EDWARDS CLEARED FOR LASER TESTS.Byline: Daily News EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. - Air Force officials have been authorized au·thor·ize tr.v. au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es 1. To grant authority or power to. 2. To give permission for; sanction: to begin initial laser-testing activities in an Edwards Air Force Base laboratory. Edwards' Airborne Laser Test Force was ``cleared hot'' to begin a thorough examination of laser hardware and software prior to its installation in a modified 747 for aerial tests. The clearance was given Dec. 8 in the second step in a multistep review process conducted by a safety review board chaired by Les Bordelon, the Air Force Flight Test Center's executive director. The safety review examines whether all base, local, state and federal requirements are met, officials said. ``This process becomes even more important considering the ABL program is a first of its kind, not only at Edwards, but worldwide,'' said Bordelon. The first safety review board covered the delivery of chemicals and the mixing operations at the Integrated Maintenance Facility. The second review board focused on the initial verification and testing of the high-energy laser's subsystems, said Maj. Gary Wesselmann, the ABL integration and test lead. The review examined four areas: loading the laser modules with basic hydrogen peroxide hydrogen peroxide, chemical compound, H2O2, a colorless, syrupy liquid that is a strong oxidizing agent and, in water solution, a weak acid. It is miscible with cold water and is soluble in alcohol and ether. fuel, conditioning and assessing the cleanliness Cleanliness See also Orderliness. Cleverness (See CUNNING.) Berchta unkempt herself, demands cleanliness from others, especially children. [Ger. Folklore: Leach, 137] cat continually “washes” itself. of the hydrogen peroxide tanks and plumbing plumbing, piping systems inside buildings for water supply and sewage. The Romans had a highly developed plumbing system; water was brought to Rome by aqueducts and distributed to homes in lead pipes—hence the name plumbing from the Latin word plumbum , transporting the laser chemicals and their waste products, and checking the helium helium (hē`lēəm), gaseous chemical element; symbol He; at. no. 2; at. wt. 4.0026; m.p. below −272°C; at 26 atmospheres pressure; b.p. −268.934°C; at 1 atmosphere pressure; density 0. and nitrogen flow in certain parts of the laser modules. The Pentagon's $1.1 billion airborne laser program is aimed at developing a weapon capable of destroying enemy missiles with an invisible beam of energy. The airborne laser aircraft, a highly modified Boeing 747 fitted with a laser in its nose, is being developed in response to worldwide threats posed by missiles such as the Scuds launched by Iraq against Israeli and American forces during the first Gulf War. |
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