Built within a 180-day time limit in 1943, the F-80 Shooting Star first saw service in Italy in the final year of World War 2, and consequently was sent to bases in the US, Europe and the Far East after VJ Day. It was the latter groups based in Japan that initially bore the brunt of the early fighting in Korea, engaging MiG-15s in the world's first jet-versus-jet combat. Flown principally by the 8th and 49th Fighter Bomber Wings, the F-80 served until the end of the war, completing an astonishing 98,515 combat sorties, shooting down 17 aircraft (including three of the vastly superior MiG-15s), dropping over 33,000 tons of bombs, and firing over 80,000 air-to-ground rockets. Aside from the fighter-bomber Shooting Stars, the ultra-rare, but heavily used, photo-reconnaissance RF-80A saw extensive use in the frontline in Korea as a replacement for the vulnerable RF-51D. Filled with first-hand accounts and rare colour photographs taken by the veterans themselves, this is the engrossing story of the pioneering F-80 Shooting Star.

Shivya Nath quit her corporate job at age twenty-three to travel the world. She gave up her home and the need for a permanent address, sold most of her possessions and embarked on a nomadic journey that has taken her everywhere from remote Himalayan villages to the Amazon rainforests of Ecuador. Along the way, she lived with an indigenous Mayan community in Guatemala, hiked alone in the Ecuadorian Andes, got mugged in Costa Rica, swam across the border from Costa Rica to Panama, slept under a meteor shower in the cracked salt desert of Gujarat and learnt to conquer her deepest fears. With its vivid descriptions, cinematic landscapes, moving encounters and uplifting adventures, The Shooting Star is a travel memoir that maps not just the world but the human spirit.

Space-based systems of various kinds had proven their worth well before the end of the Cold War. But it was only during the Persian Gulf War that the enormous multiplier effect of space systems on combat operations became widely recognized. In the immediate aftermath of that conflict, then Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill A. McPeak went so far as to describe Operation Desert Storm as America's "first space war." Military exploitation of space has markedly accelerated during the years since 1991. So has US reliance on the satellite systems that inhabit the immense realm. "Shooting Down a Star: Program 437, the US Nuclear ASAT System and Present-Day Copycat Killers," by Lt. Col. Clayton K. S. Chun, is a case study of an early US antisatellite (ASAT) weapon system. In this study, Colonel Chun shows how the US Air Force developed a rudimentary ASAT system from obsolete Thor intermediate ballistic missiles, an existing space tracking system, and nuclear warheads. Largely forgotten today, this system helped to defend the United States from 1964 until the demise of the program in the mid-1970s. Since many of Program 437's components were from off-the-shelf weapons stocks and ready to field after a short development program, the Air Force's first ASAT system was relatively inexpensive to create, deploy, and operate. In tracing the evolution of this ASAT system based on 1950s technology, Colonel Chun notes that a growing number of nations today have access to technology of much more recent vintage. He ten proceeds to address in some detail the vulnerability of space-based systems that have become essential to the security and operational prowess of the United States and its allies. Giving growing US reliance on space systems for warning, employment of precision weapons, communications, navigation and positioning support, weather reporting, and surveillance and reconnaissance, Colonel Chun's study constitutes a timely reminder of the threat that even a rudimentary ASAT could pose.

This excellent report, professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction, is a case study of an early U.S. antisatellite (ASAT) weapon system. In this study, Colonel Chun shows how the US Air Force developed a rudimentary ASAT system from obsolete Thor intermediate ballistic missiles, an existing space tracking system, and nuclear warheads. Largely forgotten today, this system helped to defend the United States from 1964 until the demise of the program in the mid-1970s. Since many of Program 437's components were from off-the-shelf weapons stocks and ready to field after a short development program, the Air Force's first ASAT system was relatively inexpensive to create, deploy, and operate. In tracing the evolution of this ASAT system based on 1950s technology, Colonel Chun notes that a growing number of nations today have access to technology of much more recent vintage. He then proceeds to address in some detail the vulnerability of space-based systems that have become essential to the security and operational prowess of the United States and its allies. Given growing US reliance on space systems for warning, employment of precision weapons, communications, navigation and positioning support, weather reporting, and surveillance and reconnaissance, Colonel Chun's study constitutes a timely reminder of the threat that even a rudimentary ASAT could pose. PREFACE * PROGRAM 437: THE BEGINNINGS * ASAT WEAPONS: AN ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY? * ASAT DEVELOPMENT: THE AIR FORCE LEADS THE WAY * WHY ASAT WEAPONS? * NIKE-ZEUS BECOMES A RIVAL * OPERATIONAL CONCEPT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM 437 * LIMITING FACTORS * Funding Shortfalls * Location, Location, Location * The Nuclear Specter * PROGRAM 437 UNMASKED * A NEW MISSION FOR THE 10TH ADS * A THIRD LIFE FOR PROGRAM 437 * THE DEMISE OF PROGRAM 437 * SPACE: A CRITICAL DIMENSION * VULNERABILITY OF SPACE-BASED ASSETS * POTENTIAL THREATS * NORTH KOREA: KEY EXPORTER OF TECHNOLOGY * The DPRK's Ballistic Missile Capabilities * North Korea: A Nuclear Sphinx * INDIA: A GROWING BALLISTIC MISSILE POWER * India's Ballistic Missiles: An Overview * India's Nuclear Program * IRAN: A MISSILE EXPORTER'S PARADISE * Iran's Ballistic Missile Capabilities: An Overview * Iran Moves Closer to Nuclear Power * CHINA'S REACH FOR THE STARS * PRC Ballistic Missiles: An Overview * Chinese Nuclear Programs * SPACE LAUNCH INFRASTRUCTURE * INTERNATIONAL ASAT CAPABILITIES: HOW REAL THE THREAT? * CONCLUSION

The Liang dynasty (502-557) is one of the most brilliant and creative periods in Chinese history and one of the most underestimated and misunderstood. Under the Liang, literary activities, such as writing, editing, anthologizing, and cataloguing, were pursued on an unprecedented scale, yet the works of this era are often dismissed as "decadent" and no more than a shallow prelude to the glories of the Tang. This book is devoted to contextualizing the literary culture of this era--not only the literary works themselves but also the physical process of literary production such as the copying and transmitting of texts; activities such as book collecting, anthologizing, cataloguing, and various forms of literary scholarship; and the intricate interaction of religion, particularly Buddhism, and literature. Its aim is to explore the impact of social and political structure on the literary world.

“A story brimming with hope and sparkling with magic. Meg Cannistra’s writing shines as bright as any shooting star.” —Cassie Beasley, author of Circus Mirandus “Loving, imaginative, and gorgeously written, this book shines with magic and heart.” —Anne Ursu, author of The Lost Girl Wonder meets Mary Poppins in this heartfelt debut novel about magic, healing, and the importance of family. Twelve-year-old Luna loves the nighttime more than anything else. It’s when no one gives her “that look” about the half mask she has to wear while healing from a disfiguring car accident. It’s also the perfect time to sit outside and draw what she sees. Like the boy and girl from the new family next door…zipping out of the window in a zeppelin and up to the stars. At first she thinks she’s dreaming. But one night they catch her watching. Now Luna spends her nights on adventures with them, as they clean full moons, arrange constellations, and catch jars of stardust. She even gets to make a wish on a shooting star they catch. But Luna learns that no wish is strong enough to erase the past—as much as she may hope to.

Everyone agrees that the paparazzi are the scourge of the earth. They're low. They're despicable. They'll do anything for that perfect shot. And yet...how long could you go without your Us Weekly fix? Meet Josephine Foster, or 'Zo Jo as she's called in the biz. The best pint-sized photographer of them all, Jo knows that the public-and the stars-have a symbiotic relationship with the paparazzi. She doesn't mind doing what it takes to get that perfect shot, until she's sent on a major undercover assignment to shoot Ned Hartnett-teen superstar and the only celebrity who's ever been kind to her-at an exclusive rehabilitation retreat. The money will be enough to pay for Jo's dream: fine portrait photography classes, and maybe even quitting her 'zo gig for good. Everyone at the retreat wants to know: what Ned's in for? But Jo certainly doesn't know what she's in for: falling in love with Ned was never supposed to be part of her assignment . . .

A natural-born athlete, Jomo Rogers has talent that is easy to spot on the football field, and local reporters are taking notice. But the buzz keeps focusing on his potential, on his promise. Jomo doesn’t want to be the “next big thing.” He wants to be the real deal . . . in as little time as possible. He adopts a new workout regimen, complete with more weights, longer runs—and steroids. A gritty, witty, and eloquent youngadult debut, Shooting Star takes on the sports headlines and brings to the page a young man whose drive is about to make his life spiral out of control.