June 24, 2008

On this day: French invasion of Russia

Better known in Russia as the Patriotic War (Russian Отечественная война, Otechestvennaya Vojna), not to be confused with the Great Patriotic War (Великая Отечественная война, Velikaya Otechestvennaya Vojna). The Patriotic War is also occasionally referred to as the "War of 1812", which is not to be confused with the conflict of the same name between the United Kingdom and the United States.


In an attempt to gain increased support from Polish nationalists and patriots, Napoleon in his own words termed this war the Second Polish War (the "first" Polish war being the War of the Fourth Coalition to liberate Poland from Russia, Prussia and Austria), because one of the official declared goals of this war was the resurrection of the Polish state on territories of former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

June 04, 2008

Japan’s space lab

A team of astronauts have attached a $1bn Japanese laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS).

The 16-tonne Kibo lab was delivered by the shuttle Discovery. It will be the station's biggest room, for the study of biomedicine and material sciences.

Astronauts Akihiko Hoshide and Karen Nyberg maneuvered Kibo into place, using the space station's robotic arm. The lab was anchored after two crew members had made preparations during a spacewalk lasting more than six hours.

Discovery docked at the ISS on Monday after a two-day voyage. As well as the Japanese laboratory, the shuttle has also brought a pump to unblock the station's toilet, which broke nearly two weeks ago. The crew has been performing manual flushes several times a day.