Early flight: Otto Lilienthal

Before 1881, attempts to develop airplanes and gliders were occasional and sporadic. Lilienthal changed all that. Indeed, Lilienthal's efforts broke the 'respectability barrier' that haunted serious efforts to develop airplanes. Before Lilienthal, building a heavier-than-air craft was widely considered to be the province of dreamers and fools; afterwords it seemed possible to fly. Thus, his efforts mark the beginning of the experimental period of active research on heavier-than-air flight. Lilienthal developed eighteen different models of his gliders over a span of 5 years. His efforts received worldwide publicity, and his successes lent others the courage to follow in his footsteps.

Also Visit the Otto Lilienthal Museum!

Russian Cosmonaut Breaks Record for Spaceflight - NEWS - MOSNEWS.COM

"Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev broke the record for human spaceflight on Tuesday, having spent more time in space than any other human.

He has spent more than 749 days in orbit over six space flights. Previous record holder, Russian Sergei Avdeyev, had spent 748 days in orbit. "

WTG Krik! /salute

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter prepares for Takeoff

The MRO will arrive at Mars in March 2006 for a mission to understand the planet's water riddles and to advance the exploration of the mysterious red planet. This mission will examine the red planet in unprecedented detail from low orbit and provide more data about the intriguing planet than all previous missions combined.