NASA fuels Atlantis for end-of-era spaceflight

NASA fuels Atlantis for end-of-era spaceflight

Atlantis is poised to blaze a path into history Friday when it propels toward the heavens on the last-ever mission of the 30-year-old American space shuttle program.

The crew of four US astronauts boarded the shuttle as NASA kept a close eye on the gloomy weather forecasts, which have predicted rain, clouds and a 70 percent likelihood of a delay in the launch planned for 11:26am (1526 GMT).

Atlantis’s 12-day mission to the International Space Station marks the end of an era in human spaceflight, after which the United States will rely on Russia to send astronauts to space until a replacement US capsule can be built.

‘The beginning of the end of the space shuttle era is this morning,’ said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel.

At least 7,50,000 people have descended on Florida, with tourists eager to grab a glimpse of the final launch, but nostalgia has mingled with bitterness among the thousands of NASA employees set to lose their jobs.

History and Traditions of the Celebration

History and Traditions of the Celebration

    

love my father

          Many people of the United States and Canada celebrate Fathers Day as a day to express gratitude and appreciation to their fathers by giving them presents or greeting cards. Father's Day comes on the third Sunday in June.

          Father's Day was started in 1910 by Mrs. John Dodd of Spokane, Washington. The custom spread throughout the United States and in 1936 a national Father's Day committee was formed. Headquartered in New York City, the committee annually selects a Father of the Year. Some of the fathers who have won this title are Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Harry S. Truman.