,000, New Orleans is getting a boost in the form of high-wage jobs and contracts for next-generation space systems at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility.
Before the storm, New Orleans' economy thrived on low-wage tourism. But the $156 million payroll at Michoud -- some salaries are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars -- generates paychecks significantly above the city's median annual income of about $27,000.
Michoud, in the city's eastern section, had a cloudy future before the storm struck in August 2005: The space shuttle fuel tanks it used to turn out won't be needed after the shuttle program ends in 2010, and there was no sure replacement for one of the region's largest payrolls.
The outlook is much brighter now that three contracts associated with NASA's Constellation program have landed this year and last at Michoud. James Bray, director of Lockheed Martin's Orion project at Michoud, called the facility "a sleeping giant" for the New Orleans economy.
"It's been a jewel that a lot of people pass on the interstate and don't really realize is here," Bray said. "But if you look at the population of New Orleans and Slidell and along the Gulf Coast, you find very technical, qualified people that come into here and make the space program go."
Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin will build the Orion crew module at the 43-acre plant. Chicago-based Boeing Co. will build the $1.13 billion upper stage of the Ares I launch rocket and the rocket's $799.5 million navigation and control system there.
Bridge-collapse rescuers battle darkness, current, isolation
Rescuers were searching through the night Tuesday for hundreds of people who fell into a river after a footbridge collapsed during a religious festival in Nepal.
The bridge collapsed under the weight of hundreds of people, police said.
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"The rescuers have not given up yet. They're still there, and they're still looking for bodies," journalist Manesh Shrestha told CNN from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.
The suspension bridge in remote Surkhet collapsed with as many as 1,000 Hindu pilgrims on it, police said.
While many swam to safety, about 200 people who were on the bridge were missing, police said. Only 15 bodies had been recovered so far.
Rescuers took 20 women and 12 men to a hospital, police added.
While initial reports suggested the river's currents were swift, photographs of the scene sent to CNN showed a relatively slow-flowing river.
However, Shrestha said the current is more swift below that point.
Don't Miss
Nepal moves toward democracy
The pictures also showed the bridge was just a few yards above the water, contrary to earlier reports that it spanned a gorge with the river as far as 100 feet below. Watch what rescuers are up against »
"The bridge collapsed because there were hundreds of people on it," said Nepalese police officer Nibandha Budha. "They had gone to the river for a three-day Hindu religious festival on the occasion of full moon."
The 120-yard-long bridge spanned the Bheri River in the Surkhet district, southwest of Kathmandu. The river is fed by snow from the Himalayas. See a map of the region »
Seven hundred to 1,000 people were on the bridge when it gave way, Budha said.
Many people were just standing on the bridge rather than crossing it, adding to the stress on the structure, Shrestha said. He added that most of the people on the bridge were women and children, and that women in Nepal are not encouraged to learn how to swim.
The bridge linked two temples involved in the festival, which was in its final day, he said.
Nepalese soldiers, police officers and civilians were involved in the rescue effort, which was hampered by darkness and the remoteness of the location.
Nepal has been roiled by political upheaval since the early 1990s.
A Maoist insurgency that began in 1996 ended with a cease-fire in November 2006. The crown prince massacred 10 members of the royal family and killed himself in 2001.
King Gyanendra fired the prime minister and cabinet in 2002. A government was established in 2004 but dissolved in 2005. The king retained absolute power until mass demonstrations led to a new parliament in April 2006. A new constitution that includes the Maoists took effect in January 2007.
Shrestha said this year's festival was the first since the conflict with the Maoists ended, and marked the first time in 10 years that festival-goers could move about freely, so attendance was larger than
The bridge collapsed under the weight of hundreds of people, police said.
1 of 2
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"The rescuers have not given up yet. They're still there, and they're still looking for bodies," journalist Manesh Shrestha told CNN from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.
The suspension bridge in remote Surkhet collapsed with as many as 1,000 Hindu pilgrims on it, police said.
While many swam to safety, about 200 people who were on the bridge were missing, police said. Only 15 bodies had been recovered so far.
Rescuers took 20 women and 12 men to a hospital, police added.
While initial reports suggested the river's currents were swift, photographs of the scene sent to CNN showed a relatively slow-flowing river.
However, Shrestha said the current is more swift below that point.
Don't Miss
Nepal moves toward democracy
The pictures also showed the bridge was just a few yards above the water, contrary to earlier reports that it spanned a gorge with the river as far as 100 feet below. Watch what rescuers are up against »
"The bridge collapsed because there were hundreds of people on it," said Nepalese police officer Nibandha Budha. "They had gone to the river for a three-day Hindu religious festival on the occasion of full moon."
The 120-yard-long bridge spanned the Bheri River in the Surkhet district, southwest of Kathmandu. The river is fed by snow from the Himalayas. See a map of the region »
Seven hundred to 1,000 people were on the bridge when it gave way, Budha said.
Many people were just standing on the bridge rather than crossing it, adding to the stress on the structure, Shrestha said. He added that most of the people on the bridge were women and children, and that women in Nepal are not encouraged to learn how to swim.
The bridge linked two temples involved in the festival, which was in its final day, he said.
Nepalese soldiers, police officers and civilians were involved in the rescue effort, which was hampered by darkness and the remoteness of the location.
Nepal has been roiled by political upheaval since the early 1990s.
A Maoist insurgency that began in 1996 ended with a cease-fire in November 2006. The crown prince massacred 10 members of the royal family and killed himself in 2001.
King Gyanendra fired the prime minister and cabinet in 2002. A government was established in 2004 but dissolved in 2005. The king retained absolute power until mass demonstrations led to a new parliament in April 2006. A new constitution that includes the Maoists took effect in January 2007.
Shrestha said this year's festival was the first since the conflict with the Maoists ended, and marked the first time in 10 years that festival-goers could move about freely, so attendance was larger than
Russia tests ballistic missiles
Russia has successfully tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles that are to replace ageing rockets from the Soviet era.
A strategic missile known as the RS-24 flew 7,000 km (4350 miles) to hit targets on the Kamchatka peninsula.
Later, a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea launched another new missile, hitting the same test site.
It comes as Russia has again accused the US of ignoring its concerns over a planned US missile defence system.
Washington plans to site anti-missile facilities in central Europe, claiming that it will help defend against any possible future nuclear threat from Iran.
The US missile shield system would see a radar site set up in the Czech Republic and a base in Poland for 10 missile interceptors.
However, speaking in an interview to be published later this week in the Vremya Novostey daily, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was clear the system is aimed at deterring Russia, rather than Iran.
The US has said that the limited system it proposes could not threaten Russia's own missile arsenal.
The Interfax news agency reported that the RS-24, the missile tested on Tuesday, is capable of carrying at least three nuclear warheads.
Russia says they are able to penetrate any kind of defensive system.
A strategic missile known as the RS-24 flew 7,000 km (4350 miles) to hit targets on the Kamchatka peninsula.
Later, a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea launched another new missile, hitting the same test site.
It comes as Russia has again accused the US of ignoring its concerns over a planned US missile defence system.
Washington plans to site anti-missile facilities in central Europe, claiming that it will help defend against any possible future nuclear threat from Iran.
The US missile shield system would see a radar site set up in the Czech Republic and a base in Poland for 10 missile interceptors.
However, speaking in an interview to be published later this week in the Vremya Novostey daily, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was clear the system is aimed at deterring Russia, rather than Iran.
The US has said that the limited system it proposes could not threaten Russia's own missile arsenal.
The Interfax news agency reported that the RS-24, the missile tested on Tuesday, is capable of carrying at least three nuclear warheads.
Russia says they are able to penetrate any kind of defensive system.
Girl survives Panama plane crash
A 12-year-old US girl has been found alive in the wreckage of a light aircraft which crashed into the western Panama jungle in bad weather on Sunday.
Francesca Lewis was injured and suffering from hypothermia when found by locals searching for the plane.
She has been transferred to hospital and reportedly in a stable condition.
However, her 13-year-old friend Talia Klein, Talia's California businessman father Michael Klein and the Panamanian pilot were all killed in the crash.
Their bodies were found in the wreckage of the plane.
Island vacation
Mr Klein had chartered the pilot Edward Lasso to fly him, his daughter and her friend to the Chiriqui volcano, about 285 miles (460 km) west of Panama City.
On Sunday morning they had departed from Islas Secas, an island in the Pacific Ocean owned by Mr Klein, where they had been on holiday.
The flight should have taken about 45 minutes, but the plane suddenly disappeared from radar about noon.
Mr Klein's ex-wife Kim had offered a reward of US$25,000 to anyone able to locate the plane.
Mr Klein, was the chief executive officer of Pacificore LLC, a Santa Barbara-based company that manages several hedge funds.
Francesca Lewis was injured and suffering from hypothermia when found by locals searching for the plane.
She has been transferred to hospital and reportedly in a stable condition.
However, her 13-year-old friend Talia Klein, Talia's California businessman father Michael Klein and the Panamanian pilot were all killed in the crash.
Their bodies were found in the wreckage of the plane.
Island vacation
Mr Klein had chartered the pilot Edward Lasso to fly him, his daughter and her friend to the Chiriqui volcano, about 285 miles (460 km) west of Panama City.
On Sunday morning they had departed from Islas Secas, an island in the Pacific Ocean owned by Mr Klein, where they had been on holiday.
The flight should have taken about 45 minutes, but the plane suddenly disappeared from radar about noon.
Mr Klein's ex-wife Kim had offered a reward of US$25,000 to anyone able to locate the plane.
Mr Klein, was the chief executive officer of Pacificore LLC, a Santa Barbara-based company that manages several hedge funds.
Monday, December 24, 2007
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