VIVERE NELLA MIGLIORE CITTA’ USA E NON SAPERLO!!!

 

 

 

Dal giornale Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, July 2009, e’ scaturita una classifica delle migliori citta’ americane, tenendo in considerazione fondamentalmente le nuove opportunita’ di lavoro e la possibilita’ di un impiego stabile.

Incredibile ma vero Huntsville, la nostra citta’, e’ al primo posto!!!

Questo e’ dovuto al fatto che molte di queste citta’ in classifica fanno affidamento su programmi di impiego governativi, universitari ed industriali, senza escludere il campo medico.

Non e’ un caso che ad Huntsville negli ultimi tempi il governo federale americano abbia deciso di spostare molti suoi impiegati, che si occupano di contratti inerenti missili, aerospazio e munizioni. La sola notizia ha smosso molto l’economia della cittadina, infatti hanno iniziato gia’ a costruire strade, scuole, supermercati e case per ospitare i futuri imipegati, che commuteranno ad Huntsville al piu’ presto.

Nella classifica non sono stati presi in considerazione solo il numero totale dei posti di lavoro, ma anche le posizioni lavorative e l’abilita’ delle citta’ di mantenerle, in una economia americana cosi’ debole.

Un indicatore di cui si e’ tenuto conto  e’ stata la presenza di ingegneri, medici, scienziati, insegnanti ed architetti.

Questa e’ la classifica:

No. 1: Huntsville, Alabama

No. 2: Albuquerque, New Mexico

No. 3: Washington D.C.

No. 4: Charlottesville, Virginia

No. 5: Athens, Georgia

No. 6: Olympia, Washington

No. 7: Madison, Wisconsin

No. 8: Austin, Texas

No. 9: Flagstaff, Arizona

No. 10: Raleigh, North Carolina

Per farvi capire dove e’ Huntsville ecco la cartina.

 

Ecco in sintesi l’articolo tradotto e sintetizzato per voi:

No. 1: Huntsville, Alabama

By Jane Bennett Clark, Senior Associate Editor

From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, July 2009

Population: 378,057
Income Growth: 9.7%
Cost of Living Index: 91
Median Household Income: $51,275
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 40%

Questa citta’ del Nord Alabama rappresenta una citta’ simbolo per l’indutria aerospaziale e missilistica. Inoltre la scienza medica e la sua industria sono qui in forte sviluppo. Migliaia di nuovi lavori stanno per concretizzarsi in citta’. Il sindaco dice “noi abbiamo piu’ posti di lavoro di quelli che possiamo ricoprire” (se cercate un lavoro di alto profilo venite qui!!!).

 

 

Huntsville deve la sua vitalita’ alla presenza dell’Esercito Americano, che impiega piu’ di 14.000 persone (la maggiorparte civili) nei suoi 38.000 acri del Redstone Arsenal. Nel futuro ci saranno 5000 nuovi impiegati ed altri 5000 altri lavoratori sono previsti come indotto.

Huntsville non e’ chiamata a caso Rocket City. Il razzo gigante (Saturn V) che domina lo skyline di Huntsville  non e’ solo un simbolo, ma rappresenta anche la storia e la vitalita’di Huntsville nel ruolo delle esplorazioni aerospaziali.

Ecco sotto una foto vera del Saturn V, del 1968 in una delle sue missioni sulla luna

 

(The Saturn V rocket takes off with the Apollo VIII capsule from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Dec. 21, 1968. Mainly used by the Apollo program to man missions to the moon, the Saturn V was developed at the Redstone Arsenal. Most of Huntsville’s jobs and economy depend on engineering field of work. When the Apollo program closed, the local economy came to a halt in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the emergence of space shuttle missions and the growth of missile defense helped boost Huntsville and continues to this day. The city is the home base to growing research in military defence and the center of rocket-propulsion research for the nation.)

 

Per  avere una idea di quanto e’grande il razzo guardate queste foto!!

 

Il Marshall Space center, parte della NASA, impiega 2500 scienziati, molti di cui stanno lavorando al prossimo lancio sulla luna.

Tutti questi scienziati ed ingegneri, creano un fermento di cervelli che attrae altri intellettuali (“smart people come here” dicono i locali!). Huntsville incoraggia le compagnie  a porre le fondamenta dei loro uffici nella citta’, offrendo loro prezzi per case (per i loro dipendenti) e stabili (per i loro uffici) a prezzi piu’ bassi della media. Ultimo arrivata in Huntsville e’ la HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. Questa compagnia rappresenta l’ultima frontiera per la ricerca genetica.

Non tutti i settori sono in espansione ad Huntsville. La vendita delle macchine e’ in calo (anche se i vari venditori di macchine con cui ho parlato in questi giorni dicono che non e’ assolutamente vero!!), cosi’ come il mercato delle case che costano piu’ di 300.000 $ (gli americani non si possono piu’ permettere questi prezzi, dato che le banche non erogano piu’ mutui se non piu’ che sicure della restituzione dei soldi).

L’articolo conclude dicendo che Huntsville data la sua forte economia, la sua collocazione geografica in posizione panoramica (!!), il suo downtown (sul quale avrei molto da ridire, dato che non esiste!!), i suoi musei ed i suoi 110 acri di giardino botanico, incoraggia i residenti ed i nuovi arrivati a stabilirsi in questa area.

Se volete vedere il video della citta’ di Hutnsville, in inglese, andate a questo indirizzo internet.

http://www.kiplinger.com/video/index.html?bcpid=572031303&bclid=1571610693&bctid=23941074001

 

A dire la verita’ noi avevamo la sensazione di essere in una bella, calma, pulita ed educata citta’. Ma che questa fosse al primo posto negli USA non era percepibile!!

 

Per chi fosse interressato alla storia del Saturn V ecco alcune informazioni, piu’ tecniche, purtroppo solo in inglese!!

 

Saturn V rocket

Saturn V
Saturn V launching Apollo 15.
Stages		2 or 3
1 – S-IC	Engines	5 * F-1
Thrust		33,400 kN (7,500,000 lb) (later 33,900 kN)
Burn time		~165 s
Fuels		RP-1/LOX
2 – S-II	Engines	5 * J-2
Thrust		5,000 kN (1,125,000 lb) (later 5,100 kN)
Burn time		~380 s
Fuels		LH2/LOX
3 – S-IVB	Engines	1 * J-2
Thrust		890 kN (200,000 lb) (later 1,000 kN)
Burn time		~475 s (usually 2 burns)
Fuels		LH2/LOX
Two stage version
Payload to LEO		75,000 kg
Three stage version
Payload to LEO		118,000 kg
Payload to TLI		47,000 kg

The Saturn V (popularly known as the Moon Rocket) is a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASA‘s Apollo and Skylab programs. It was the ultimate design of the Saturn family of rockets designed under the direction of Wernher von Braun.

In 1961, when President Kennedy announced that America would try to get to the moon by the end of the decade, there was nothing in the United States arsenal (or in fact anywhere in the world) that could launch a manned spacecraft to the moon in one piece. The Saturn I was in development but had not flown and would require several launches to place in orbit all the components of the manned launch spacecraft.

In was announced on January 10, 1962 that NASA would build the Saturn V, though at that stage it was called the Saturn C-5. It would use the F-1 and J-2 rocket engines for propulsion and be designed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

It was decided early on to attempt to use as much technology from the Saturn I program as possible. As such the S-IVB third stage of the Saturn V was based on the S-IV second stage of the Saturn I. The Instrument Unit that controlled the Saturn V was also based on that carried by the Saturn I.

Over 110 m high and 10 m in diameter, with a total mass of 3,038,500 kg and a payload capacity of 118,000 kg to LEO, the Saturn V is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, although the Soviet Energiya heavy-lift booster was designed to orbit 120-150 tons, but was never flown at this capacity.

Saturn V is composed of three-stages:

• First Stage: S-IC built by Boeing
• Second Stage: S-II built by North American Aviation
• Third Stage: S-IVB built by Douglas Aircraft Company

Saturn V is the vehicle that carried the Apollo astronauts to the Moon. Launched from Launch Complex 39 at the John F. Kennedy Space Center the first stage would burn for 2.5 minutes lifting the rocket to 61 km and accelerated to a speed of 8600 km/h. In the process it has used 2 million kg of propellant.

The second stage now takes over burning for 6 minutes and reaching a speed of 24,600 km/h. The rocket is now at 185 km and nearly at orbital velocity. The thrid stage now burns for a further 2.5 minutes. It is about 12 minutes after launch. The third stage is kept attached while the spacecraft orbits the Earth two and a half times during which the spacecraft and rocket are checked out to make sure everything is in working order.

Then the third stage is reignited at Trans Lunar Injection (TLI) to send the spacecraft to the moon. It burns for over 5 minutes so that it reaches 39,400 km/h or over 10 km/s. A couple of hours after TLI, the Apollo Command Service Module (CSM) separates from the third stage turns 180 degrees and docks with the Lunar Module (LM) which rides below the CSM during launch. The CSM and LM then separate from the third stage.

The final act for the Saturn V rocket now is to be targeted away from the CSM and LM. At the moment it is on the same trajectory as the spacecraft and could present a hazard later in the mission. So the remaining propellant in its tanks in vented out of the engine. It can then be targeted either into a solar orbit or as in the case of the third stages from Apollo 13 onwards directed to impact the moon. These impacts were detected by seismometers left on the moon by previous missions and used to probe the inside of the moon.

Apart from manned lunar flights the Saturn V was used to launch the Skylab space station in earth orbit. Skylab was a modified third stage of a Saturn V and as such for its last flight, the rocket flew with only two stages.

The Space Shuttle was initially conceived of as a cargo transport to be used in concert with the Saturn V. The Shuttle would handle Space Station logistics, while Saturn V would launch components. Lack of funding for a second Saturn V production run killed this plan and left the US without a heavy-lift booster for the next 30 years (and counting).

There were also plans for a larger rocket called Nova that would have featured eight F-1 engines in its first stage allowing it to launch a manned spacecraft on a direct ascent flight to the moon. Other plans for the Saturn V called for using a Centaur as an upper stage or adding strapon boosters. These enhancements would have increased its ability to send large unmanned spacecraft to the outer planets or manned spacecraft to Mars.

 

Saturn V Vehicles and Launches

Serial Number	Mission	Launch Date	Notes
SA-501	Apollo 4	November 9, 1967	First test flight
SA-502	Apollo 6	April 4, 1968	Second test flight
SA-503	Apollo 8	December 12, 1968	First manned flight of Saturn V and to Moon
SA-504	Apollo 9	March 3, 1969
SA-505	Apollo 10	May 18, 1969
SA-506	Apollo 11	July 16, 1969	First manned lunar landing
SA-507	Apollo 12	November 14, 1969
SA-508	Apollo 13	April 11, 1970
SA-509	Apollo 14	January 31, 1971
SA-510	Apollo 15	July 26, 1971
SA-511	Apollo 16	April 16, 1972
SA-512	Apollo 17	December 6, 1972	Final Apollo lunar mission
SA-513	Skylab 1	May 14, 1973	Two-stage Skylab version
SA-514	Unused
SA-515	Unused

Currently there are three Saturn Vs on display:

• At the Johnson Space Center made up of first stage of SA-514, the second stage from SA-515 and the third stage from SA-513
• At the Kennedy Space Center made up of S-IC-T and the second and third stages from SA-514
• At the US Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama made up of S-IC-D, S-II-F/D and S-IVB-D (all test stages not meant for actual flight)

Of these three, only the one at the Johnson Space Center is fully comprised of stages that were meant to be launched. The US Space & Rocket Center has on display a full scale model of the Saturn V. The first stage from SA-515 resides at the Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, Louisiana.