For CVN 77 USS George H.W. Bush - the tenth and last aircraft carrier of class Nimitz with the unambiguous motto "freedom in operation" - aircraft carriers of new class CVN-78 Gerald R will follow. Ford.

As the press-service of Naval Forces of the USA informs, input ceremony in structure of Naval Forces of the USA of aircraft carrier CVN 77 USS George H.W on January, 10th, 2009 has taken place. Bush ("George Bush"), the senior named in honour of US president George Bush serving in days of the Second World War in sea aircraft. In solemn ceremony have taken part both George Bush the senior, and his son, present the USA the president George Bush younger, noticed that the American armies should battle still to "the severe opponent" - the end it is not visible to struggle. Aircraft carrier CVN 77 USS George H.W. Bush is the tenth and last in series of aircraft carriers of class "Nimits" - the most powerful surface ships in the world. It is constructed by company Northrop Grumman. Length of aircraft carrier - 332,8 m, displacement - about 80 thousand т, speed - over 30 knots, or 56 km/h. Action radius - global, unlimited. Aircraft carrier crew - 3200 sailors and officers, structure of aviation wing based on him - 2480 more person. Onboard can be based to 90 planes and helicopters simultaneously. The aircraft carrier is equipped by four nuclear reactors A4W of manufacture of company Westinghouse and four rowing screws. The data about booking is coded. The ship is equipped трёхкоординатным by survey radar SPS-48E and two-co-ordinate - SPS-49A (V) 1, radar of detection and support of purpose Mk 23, four navigating radar, and also three radar СУО Mk 95. Arms (besides aircraft) - 2 launchers Mk of 29 rockets ESSM and 2 rocket complexes RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile, and also anti-submarine complex. On aircraft carrier CVN 77 USS George H.W. Bush number of the innovative decisions distinguishing it from other "Nimittsev" - including the new contours, new materials deflector streams of the jet engines, new architecture of the deck superstructure ("island"), lowered acoustic , advanced design of hangars and the general configuration of compartments, zoning of electrosystems and the raised throughput of communication channels and data transmission is introduced. Now in system are all ten "Nimittsev", constructed in 1968-2009 - USS Nimitz, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS Carl Vinson, USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS Abraham Lincoln, USS George Washington, USS John C. Stennis, USS Harry S. Truman, USS Ronald Reagan, b USS George H. W. Bush. It is supposed that "Nimittsy" will serve about half a century - including "George Bush" till 2058

On change of "Nimittsam" aircraft carriers which will be under construction under program CVN-21 will come. The first of them, CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford, already is under construction on shipyard it will be lowered on company Northrop Grumman shipyard to Newport of the News, the State of Virginia - unique shipyard in the USA on which probably to build nuclear aircraft carriers and to carry out recharge of their reactors. To put the ship into operation it is supposed in 2015 building of two more aircraft carriers of the same class - CVN-79 and CVN-80 Is planned. At the same length (nearby 333) and speeds (over 30 knots, or 56 km/h) "Ford's" displacement will exceed 100 thousand т. Power installation of aircraft carrier will consist of two reactors A1B developed by company Bechtel. Crew - 4660 persons. The aircraft carrier will be armed by air defence systems, and also complex of arms of near radius of action. On aircraft carrier can be based over 75 flying machines of various type and purpose. More detailed information on development авианосного fleet of the USA will be presented on the Research and working out portal – R&D.CNews.

The Future of Human Spaceflight

That, at least, is NASA's current plan. The agency would like to keep the station running, but funding for it is projected only through 2015, much to the consternation of researchers who are just beginning to use it and international partners who have invested billions of dollars in the project. Extending the life of the station would cost $2 billion to $3 billion a year. Even "deorbiting" it--dumping its remains safely into the ocean--will not be cheap, costing at least $2 billion.

The 2015 deadline means that after decades of largely directionless space policy, Congress will be forced to make at least one clear decision: it must allocate funds for either the space station's continued operation or its destruction. And that is just one of a number of urgent issues facing the country's human spaceflight program. The space shuttle is due to be retired by late 2010 or early 2011, leaving NASA without a means of sending astronauts anywhere for several years. And the key elements of NASA's exploration program, the Ares I rocket that will launch astronauts into orbit and the Orion capsule that will ferry them around in space, are several years behind schedule.

In October, the Augustine Committee, a panel chartered by the White House and chaired by former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine, issued its report on the future of space travel. The committee examined NASA's plans and explored alternatives. Much of the report discussed the merits of different destinations in space and the rocket and spacecraft technologies that could be used to reach those destinations. But embedded in the report is a rationale for why there should be a human spaceflight program at all. "The Committee concluded that the ultimate goal of human exploration is to chart a path for human expansion into the solar system," it states.

Over the years, NASA and space advocates have put forward many reasons to justify sending astronauts into space. They have garnered support by offering something for everybody, especially the military and scientific communities; scientific progress, strategic superiority, and international prestige have been foremost among the promised benefits. On closer inspection, though, these justifications don't hold up or are no longer relevant. For example, robotic missions are increasingly capable of scientific work in space, and they cost far less than human crews. Satellites launched on expendable boosters allowed the United States to achieve strategic dominance in space. And Cold War motives disappeared with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Consequently, some have concluded that there is no longer any reason for human space exploration. A longtime critic of human spaceflight was the late James Van Allen, who in 1958 made the first major scientific discovery of the space age: the radiation belts around Earth that bear his name. In a 2004 essay, Van Allen wondered whether robotic spacecraft had made human spaceflight "obsolete." "At the end of the day," he wrote, "I ask myself whether the huge national commitment of technical talent to human spaceflight and the ever-present potential for the loss of precious human life are really justifiable."

But for most of the engineers and astronauts involved in the space program, astronauts can never be rendered obsolete by robots, because human spaceflight is an end in itself. They share the committee's belief that the purpose of these manned missions is to allow people to expand into, and ultimately settle, outer space.