LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Reconnaissance
built 635 days ago
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter consists of a main bus, constructed of titanium, carbon composites, and aluminum honeycomb. Extending from the bus are two solar panel wings and a 3 meter high-gain antenna dish. The bus houses the propulsion system, telecommunications, command, guidance, and science instruments. The maximum spacecraft mass is 2180 kg, which includes 1149 kg of propellants.
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NASA's back to the Moon adventure is being kick-started by the building of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. That probe is the opening volley of spacecraft in response to President George W. Bush's multi-billion dollar Vision for Space Exploration that he outlined in January 2004.
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Reconnaissance in force (RIF) is a type of military operation used specifically to probe an enemy's disposition. By mounting an offensive with considerable (but not decisive) force, the commander hopes to elicit a strong reaction by the enemy that reveals its own strength, deployment, and other tactical data. In modern warfare, key weapon systems such as surface-to-air missile batteries, radar sites, artillery, and so forth can give their location away to everyone for miles around when actively fighting. The RIF commander retains the option to fall back with the data or expand the conflict into a full engagement.
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Reconnaissance was not the most exciting duty for a pilot in the war. The airplanes they flew in, such as Caudrons, Albatros B.II, Slamson 2A2s, and the American De Havilland DH-4, were not the fastest or sleekest of the fleet. But in conjunction with other aerial observation systems--balloons, dirigibles, man-flying kites, and the fesselschraubenfliger (an early helicopter)--reconnaissance airplanes saw enemy movement long before it could be seen from the ground. And out of reconnaissance activities, all other military uses for aircraft emerged. The reconnaissance pilots were the first to fire at enemy airplanes and they were the first to drop grenades on troops below. The names of the reconnaissance pilots are not as well remembered as the names of the aces, but it was due to their activities that aviation became a part of modern war.
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This week, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) begins a preliminary design review. A process that is sure to reflect the financial stress and strain status of NASA's newly issued budget for fiscal year 2007.
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Reconnaissance aircraft ... carried ECM devices and relied heavily on electronic and infrared sensors to supplement their film cameras. Their tasks were to locate and photograph targets, using radar and conventional photographic techniques, and to probe enemy electronic defense systems to discover and evaluate the types of radio and radar equipment that were in use.
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Reconnaissance