I saw a large bright light slowly crossing the late September sky and was transfixed. Then I looked and saw a pale horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague,and by the beasts of the earth. However on reasoning with myself and a having Google I realised it was the International Space Station International Space Station
If you ever want to know where the ISS is at anytime look here (also other heavenly bodies!) https://www.heavens-above.com/ Totally different from a plane as it doesn't have any flashing lights and moves across the sky at quite a rate so you don't have that much time to see it.
Actually its the ghosts of HQ Troop 24th Lancers whose tanks were named after the Riders of the Apocalypse.
Spitting Image Four Riders :Lyrics When things are looking rosy and you’re feeling fine, The skies are blue and it’s sunshine time, Don’t forget who’s lurking just outside the door: It’s Famine! Death! Plague! And War! Mister Happiness is coming round to tea, The birds are singing in the tree, Don’t forget who’s waiting there just off-stage: It’s War! Famine! Death! And Plague! 'Cause every silver lining has a cloud! And it won’t be alright on the night! There’s nothing at the end of the rainbow! And there’s a tunnel at the end of the line! When things are looking really incredibly bad, Your manically depressed and (Ha!) kind of sad, Don’t forget we haven’t even started yet: We’re War! Famine! Plague! And Death! 'Cause un-happy times are here again! The grass is greener on the other side! Your ship isn't ever coming in! And where there’s a will; someone’s died! When good old Uncle Jollity is out-of-town, You’re feeling blue and you’re wearing a frown, Don’t forget there’s even nastier things a-comin': There’s Plague! War! Death! And Famine! 'Cause every silver lining has a cloud! And it won’t be alright on the night! There’s nothing at the end of the rainbow! And there’s another tunnel at the end of the light! Repeat to fade Kyle
How the ISS is being retired, and what will happen to it And counting... https://howlongagogo.com/date/2031/january/1
On reading the article, I see that it is due to crash into the Pacific Ocean in 2031. Surely, in this day and age and with our advanced navigation know how, we can do better than that. Just put in the co-ordinates of Blogg's Scrapyard in Basildon, Essex, and drop it right in. If it overshoots and takes out some of the local scenary, very few people will notice the difference.
https://www.basildon.gov.uk/media/4...ppendix_5_-_Heritage.pdf?m=634961984238070000 "Basildon originates from the Saxon period, and is referenced in the Domesday Book (1086), as Belesduna. The names has subsequently evolved over the centuries, with variations include Berdlesdon, Batledon and Behoter. Basildon developed from a modest hamlet to the East of Lee Chapel, later combining with the larger settlements of Laindon, Vange and Pitsea to the north- west, south and south-east respectively. After the Second World War, the Labour Government under the leadership of Clement Atlee, created the New Towns Act 1946, aimed at providing much needed housing to take the strain off London, which was suffering from overcrowding and a shortage of housing due to war damage. In the same year the, Stevenage in Hertfordshire became the first of 11 New Towns to be designated between 1946-51."
In the days when Skylab was to come down there was great uncertainty as to the debris site and trail. I was in the States at the time and the biggest seller was Tee Shirts with a roundel and the text "Official Government Target" Kept the wearer safe from space debris strikes as no government department had ever managed to hit an official target! Ross
Which bits (of the ISS not Basildon !) do you want in which scrapyard? Mass - 445 tonnes Dimensions - 73m x 109m Being a large irregular shaped object made up of many component parts, it will break up as it begins to enter the atmosphere. Different elements will then fall at different rates and have different trajectories. Some will burn up completely, some partially and some not at all to reach Basildon. No scrapman can even guess at the value of what might end up in his yard! Think more about what happened to the comet that impacted Jupiter some years back rather than Newton’s apple falling from the tree. Or a MIRV missile warhead without the individual control over each warhead. Or maybe a cluster bomb would be a better analogy! Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 - Wikipedia So it could end up taking out bits all over Essex and surrounding parts. On second thoughts.....
The centre of WW2 Talk seems to be in the Midlands, Leicestershire and Shropshire rather than Essex... I have speculated that there is a knitting circle involving VP, Owen, etc. which meets at a pub serving home brewed ale and faggots. There may be a breaker's yard in Basildon which spells cars as "karz" ( but no Blogg's Scrapyard ) and there is a planning authority so permission may be required ( as per "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" episode 1 ) but listed building consent is very unlikely to be required. It is rather a dump, much like Harlow, Stevenage, Luton etc. There is an airport at Luton. Stansted Airport is the UK Government's preferred destination for dodgy aircraft, planning authority: Uttlesford District Council. BBC News | UK | Stansted's hijack history
Hemel Hempstead is far too posh. North Weald was suggested as London's Third Airport back in the 1960's, but close to Harlow, which then had a Labour MP called Stan and a Labour Government at the time. Douglas Jay was the man in favour of Stansted.
I spent several years working with the homeless in Basildon back in the 1990s and it was pretty rough then. I cannot believe that it has improved since. It was around the time of the Leah Betts drug death and the Essex boy murders which came after. I have particulary fond memories of some of the characters from the Vange estate and frankly, whatever remains of the I.S.S. solid or fragmentary, fell in the Basildon area I would shed no tears.
In my part of Essex under the Stansted and Luton aircraft paths everybody thinks it is South Cambridgeshire. We used to have a dog that ran up the street carrying a newspaper. One day it carried a joint of meat. There was a chap who spoke little English who grew vegetables, mostly cabbage and caulifower, on his allotment and would push a handcart selling his produce. Impossible today. Bring back hydrogen airships is my idea for the future of flight, so take no notice....
Just supposing the ISS could land like an ordinary aircraft, Essex has other places than Basildon to accommodate it. Back in March 1962.... From TNA file refererence AVIA 119/4 “Committee on the Third London Airport R.A.F. Airfields near London The following is an extract from a letter to the Secretary of the Committee from Mr. H.A. Shaw, Air Ministry: “ I enclose a list of airfields mostly within 50 miles of London, but a few of them a little further, which it seems convenient to have on the record. The list is in two parts - airfields up for disposal now, or likely within the foreseeable future, and those which on present indications we shall need to keep for long-term defence requirements.”