31 January-6 February (6 February 2012)
European Commission says that a consortium led by OHB System AG and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) will build eight more navigation Galileo satellites “under the supervision of ESA”. SSTL continue its role as payload prime, assembling, integrating and testing the navigation payloads in the UK and OHB System as the prime contractor for the eight satellite. The SSTL-OHB partnership has build 14 satellites. SSTL is assembling the Galileo programme payloads at its new Kepler facility in Guildford, UK. Galileo will be “interoperable with the American GPS system and Russia’s GLONASS system.
Cosmic radiation “may have damaged electronics on the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft”. Counterfeit microchips could be the problem.Two components of the computer "spontaneously rebooted" after the spacecraft entered the temporary parking orbit and went into a standby mode.
The Space Launch System (SLS) teams are looking into the potential of finding extra roles for the vehicle, in addition to – or in tandem with – the flagship exploration missions, noting its availabity for Department of Defense (DoD) payloads and even what is known as “Secondary Payloads” – allowing satellites to hitch a ride with the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV).
The Atlas V is likley to be the booster to carry astronauts into Earth orbit and robotic probes, delivering crews to the ISS. This is “a major breakthrough in co-operation of private, military and civilian space interests. United Launch Alliance and NASA have determined “preliminarily that the Atlas will meet “stringent NASA Human Spaceflight”. NASA’s commercial crew programme has agreements with four companies to carry crews. Three companies plan to use Atlas V.
Over 6,000 individuals have applied for joining NASA’s astronaut corps. NASA has already announced 15 new astronauts will to join the 21st astronaut class. NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden says that the newt astronauts could fly the first commercial rockets to the space. NASA has 6,372 applications - the largest number since 1978, which more than 8,000 submissions.
A manned mission to the moon is possible by 2020, says Roscosmos. Vladimir Popovkin says that by 2020 “a man will land on the moon,"
Former astronaut John Grunsfeld, the head of NASA's science division, says he will streamline the “partnership between NASA’s research department and Human Spaceflight Directorate.
The first launch of the new solid-fueled Vega rocket will be on 13 February.The 98ft launcher will fly from the Guiana Space Centre.
Iran launched its third satellite on 3 February. The Navid satellite was launched from northern Iran, carried aboard a two-stage Safir rocket. A cube-shaped satellite was placed into a 155-230 miles.The 72ft tall Upgrades to the Shahab 3 missile could put some regions of Central and Western Europe in range of Iran.The 110lb Navid satellite is the largest and heaviest spacecraft orbited by Iran.The satellite will provide weather data and monitor natural disasters. Navid was built by students at Sharif University of Technology. Meanshile, Israel could be months away from a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities over fears of production a weapon.
Life could not exist on the surface of Mars because the planet has been in a "super-drought" lasting 600 million years, say British researchers at the Imperial College London. Analysis of Martian soil brought back to Earth from the 2008 NASA Phoenix mission suggests that the Martian surface “has been dry for such a long time any possible life would have to be deep underground”. The sample was taken from Mars' icy northern arctic region."We found that even though there is an abundance of ice, Mars has been experiencing a super-drought that may well have lasted hundreds of millions of years”, says Tom Pike said. "Future NASA and ESA missions planned for Mars “will have to dig deeper to search for evidence of life, which may still be taking refuge underground."
Roger Boisjoly, the whistle-blower in investigation of the Challenger has died on 6 January aged 73. Thiokol cut him off from space work, and he was shunned by colleagues and managers. “If you wreck this company, I’m going to put my kids on your doorstep,” said Boisjoly. On the night of Jan. 27, 1986, Mr. Boisjoly and four other Thiokol engineers used a teleconference with NASA to press the case for delaying the next day’s launching because of the cold. At one point, Mr. Boisjoly said, he slapped down photos showing the damage cold temperatures had caused to an earlier Shuttle. “Thirteen seconds later,” Mr. Boisjoly said, “we saw it blow up.” However, the couse of the Challenger was not the “cold. Read: The Real Truth on the Space Diary and download a 57 page!
International scientists have discovered a “potentially” habitable super-earth orbiting a nearby star with an orbital period of about 28 days.The “earth” is 4.5 times that of the Earth, in a"habitable zone”
22 light years away. OK. But the so called “earth” is 225878499812499 miles away. How do they know really anything about it! It’s just a joke!
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has test fired the SuperDraco, engine for the future of human spaceflight. These engines will power the launch escape system for the Dragon spacecraft. The SuperDraco is an advanced version of the Draco engines used by SpaceX's Dragon to manoeuver in orbit and re-entry. Eight engines “built into the side walls of the Dragon spacecraft will produce up to 120,000lb axial thrust to carry astronauts to safety in an emergency. NASA's Commercial Crew Programme awarded SpaceX $75 million last year. .
A camera aboard one of NASA's twin Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) lunar spacecraft has returned its first unique view of the far side of the moon. MoonKAM, or Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students, will be used by students nationwide to select lunar images for study. GRAIL consists of two identical spacecraft, recently named Ebb and Flow, each of which is equipped with a MoonKAM. The images were taken as part of a test of Ebb's MoonKAM on 19 January. The first prominent geological feature is the Mare Orientale, a 560 mile wide impact basin on the near and far side. GRAIL is NASA's first planetary mission carrying instruments “fully dedicated to education and public outreach”. 2,500 schools have participated
On 1st Februay nine years ago, the Columbia was heading back to Earth above Texas with a crew seven but the spacecraft had a fatal damage. During the re-entry, the fiery heat a gaping hole was in one of the wings. The damage happened 16 days before the launch.The crew was astronauts commander Rick Husband, pilot Willie McCool, and mission specialists Dave Brown, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Mike Anderson (payload commander) and payload specialist Ilan Ramon, of the Israeli Space Agency. “Powerless to change there fate all perished in 16 minutes before landing at the KSC”. The tragedy's cause was a dreadful oversite and lack of “curiosity by NASA to understand the true dangers that insulating foam falling off the ET posed to the orbiter's fragile heat shield”. The lack of urgency to check the craft for damage in space after seeing the film footage of the suitcase-size wedge of foam slamming into the wing during ascent was appalling. However, the crew had no chance.
Russia’s next manned Soyuz launch to the ISS - which was to have been in February , was then delayed from 30 March and now will be launched on 15 May - after the Soyuz TMA-04M could not be used “for safety reasons”.The launch will be on May 15 using another Soyuz spacecraft. The current ISS crew had initially been assigned an "unusually short expedition" of 120 days.
Two long-serving and distinguished American astronauts whose flying days had ended a while ago before moving into ground-support positions have announced their retirements from NASA Shannon Lucid, one of NASA's first female astronauts, and Jerry Ross, the first person to launch into space seven times, have retired from the agency.
Genesis
On 12 April 1961, my mother, Marnie and I took a trip to London on the train from Epsom, Surrey to Waterloo Station. After doing some shopping, Mum and I went to a Lyons Corner House at the end of the Strand close to Trafalgar Square. I ate a huge lemon meringue pie with a thick layer of meringue that seemed to be a foot tall. As the years go by, the dimensions of the meringue topping reach epic proportions in my mind. Mum and I then walked to Leicester Square underground station. Outside the station, the first editions of the Evening News and Evening Standard were being sold.The billboards displayed the words: "MAN IN SPACE".This 12 year old was hooked on space. One morning on the way to school in 1962, I saw copy of a magazine called Flight in the newsagent's at the railway station. The magazine featured a "Space Special". Later, Dad added the magazine to the paper deliveries and I read the space pages each week, keeping them in files. Guess who became Flight International magazine’s spaceflight correspondent! Yes, ME! My night prayers always included a prayer that one day I would be a spaceflight journalist. I was the Flight International magazine’s space correspondent from 1984 to 2006!
The day I knew space was for me
15 May 1963, aged 15
Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper flew the last mission of the Mercury programme for just over a day. I remember the launch day vividly. I had a new, small blue and silver transistor radio and took it to school to hear the launch. It was lunchtime, so I went into Form 4 at St Peter’s School, Guildford, England and sat alone listening to the live countdown and launch. I was so excited and felt an extraordinary determination to get a job to do with space. His flight was a success despite problems, which Cooper handled with light-hearted one-liners. Whenever I think of that day in the classroom, I regard it as the moment that I "knew" somehow, that space was for me.........and I did it!!
My laptop opening page, features Gordon Cooper’s launch on May 15, 1963.
Echo
What power I had that day
During a holiday in August 1961, we visited Venice, where I managed to buy a copy of the Daily Express newspaper featuring the launch of another Soviet in space, Gherman Titov on 6 August. I read the report of his flight out loud to my family - who I am sure were very interested - while sitting in a gondola on the Grand canal. Later we went to St Mark's Square. It was getting a bit dark and many tourists were wandering around, enjoying the atmosphere. I looked up into the darkening sky and saw a bright star wandering across the sky. It was obvious to me that this was Echo 1, a satellite launched in August 1960 - a huge aluminised balloon which was 100ft in diameter which reflected the light very well. I pointed at it and said, "There's Echo 1!" My family all looked up and pointed. Some people next me asked me what it was and I told them. They pointed at it and said something to the people next to them. The multilingual news spread across the square and it seemed hundreds of arms were pointing outstretched at the skies, with many voices saying the word "satellite" in various accents. What power I had that day!
Tim’s Story
112
The sense of history was palpable and this intensity of feeling was to increase . On 24 December 1968 Apollo 8 swung around the far side of the moon and fired its Service Propulsion System engine for 242 seconds, enabling the craft to enter lunar orbit.
Challenger- What REALLY happened!
48
So, the Commission was only shown the final two seconds of the New Smyrna Beach coverage. Two seconds! “Imagine only 2s of the Zapruda film of the Kennedy assassination being shown”, said Abutaha. The FBI made individual slides of each motion picture frame of the Kennedy incident. Either there was a huge cover up by NASA, by not allowing the Rogers Commission to see all the evidence or it was just total incompetence all round. Apparently the other evidence was imagination! Many other observers at New Smyrna Beach saw the extra contrail. What scenario makes more sense? Did Truly know the truth and tell the Commissioners what the video actually showed? Did the Commission tell NASA to cover it up? Did anyone in the Reagan Administration know about the contents of the deleted 71 seconds? Did some US reporters know about the deleted 71s but were told not to say anything - or were afraid to? Why didn’t they question the fact that the Commission showed a “normal” Shuttle ascent through to T+71s, then showed the final 2s of the Sehnert coverage?!!
Watch This Space.
When Yuri Gagarin was launched on 12 April 1961, I started a scrapbook of newspapers’ space stories and have done since and I have 123 scrapbooks. I also managed to get earlier stories. So here they are, starting at Lunik 1 in 1959.
1.
“Russian rocket heading half a million miles away. Radio contact lost in solar orbit. But the the Soviets were ahead. German Professor Herman Oberth of the Redstone Arsenal said: “Russian rockets remind me of simple alarm clocks. You can throw them on the wall and they keep on ticking. American rockets are like expensive ladies’ wrist watches that look nice but tend to stop frequently”.
2.
Russian Rocket Hits Moon. Impact Near Sea of Serenity. Hammer and Sickle Pennants Landed. The nose capsule of the Russian rocket Lunik 2 landed. Britain’s Jodrell Bank radio astronomy station reported that signals stopped at 2min 23sec past 10pm. The flight lasted 236,875 miles.
3.
The USA took the view that planting flags on the moon - as the Russia had done - would not mean the first country to fly a flag would “rule over the moon”.
4.
April 10th 1959 - Seven military test pilots were selected for manned orbital spaceflights: they were - Captain Deke Slayton, Lt.Cdr Alan. Shepard, Lt Cdr Wally Shirrah, Capt Virgil Grissom, Lt Col John Glenn and Lt M. Carpenter for the Mercury project.
5.
21st July 1959: “Polaris Triumph”. “Submarine twice hits target at 1,100 miles”. Ike phones from the golf course: “Historic”. (There were two Polaris missiles)
6.
1 December 1959
There was serious thoughts that there could be a USA-USSR war but Mr Kruschev agreed for a Summit “any time any place”. Eventually, the Soviet programme went for “total disarmament”.
7.
Daily Mirror. Ronald Bedford. Space Correspondent. One of the best, who covered the Moon flights. Two Spacemen are ready to go! An X-15 pilot and a NASA Mercury astronaut.
See the 57-page real story of Challenger on the Space Diary.
Tim Furniss says:
The executive of CollectSpace, Robert Pearlman had all the data about the truth of Challenger but did not use it in a debate on the CollectSpace. Jim Oberg also had the information but did not mention it – even making a comment “Furniss used to be respectable”. I was attacked by CollectSpace “readers”. I thought Oberg was a self-appointed fount of all space knowledge and he didn’t know anything about the inside story! Or did he know?! Pearlman owes me an apology. I am waiting for it Pearlman! Also I am waiting an apology from Oberg. Have they got the guts to apologise? Not yet! I’m still waiting! Pearlman and Oberg. Oh, by the way: I am very respectable - it’s you two that are the idiots - and all those who followed Pearlman and Oberg’s attempts to take me down. You have not got the guts! I’m waiting!!!
Challenger
A 57-page exposure of what REALLY happened on Challenger is available on the home page on www.spaceport. co.uk. Just press the “button” on the home page. You will be amazed! And will realise that the Challenger Commission dismissed a lot of evidence. The Challenger Commission lasted only from 6 February to 6 June! Press the button!!!!!! Don’t be afraid!!!! You will learn a lot...........and will be amazed.
For all those who castigated me and for my investigation with Abutaha - It’s a pity that American space journalists and others in other countries did not do their own investigations. They should be ashamed. Especially ROBERT PEARLMAN at CollectSpace! He needs to apologise - and all those followers of Pearlman who should be ashamed. And JIM OGERG too.I thought he was the most known US spaceflight expert. Surely he must known. If he didn’t, he has gone down in my estimation. P and O (poo) were too scared! Or they just didn’t know - and that says everything! Challenger is history but Abu Abutaha should have been given a medal.The crew needs to be praised for what they did to try to understand was happening. Read some of the conversations again in this edited e-book, against what was happening outside of Challenger. I wonder if Pearlman and Oberg have the guts to read it.
Anyway, the full story will be told in episodes in each Space Diary. So you will read it anyway. If you can’t even be bothered to read the extracts you are nuts!
For Pealman and Oberg.
Dear Mr.Furniss,
I have many sad memories of January 28th, 1986 and can remember many details well (I remember you on the Newsnight special in the afternoon, and then later on in the evening). My interest has been rekindled following Roger Cook's literally eye-opening expose of the work of the Rogers Commission. I found your website after
remembering you, and Ali AbuTaha whom I recalled from SpaceFlight News in 1986/7. I was somewhat surprised at Michael Week's attitude to Mr.AbuTaha's data that it seemed like a dead-end avenue of inquiry. I have always thought that NASA were so keen to get the Shuttle flying again, that they would do the minimum to establish it as "safe" again, so we had field joint redesigns to prevent a repetition, flapper
valves, tyres and brakes enhanced (to keep astronauts happy), extra ribs and spars in the wings etc. (to keep the engineers happy) and a "crew escape system" (to keep the public happy). I have often wondered about how much trouble NASA would go to if a third party found new evidence, and what they would do...mention of Week's name in
Richard Cooks book, and your relevation in your E book that he was demoted and sacked make me think that there might be some covert record in the US National Archives of Weeks and Truly who tried to destroy AbuTaha's findings. I've e-mailed the National Archives to see if any such records exist. It would also be interesting to know how much, if any, effort, NASA made towards AbuTaha's work! I was also surprised to hear of Dick Truly's sacking by the President Bush Snr. I am curious if there is any mention in the National Archives for the reason behind this, too!
paul.lee.1971@gmail.com
Challenger and Ali Abutaha
1. Here is the full quote from an Abu Abutaha article on NASA references: "It now (2009) appears that NASA specifically noted both my findings and Tim’s article on the Challenger Crew Cabin in its records. For example, the NASA History Division included the text given below in the Report, “Astronautics and Aeronautics: A Chronology, 1996-2000,” posted in 2009. Under a “February 1997” entry (Page 55), the following is noted from Tim Furniss’ article: Taha’s (AbuTaha’s) photographic analysis also revealed that the explosion had propelled Challenger’s crew compartment thousands of meters away from the explosion, partially explaining why investigators had taken 40 days to locate the shell. Taha (AbuTaha) suggested that a shock wave had killed the crew instantly, although NASA had never found evidence of a shock wave. News of the photographs and of Taha’s (AbuTaha’s) research kept alive the debate surrounding the decade-old accident,” (my emphasis). Even though Furniss’ article was specifically highlighted in NASA’s own briefs, the dramatic evidence of the Challenger Crew Cabin
remained dormant."
2. Ali AbuTaha who investigated the Challenger accident has produced new evidence. Only one space reporter, Tim Furniss, mentioned Ali Abutaha’s Challenger evidence on the tenth anniversary in a premier international aerospace publication, Flight International. Abutaha has posted this report. It now (2009) appears that NASA specifically noted both his findings and Tim’s article on the Challenger Crew Cabin in its records. For example, the NASA History Division included the text given below in the Report, “Astronautics and Aeronautics: A Chronology, 1996-2000,” posted in 2009. Under a “February 1997” entry (Page 55), the following is noted from Tim Furniss’ article: “Taha’s (AbuTaha’s) photographic analysis also revealed that the explosion had propelled Challenger’s crew compartment thousands of meters away from the explosion, partially explaining why investigators had taken 40 days to locate the shell. Taha (AbuTaha) suggested that a shock wave had killed the crew instantly, although NASA had never found evidence of a shock wave. News of the photographs and of Taha’s (AbuTaha’s) research kept alive the debate surrounding the decade-old accident,” (my emphasis). Even though Furniss’ article was specifically highlighted in NASA’s own briefs, the dramatic evidence of the Challenger Crew Cabin remained dormant. The line between incompetence and cover-up can be thin. Sometimes, incompetence leads to cover-up. Sometimes, incompetence appears as cover-up. Also, the line between incompetence and mistakes is thin. With great care and effort, I captured and photographed the shock wave that ripped the Challenger and External Tank apart, sending the Crew Cabin tumbling far away from all the other pieces! You can see my (Abutaha) photo of the shock wave in my Post #118 to CollectSpace. (Incidentally, Collect Space had been provided with the information! And a CS correspondent did his to best portray me as a nutcase.) Was there a shock wave? A picture is worth a thousand words. So, was it a mistake? Was it cover-up? Was it incompetence? To me, these are empty questions.
3. Here is Abutaha’s account. “I had developed a completely different “sequence of events” for Challenger from lift-off to, and beyond, the explosion that we all saw on television. There were many unique events that were missed in all the other investigations. The important events are supported with clear evidence. “One event was the real Challenger Crew Cabin (CCC) tumbling far away from all the other debris after the explosion. In 1986, I discovered that what NASA identified as the CCC after the explosion, in the films, was a piece of debris, and I also captured the real Crew Cabin in the film record. I showed the evidence to a distinguished member of the Rogers Commission, officers from NASA, and others. The subject was emotionally charged then. Everyone thought it better not to release my finding publicly, and I agreed. In January 1989, I gave a Continuing Engineering Education Program at my alma mater, the George Washington University, entitled, “The Challenger Accident: An Integrated Analysis of the Official Investigation.” In video, I showed the attending engineers the Challenger Crew Cabin drifting alone away from, and way above, all the other pieces. One engineer from NASA attended my 1989 program; Wayne Hale. My course was cancelled after interference from NASA, as described in the Shuttlefactor Report. Again, I shelved the Challenger Crew Cabin subject. On the tenth anniversary of the Challenger accident, I shared the Crew Cabin evidence with space reporters. The evidence included sequenced photos showing the CCC tumbling end over end, frame after frame. The photos show the unmistakable truncated outline of the Crew Cabin. I also pointed out that the piece identified by NASA as the Crew Cabin was shallow-shaped, that looked exactly like the Lower Forward Fuselage. The Fuselage piece can easily move in a stable attitude, like a kite, in the atmosphere.” Abutaha developed a completely different “sequence of events” for Challenger from lift-off to, and beyond, the explosion that we all saw on television. There were many unique events that were missed in all the other investigations. The important events are supported with clear evidence. One event was the real Challenger Crew Cabin (CCC) tumbling far away from all the other debris after the explosion. In 1986, I discovered that what NASA identified as the CCC after the explosion, in the films, was a piece of debris, and I also captured the real Crew Cabin in the film record. I showed the evidence to a distinguished member of the Rogers Commission, officers from NASA, and others. The subject was emotionally charged then. Everyone thought it better not to release my finding publicly, and I agreed. In January 1989, I gave a Continuing Engineering Education Program at my alma mater, the George Washington University, entitled, “The Challenger Accident: An Integrated Analysis of the Official Investigation.” In video, I showed the attending engineers the Challenger Crew Cabin drifting alone away from, and way above, all the other pieces. One engineer from NASA attended my 1989 program; Wayne Hale. My course was canceled after interference from NASA, as described in the Shuttlefactor Report. Again, I shelved the Challenger Crew Cabin subject. On the tenth anniversary of the Challenger accident, I shared the Crew Cabin evidence with space reporters. The evidence included sequenced photos showing the CCC tumbling end over end, frame after frame. The photos show the unmistakable truncated outline of the Crew Cabin. I also pointed out that the piece identified by NASA as the Crew Cabin was shallow-shaped, that looked exactly like the Lower Forward Fuselage. The Fuselage piece can easily move in a stable attitude, like a kite, in the atmosphere. Only one space reporter, Tim Furniss, mentioned my CCC evidence on the tenth anniversary in a premier international aerospace publication, Flight International. It now (2009) appears that NASA specifically noted both my findings and Tim’s article on the Challenger Crew Cabin in its records. For example, the NASA History Division included the text given below in the Report, “Astronautics and Aeronautics: A Chronology, 1996-2000,” posted in 2009. Under a “February 1997” entry (Page 55), the following is noted from Tim Furniss’ article: “Taha’s (AbuTaha’s) photographic analysis also revealed that the explosion had propelled Challenger’s crew compartment thousands of meters away from the explosion, partially explaining why investigators had taken 40 days to locate the shell. Taha (AbuTaha) suggested that a shock wave had killed the crew instantly, although NASA had never found evidence of a shock wave. News of the photographs and of Taha’s (AbuTaha’s) research kept alive the debate surrounding the decade-old accident,” (my emphasis). Even though Furniss’ article was specifically highlighted in NASA’s own briefs, the dramatic evidence of the Challenger Crew Cabin remained dormant. The line between incompetence and cover-up can be thin. Sometimes, incompetence leads to cover-up. Sometimes, incompetence appears as cover-up. Also, the line between incompetence and mistakes is thin. With great care and effort, I captured and photographed the shock wave that ripped the Challenger and External Tank apart, sending the Crew Cabin tumbling far away from all the other pieces! You can see my photo of the shock wave in my Post #118 to collectSpace. Was there a shock wave? A picture is worth a thousand words. So, was it a mistake? Was it a cover-up? Was it incompetence? To me, these are empty questions.
History
1961
February
Mercury MR-3’s the “personal parachute” was an additional safety feature in the Mercury programme. This parachute was only used during the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission manned by Alan Shepard.
Creation
www.crt.org.uk
Geoff Chapman
with Tim Furniss
Darwin and Dawkins - the chickens are coming home to roost! (and others).
Morals Without God?
Christianity is the answer!
Selfishness. Immorality. Marriage breakdown. Rejection of authority. Abortion. Euthanasia. Despair.
By what authority do we decide the difference between right and wrong without some outside point of reference. The alternative to accepting God-given rules of conduct is to make up the rules as we go along - a sure recipe for disaster! In Darwin’s time there were discerning people who could see the consesequences of believing Darwin’s ideas, including the geologist Professor Sedgwick, who warned that Darwin’s ideas whould brutalise humanity. Look at Britain now. Moral breakdown, rioting and looting. Young and even older people need to see the difference between right and wrong. We should be teaching the difference between right and wrong! We are told that this can be done without reference to God and religion. Even Professor Richard Dawkins - the most famous evolutionist - says: “Darwinism as a system of values is deeply pernicious and evil and should be fought against.” A Darwinian society is a very unpleasant society to live with. Well done professor! However: I don’t agree with evolution. I believe in creation. Because there is much ignorance of history we are slow to learn its lessons. Darwin’s book was quickly translated into German and this theory quickly translated into German and took root much more rapidly than it did in Britain. Hitler, with his vile theories of a “master race” emerged from this background and ended will six million Jews in gas chambers. We express the horror at such atrocities, yet 400 unborn children are killed by abortion. Evolution encourages us to put own “rights” before our responsibilities to others - to love ourselves more than God and our neighbour.
Does Richard Dawkins exist?
The noted foe of religion seems set to be absent, despite many requests that he takes part from a planned debate with William Lane Craig, a leading American Christian philosopher. Other anti-God blowhards have also declined to debate with Graig. To tease Dawkins out of his Oxford lair, organisers of Craig’s tour planned to put advertisements on the city’s buses proclaiming, “there’s probably no Dawkins”. In the age of BCE and CE, it’s nice to see the other side hitting back”! (Daily Mail).
Evolutionists Running Scared!
Leading UK evolutionists are stepping up their efforts to stop schools to hear any criticism of evolution. Of course, Richard Dawkins, David Attenborough, the British Humanist Assoociation and the “think tank” Ekklesia, has written to Education Secretary, Michael Gove demanding he moves against the “threat” of creationism and intelligent design. The scared Dawkins and Attenborough have said: We need to stop calling evolution a theory. In the language sense of the word it is a fact in science. No it isn’t!
Peter Hitchens. Daily Mail.
“Well, why not advertise abortions on prime TV? That’s the kind of country we are. So, why be coy about it. Richard Dawkins, his friend David Attenbrough and his anti-God friends have finally won the moral battle. Growing numbers of are taking these idiots seriously. The world’s a meaningless accident. We have no purpose in life, right and wrong change with time and you can make them up as you go along. So, abort that baby, let the elderly starve to death in hospital, dodge your train and bus fares, buy stolen goods at car boot sales, take the bonus, maximise those expenses, drop that litter, drink until you are sick all over the pavement or on another person.The Centre of the Study of Integrity finds that we’re all more relax about lying, adultery, handling stolen goods and of course drugs. Well of course we are. Why wouldn’t we be? It was Victorian Sunday schools that made us civilised and now they’re all gone, what did you think would happen.
I hope Dawkins and Attenbrough are pleased with their success.
Dawkins and Attenborough:
Listen to this and shut up:
If evolution is “as solidly demonstated as any fact in science”, why are you - Dawkins and Attenborough and your followers are so scared of young people and others of later age looking at the altervatives? Because you two know there is a perfect creator! And you can’t deny it!
Darwin and Dawkins - the chickens are coming home to roost! (and the others).
1.
Selfishness. Immorality. Marriage breakdown. Rejection of authority. Abortion. Euthanasia. Despair.
2.
By what authority do we decide the difference between right and wrong without some outside point of reference. The alternative to accepting God-given rules of conduct is to make up the rules as we go along - a sure recipe for disaster!
3.
In Darwin’s time there were discerning people who could see the consesequences of believing Darwin’s ideas, including the geologist Professor Sedgwick, who warned that Darwin’s ideas whould brutalise humanity. Look at Britain now. Moral breakdown, rioting and looting. Young and even older people need to see the difference between right and wrong. We should be teaching the difference between right and wrong! We are told that this can be done without reference to God and religion.
Now - Read about God’s Creation:
An ongoing feature.
The Real Truth!
Here are obvious examples which cannot be denied!
These are the the latest of examples of non-evolution.
First, the begining!
“When God made the Earth He hung it upon nothing”.
Job 26-7. 2100-1700 BC.
“It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the Earth”.
Isaiah 40-21. 739-701 BC.
How did Job and Isaiah know this?
Because God told them!
Remember this was BC!
“O Lord, O Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the Earth! Thou hast set thy glory in the heavens.........when I consider the heavens, that work of thy fingers, the moon and that stars, which thou hast ordained, what I man, that thou art mindful of Him? and the son of man visitest Him?”
The Evidence of Creation
Life from Mud?
Scientists are now claiming that life began in mud volcanoes in SW Greenland. “They believe they erupted 3.8 billion years ago, forcing certain elements up to the surface which were crucial in formation of biomolecules - the building blocks of life. It was previously thought that the molecules - the building blocks of life. It wsas previously thought that the first living things evolved in geysers - underwater volcanoes which spewed out hydrogen, methane and other gases which produced an environment favourable to life. The researchers believe that these environment favourable to evolve into single-cell organisms. These are the simplest forms of life which would, over millions of years, evolve into multi-cell organisms and eventually into birds, mammals and humans. However: Biomolecules are formed by LIVING organisims, so how could those (non-living) “certain elements” which were supposedly “forced up the surface” become living cells? This vital step in the origin of life is, as usual, neatly side-stepped, and hey presto! We have living organisms which are then said to have evolved into more complex forms, including ourselves. The truth is, secular scientists are no nearer to explaining the origin of life than they ever were.
Animals’ Biosonar Beats Us!
Bats, dolphins and mole rats are inspiring advances in ultra technolgy. “Sonar and ultrasound, which use sound as a navigational device and to paint accurate pictures of an environment, are the basis of countless countless technologies, including medical ultrasound machines and submarine navigation systems. But when it comes to more accurate sonar and ultrasound, animals’ ‘biosonar’ capabilites still have the human race beat! Scientists believe that by studying the way these animals use ultrasound, “animals’ “bisonar capabilities still have the human race beat! Scientists believe that by studying the way these animals use ultrasoud, “they will be able to mimic this technology” to build “a new generation of ultrasound machines. This could provide a variety of benefits to the medical field, such as earlier detection of defects in embryos or non-invasive dectection of cancer.
Further evidence that God’s designs are always better and more efficient, though we doubt that these reseachers will give God the credit for what they hope to mimic and use for human benefit.
Dinosaur Feathers” claim.
Science Daily reported that the “evolution of feathers on dinosaurs and birds” had been “captured” in amber found nearGrassy Lake, Albera, Canada. The amber contained “proto-feathers”, aswell as feathers ‘similar to those of modern birds like the Grebe. The report stated that “no dinosaur or aviian fossils were found in direct association with the amber feather specimens, but....comparison between the amber and fossilized feathers found in rocky strongly suggest that some of the Grassy Lake specimens are from dinosaurs. However, this is not evidence of feathered dinosours. Since “now dinosaurs evolved into birds. The most logical explanation is that the amber contained down and feathers from birds and nothing more!
Creation!
The eyes have it.
According to ScienceNOW, scientists are discovering how human and animals deal with blur and estimate distance. It’s something we all take for granted: our abilty to look at an object, near or far and bring it instantly and with into focus. The eyes of humans and many animals do this almost instantaneously and with stunning accuracy, in order to see an object clearly, an accurate estimate of blur is important. Humans and animals instintively extract key features from a blurry image, use that information to determine their distance from an object, then instantly focus the eye to the precise desired focal length. Researchers say they are now nearer to understand how the brain accomplishes this feat. “Previous many had thought that the brain used a system of guessing and checking to get to the answer, much like the way a camera’s auto-focus system works.
Now: evolutionists tell us that eyes were created by “blind chance” through gradual evolutionary steps. Yet there are better than cameras that took human expertise to design.
Creation!
Another “living fossil”
A study of an early Miocene fossil from south Siberia belongs to a species of aquatic beetles which is still alive today widley distributed in Eurasia. The fossil in sediments could be 16-23 million years old. Scientists are puzzled as to how these insects could remain unchanged. The evolution theory supposed to mean change over time. Creation!
The first to invent screws and nuts.
Scientists have found that a species of weevil, unlike other insects which have ball-and socket or hinges, have a nut-and-screw joint in their hips. Though weevils are clumsier than namy beetles, the transforamation of a hinge into a screw has made them better climbers.The researchers don’t attempt to explain how “the transformation of a hinge joint into a screw joint”. Nature can’t “invent” anything. Sounds like more good design.
Creation!
The diving bell.
The University of Adelaide, Australia have discovered that water spiders which live under the water are breathing from their “diving bell”. Scientists thought that the spiders had to resurface every 20-40 minutes. Researchers have found that the spiders have a “diving bell” air bubble. These spiders diving bell behaves like a gill, extracting oxygen from water, enabling tham tto remain beneath the surface. The spiders only need to dash to theh surface once a day to supplement their air supply. Now: How could this system have evolvled? The spiders coud not survive below the water unless the system worked from the start!
Creation!
Fanged frogs
Scientists have claimed that they have discovered evidence of “rapid evolution” among fanged frogs on the island of Sulawesi. The team found 13 species of fanged frogs on the island, which “differ in body size, amount of webbing in their feet and even how they raise their young - all in accordance with the demands of their distinct ecological niches”. The article concluded: “The rapid evolution of these frogs is a stricking example of adaptive radiation - a concept Charles Darwin famously recorded in Galalapagos finches”. Once again, evolutionists are wrongly equating “adaptive radiation” which all creationists accept - with evolution. These frogs are still frogs!
Creation!
Salty moon
Space.com says scientists suspect Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus conceals a salty ocean beneath its frozen surface.” NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, scientists have discovered that water geysers erupting from Enceladus contain a significant amount of salt suggesting a subterranean sea. The finding might have implications of life for the possiblity of life on the moon. The University of Heidelberg says: the fact that water is in such a remote and unlikley place, surley has implications for the general likelihood of life in the Universe.
Now: Take these claims with a pinch of salt! The existence of water has nothing to do with possibility of life. Life is more than chemicals - it needs information which only comes from intelligence! Secular scientists can’t explain how life could come from non-life, with or without water!
Creation!
More to come!!!
The Silly Stories:
The Search for Alien 'Footprints': Scientist Rethinks Hunt for E.T.
Jeremy Hsu, Astrobiology Magazine. Intelligent alien life may have left traces in their technological footprints or even written in the DNA of Earth's organisms. Another joke science fiction story!
Did all life begin in a Greenland volcano? Daily Mail. It is one of the least densely populated countries in the world but scientists say that Greenland was the birthplace of life. Apparently, mud volcanoes in the Isua region in SW Greenland erupted 3.8 billion years ago.
Come on! Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
From DARPA! The discovery of intelligent aliens would be mind-blowing in many respects but it could present a special dilemma for the world's religions, theologians pondering interstellar travel concepts. Christians, in particular, might take the news hardest, because the Christian belief system does not easily allow for other intelligent beings in the universe, Christian thinkers said at the 100 Year Starship Symposium, a meeting sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to discuss issues surrounding travelling to other stars. In other words, "Did Jesus die for Klingons too?" as philosophy professor Christian Weidemannof Germany's Ruhr-University Bochum titled his talk at a panel on the philosophical and religious. What can you say!! Read The Bible.
What has happened to this “Christian” country?
As the Great Britain debate on going into the EU has started, this is what Sir Winston Churchill said in 1930:
“We should be with Europe but not of it......linked but not combined. We have our own dream, our own task”.
Come on Britain, lets become the Great Britain we used to have. It’s seems that it is the the population of Great Britain which will have to the work because the Government have not got the bottle! Britain’s Goverment is trying to destroy “our great legal system”, founded on Christian faith and principals. Who would have thought that lawyers have to help defend Christians in a country with a history and Christian foundations! Over the past three years over 100 Christians have suffered, after wearing a cross, sharing their faith and even helping others! (Great) Britain’s Government should be ashamed! We are not “great” anymore!!
Thought for the day (s)
Psalm 91
“I will say of the Lord, He will say of the Lord. He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in Him, I will trust.
My times are in my Father’s hand;
How could I wish or ask for more?
For He who has my pathway planned
Will guide me till my journey’s o’er
We see in part; God sees the whole.
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
Hallelujah! What a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving.
He is with me to the end.
The dearest friend on Earth is but a mere shadow compared to Jesus.
We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Earth - the land of trials; heaven - the land of joys.
There is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign;
Infinite day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain.
Message:
In the Old Testament days, the Israelites were warned by God of the terrible consequences of rejecting Him.Their sufferings were often severe! A dislike of a literal belief in God is a present symptom but unfounded, seeing that God Himself entered this world as a baby, in Jesus Christ to be its Saviour from its sins. Our condition both in the past and today, clearly shows the need of salvation which only God can provide, for “there is none righteous, no not one”. (Romans chapter 3 verse 10). Be it police, magistrates, drug users, Christians or whatever, we all need to realise that “we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ - everyone of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans chapter 14 verses 10-12). Finally, no man, even no Christian leader however “great” he might be, can actually “rebuild the moral fabric of our society”. The most and best that may be done or has been done is to obey the Word of God and trust Him for salvation and seek His strength to live “soberly, righteously and godly in this present world”.
Titus chapter 2, verse 12.
Pastor Johnathan Evans, Town Mission, Bideford, Devon, England.
God wants to be number one in your life.
When He is not, things won’t work out right for you. Instead of asking God to bless your agenda, ask Him to give you an agenda He can bless. Jesus was able to say yes to one things and no to another because He understood God’s agenda for the day. Can you point to a single stressed-out or confused moment in Christ’s life? No. When conflict arose he said, “I always do what pleases Him. No. When conflict arose he said, “I always do what pleases Him”. That’s because He took time to consult His father. How long are you going to allow yourself to be pulled in 101 different directions. Nothing will change until you decide to give God what He requires - Your “First Fruits”. Don’t give Him the part when you are worn out, can’t think straight and can hardly keep your eyes open. Give Him the best part of your day. That’s where your true priorities will be discovered. From getting dressed to setting your schedule, ask Him to help you make choices that glorify Him. As you become more and more aware of His presence, it will be impossible to compatmentalise Him. Ordinary events will become sacred events because He’s involved in them. Ask Him to direct you in the choices you make and empower you for the jobs you need to get done. Keep Him first in everything you set out to do and He will show you the path that leads to peace. Following the moment-by-moment leadership of the Holy Spirit will course you to enjoy every day of your life.
From: The Word for Today. UCB Ltd.
The Govenment has no right to re-define marriage, warns Archbishop of York. Marriage must remain a union between one man and one woman, the Archbishop of York has warned.
If we don’t do anything, the destruction of this Christian country will gradually will create a dreadful mess of it!
The Witness of the Stars:
A regular feature on the Space Diary.
Intro:
The witness of the stars to prophetic truth.
In 1893, the late Miss Rolleston of Keswick in Britain worked on the Mazzaroth or the Constellations.
She collected the work by the Arab astronomer, Albumazer, who lived in the Caliphs of Grenada in 850 A.D and the Tarter prince and astronomer about 1450 A.D. It was him that Arabian astronomy came down from the earliest times. He gave us the prophecies which have been written in the stars in heaven - as well as in the Scriptures of Truth.
The Gospel in the Stars
Episodes starting soon.
Tim’s message:
"The age of the Space Age have seen Mankind making its first tentative steps into a minute part of the Universe. Not putting a big toe into the void to make sure it is not too cold before wading in gently but plunging in, crash-bang-wallop, thanks to the Cold War and the Space Race between the Former Soviet Union and the USA. Today, we have the curiosity, desire and imagination to continue to explore but no longer the commitment, the money or in some ways the technology. The first phase of space exploration seems to have ended. Our first steps have seen remarkable advances and feats. But with all this progress, mankind may have lost something more important than discoveries in space. Humility.”
At a time when more people believed in creation than the theory of evolution, Albert Einstein wrote, "We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many different languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written." The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is."
That seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent being toward God. We see a Universe marvellously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand those laws."Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that moves the constellations. Such humility has been all but lost in our scientific community". We have gained a lot of knowledge since Einstein but today that humility has not been "all but lost". It has been lost.
Today, God is no longer in the loop! Human wisdom rules. We know best! If we do we are making one heck of a mess of it. Scientists are making some incredible assumptions that are being accepted as fact by a gullible public. The assumption that creation is a myth and evolution is fact. Evolution is a theory that has not been proven. There is actually more scientific evidence for a creation - such as DNA which is a wonderful example of "in their own kind." Thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope, we look millions years into the Universe and still see a mature and active cosmos. Where is the evidence of the Big Bang? Actually, in the Bible you find Job in 4,000 years ago who wrote "God spreadeth out the heavens"! !
We found something else on our first steps into the Universe. We discovered a tiny planet in the vastness of space, the tiny Earth, like a jewel on a cushion of black velvet. “the circle of the Earth, hanging upon nothing” as described in a Bible passage written about 3,000 years ago, when humans thought that the Earth was flat and stood on a pillar.
What the moonmen came back with was a memory etched in their beings, of a beautiful, fragile planet in the vastness of space, so small that an astronaut could cover it with his thumb held at arms length. The message for us today is not to forget that "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth - and the He created life “in its own kind". An awe of a creator God would make us appreciate what we have on Earth much more, our uniqueness in the eyes of God and also to appreciate the glory of the heavens. Without giving God the glory for the heavens and the Earth that He made, we will never do justice to our destiny in space - and our access to it may even be closed by
human fallibility and blindness - for example, space debris, a growing barrier to space which like the Tower of Babel may stop us from reaching the heavens.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth".
My Christian testimony
In April 1989, my parents went on holiday and my family decided to "house-sit" at Beech Tree Cottage in Epsom, Surrey. We arrived and as I opened the door, the phone was ringing. I just got to the phone in time and a voice said, "Hello, is that Mr Furniss?" I said, yes, but it is Tim Furniss not my father. Can I help? With an excited voice, the caller shouted, "Tim! That's incredible. It's Jonny!" My old pal at school who lived in South Africa was in Raynes Park visiting his father. He got in his car and came over to Beech Tree. It did not take long for us to get back into our old routine and for Jonny to tell me that he was a Christian. I thought I was a Christian because I went to Church and believed in God. It seemed to be more than that with Jonny. He "knew Jesus as his saviour".Combined with this extraordinary coincidence, I had moved to Horns Cross, Bideford, Devon and my friend and neighbour Eddie had witnessed to me and took me to the Bideford Town Mission, where I heard a pastor, Jonathan Evans preach from the Bible in a way I had never heard before. This was the real thing. I had a choice. Either Jesus was a liar or what He did was true. So the way I looked at it was that God apparently loved me and wanted me to have a living relationship with Him and He made it possible when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to be my saviour. I had to decide. It was still all of a puzzle to me and I was confused. My fifth stint of the Flight International Show Daily took place at the Paris Air Show. I spent most of the time in a daze. The series of coincidences and events in my spiritual journey had continued and reached a climax in a hotel room in the Hotel Deaumenil in Vincennes, Paris. On 5 June 1989, before joining my Flight Daily News mates for our evening get together before the Show began, I knew I had to make a decision. I knelt down by my bed and said, "God, I know you are there. I know that I am a sinner. I know that Jesus died for me. I am sorry for my sins. I don't know what else to say. But please just show me you are there". I thought, well "that's that". I didn't expect anything to happen. I had just done it and that was it. I went to dinner with my mates and went to be bed.
I had a dream and saw Jesus standing in the drive at Peppercombe Lodge, exactly in the place where I had "heard" that voice of encouragement when we first went to look at the house. When I woke up in the morning, I realised that something remarkable had happened. I felt an overwhelming feeling of joy. I went down to breakfast and wanted to hug everyone. I couldn't stop thinking of Jesus.
I walked around the Paris air show chalets, stands and press conferences in a kind of floating joy, looking at all these weapons, bombs and military aircraft and technology and wondering what on Earth I was doing there. I did not realise what had happened until later when I came "down to Earth". I had been born again! I had received something from the outside. I did not expect it, or anticipate it. I had received the Holy Spirit. So that's what "born again" meant, I thought. So began my walk with Jesus, a walk that lasts forever. I was at the air show, however, and there was work to do. Later I became a preacher in various churches in local churches. I live in Bideford, North Devon and I can offer my conversion story for churches. I also lecture at schools in the area and even further.
Biography
Tim Furniss became the spaceflight correspondent of Flight International - the UK's international aerospace weekly magazine from 1984 to 2006 which has been covering spaceflight since Sputnik1. He was born in Epsom, Surrey in 1948. Tim first became interested in space when he saw newspaper placards announcing Gagarin's flight in 1961 and started to read Flight International magazine in 1962. Most of his time in and out of school was taken up with spaceflight, leading to a first job on a magazine, Space in 1966. Aged 22 in 1970, he left his job - by then in public relations with the National Freight Corporation - to spend two months travelling around the USA, which included visits to Edwards Air Force and Dyden, meeting X-plane pilots and then went to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Centre and was badged as a journalist to see his first launches, a Titan 3 and Apollo 13. He met a local journalist who took him to a hotel and led him in to a room where Tim met many of his astronaut heroes! Tim's first book was also published in 1970 and during his next twelve years, while working full time on non-space activities in public relations, publicity and advertising for BTR Limited and Air Products, he continued to write about space and began radio work - first local, then national covering the Apollo 15 from the press site of the Kennedy Space Centre in July 1971. In 1982, Tim took the plunge to become a full time spaceflight writer, journalist and consultant, making his TV debut in 1983 commenting on Shuttle mission STS 6 on TV-AM. After visiting the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in the former Soviet Union in 1984 - one of the first non-Soviet journalists to visit the centre. As a result, became spaceflight correspondent of Flight International, the magazine that had first fired up his interest in spaceflight in 1962. Later he was one of the first non-Soviet journalists to cover a launch of a manned Soyuz - TM7 - in November 1988. He reported the space news at major air shows for the Flight Daily News. A contributor to magazines including Space, Cable and Satellite Europe and Space Business International, he has written over 30 books. Tim books, include the Jane’s Manned Spaceflight Log and the Space Shuttle Log - and One Small Step - the Apollo missions, the astronauts and their later careers and lives. Tim hales from Epsom, Surrey, near London and was born in 1948 and was the Flight International spaceflight correspondent from 1984 to 2006. He moved to Bideford, Devon, England in 1984 and was one of the first “remote” electronic journalists, working from Horns Cross, near Clovelley, later moving into Bideford. Tim is 63 and is a grand-dad.