The Technology and applied sciences Portal
Technology ( Gr. technologia (τεχνολογία) < techne (τέχνη) "craft" + logia (λόγος); " saying") Technology is the application of developments in science and engineering to benefit humanity. It may be defined as: "Solutions for real human problems by the development and application of tools, machines, materials, goods, or information in the form of skills, knowledge, processes, blueprints, plans, diagrams, models, formulae, tables, engineering designs, specifications, manuals, or instructions."
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the only fully functional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The GPS uses a constellation of between 24 and 32 Medium Earth Orbit satellites that transmit precise microwave signals, that enable GPS receivers to determine their location, speed, direction, and time. GPS was developed by the United States Department of Defense. Its official name is NAVSTAR-GPS. Although NAVSTAR-GPS is not an acronym [1], a few backronyms have been created for it [2]. The GPS satellite constellation is managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing.
Similar satellite navigation systems include the Russian GLONASS (incomplete as of 2008), the upcoming European Galileo positioning system, the proposed COMPASS navigation system of China, and IRNSS of India.
Following the shooting down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in 1983, President Ronald Reagan issued a directive making the system available free for civilian use as a common good.[3] Since then, GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map-making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, and hobbies such as geocaching. GPS also provides a precise time reference used in many applications including scientific study of earthquakes, and synchronization of telecommunications networks.
Gas metal arc welding (GMAW), sometimes referred to by its subtypes, metal inert gas (MIG) welding or metal active gas (MAG) welding, is a semi-automatic or automatic arc welding process in which a continuous and consumable wire electrode and a shielding gas are fed through a welding gun.
Christopher Columbus Kraft, Jr. (born February 28, 1924) is a retired NASA engineer and manager. After graduating from Virginia Tech University in 1944, Kraft was hired by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the predecessor organization to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He worked for over a decade in aeronautical research before being asked in 1958 to join the Space Task Group, a small team entrusted with the responsibility of putting America's first man in space. Assigned to the flight operations division, Kraft became NASA's first flight director. He was on duty during such historic missions as America's first spaceflight, first orbital flight and first spacewalk.
At the beginning of the Apollo program Kraft retired as a flight director in order to concentrate on management and mission planning. In 1972 he became director of the Manned Spacecraft Center (later Johnson Space Center), following in the footsteps of his mentor Robert Gilruth. He held the position until his retirement from NASA in 1982. During his retirement, Kraft has consulted for numerous companies including IBM and Rockwell International, and he published an autobiography entitled Flight: My Life in Mission Control.
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