NASA Aircraft

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson and Pilot Doug Hurley are ready to take off from the Shuttle Landing Facility runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to perform touch-and-go landings aboard their Shuttle Training Aircrafts (STA). An STA is a Gulfstream II jet that is modified to mimic the shuttle's handling during the final phase of landing. Ferguson and Hurley will practice landings as part of standard training before space shuttle Atlantis' launch to the International Space Station. Atlantis and its crew are targeted to lift off July 8, to deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts135/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

Best Medic Competition

Photo Credit: 2nd Lt. Tameka Hall

Soldiers with the 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division -
Center, navigate over a wall during the litter-carry obstacle course during the brigade's Best Medic
Competition, June 19, 2011, at Camp Liberty, Iraq. Teams representing battalions from
around the brigade participated in the competition, designed to mimic the Army's Expert Field
Medical Badge course.

Cassini Saturn probe

The newly assembled Cassini Saturn probe undergoes vibration and thermal testing at the JPL facilities in Pasadena, California. Subjected to weeks of "shake and bake" tests that imitate the forces and extreme temperatures the spacecraft will experience during launch and spaceflight. Cassini's mission is to orbit Saturn for four years and study the planet, its rings and moons in detail. The large moon Titan is a principal target for exploration, and Cassini will carry the Huygens probe, (gold-mylar circular object seen here mounted on the front of the spacecraft) to be released to enter Titan's thick atmosphere and descend to the surface via parachute. The Huygens probe is provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the radio antenna at top was provided by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The project is a joint endeavor of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL manages the program for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20)

SAN JUAN DEL SUR, Nicaragua (June 21, 2011) The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) is anchored off the coast of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, its fifth country stop of Continuing Promise 2011. Continuing Promise is a five-month humanitarian assistance mission to the Caribbean, Central and South America. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kasey Close/Released)

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)

ATLANTIC OCEAN (June 14, 2011) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) conducts rudder turns during sea trials. Dwight D. Eisenhower completed a nine-month planned incremental availability at Norfolk Naval Ship Yard on June 10 and is scheduled to resume underway operations this summer. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Christopher Stoltz/Released)

Wake Up, America!

Wake up America! Civilization calls every man, woman and child! / James Montgomery Flagg.

USS Monterey (CG 61)

110603-N-AQ172-189 MEDITERRANEAN SEA (June 3, 2011) The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) is underway in the Mediterranean Sea. Monterey is on deployment supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation effort in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Viramontes/Released)

P-51 Mustang

HS-60B Sea Hawk helicopter

GULF OF ADEN (June 7, 2011) An HS-60B Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Dragonslayers of Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron (HS) 11, takes off from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) as the ship transits the Gulf of Aden. Enterprise is conducting maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Brooks B. Patton Jr./Released)

USS Tortuga (LSD 46)

SOUTH CHINA SEA (June 11, 2011) The amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) launches a target drone during a Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Malaysia 2011 drone gunnery exercise. CARAT is a series of bilateral exercises held annually in Southeast Asia to strengthen relationships and enhance force readiness. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Christopher S. Johnson/Released)

Walter Johnson and Herold Ruel

Walter Johnson and Herold Ruel, Washington National baseball players.

Machine gun at Brooklyn Navy Yard

General Robert F. Catterson

Space shuttle Atlantis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis, attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters atop a mobile launcher platform, slowly inches out of the Vehicle Assembly Building for the final time. "Rollout," as it's called, to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida began at 8:42 p.m. EDT. It will take the crawler-transporter about six hours to carry the shuttle stack to its seaside launch pad. The milestone move paves the way for the launch of the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station, targeted for July 8. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts135/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

The Golan Case

Anyone interested in preserving the public domain, please check out this techdirt.com article:
 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110602/02304214514/why-golan-case-matters-pulling-works-public-domain-is-massive-tax-culture.shtml

F/A-18C Hornet

PACIFIC OCEAN (June 6, 2011) An F/A-18C Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 113 breaks the sound barrier during an air power demonstration over the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 are currently underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Travis K. Mendoza/Released)

F/A-18E Super Hornet

PACIFIC OCEAN (May 31, 2011) An F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 81 deploys flares alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) during an air power demonstration. Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 are underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans/Released)

F/A-18E Super Hornet

PACIFIC OCEAN (May 31, 2011) An F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 81 banks over the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) during an air power demonstration. Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 are underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans/Released)