Page 36 - PINE CREST 1985

American Notes

STATUE OF LIBERTY
MMU for use on future Shuttle missions.
Lady Sings A New Song In addition to the several voyages that the second Shuttle
Challenger undertook, Discovery, the third U.S. Space Shuttle,
underwent her maiden voyage. Among the missions accomplished
In 1884 the country of France donated $250,000 to the during 1984-85 were the repair of a private corporation’s satellite
United States to construct a monument representing the peace using the MMU, and a top-secret mission on behalf of the U.S
between the two nations. The resulting structure, completed Department of Defense.
approximately two years later, was Liberty Enlightening the
World, commonly known as the Statue of Liberty. “I think that the space program has really helped to promote
Now, nearly a century later, the Lady of New York Harbor national unity,” commented sophomore Richard Ramnth. “I also
began showing signs of wear and tear. Constant pummeling by feel that science has
wind, salt air, and acid rain took their toll on the statue. Her taken a great leap in the
outward appearance began to look a bit dingy, and the iron exploration of our solar
ribbing supporting the copper covering was badly corroded. system. It’s important to
Fortunately, however, concerned citizens made it known that they find out as much as
wanted something to be done. possible about the
In July, 1984, a restoration began that was projected to take universe that we live in.
two years. Included in the refurbishing was a new torch plated I just hope that NASA
in gold. Citizens hoped that this monument to national freedom has enough sense to not
would endure for another century, thanks to the restoration. use the Shuttle for war­
fare. We should be able
to solve our problems on
the ground, not in
Another giant leap
space.”

McCandless hovers in the heavens.

MAIL
The Postman Rings Twice

To be more specific, the United States Postal Service rang
again to notify the public of another increase in the cost of mailing
a letter. As of February 22, a first-class letter cost 22b to mail,
up from the previous 20b- In addition, postcards required a 14b
stamp, instead of a 13b one. Second-class mail, such as
magazines, rose as much as 14.2%.
Since 1971, when the U.S. Post Office Department became
the U.S. Postal Service, the cost of mailing a first-class letter
had gone up, on the average, a penny a year. The reason for
Liberty or death the rate hikes was the continuing rise in costs over revenues. Even
with mechanization and automatic mail sorting, an explosion in
After one hundred years, the Lady gets restored. the volume of handled material had caused the service to slip
$593 million into debt as of
SPACE I |p S | December.
“Although postage seems
The Final Frontier USA i O f the People to be going up all the time,”
22
\
By the People
For the People commented senior Lucy Hen­
derson, “I think that the Postal
In 1984 mankind took another giant leap in space. Early in Service must do whatever it has
that year, for the first time in earth’s history, a man walked to do to stay in business and to
The new look
untethered in the heavens. Through the use of the manned keep the mail rolling. It is
maneuvering unit (MMU), mission specialist Bruce McCandless providing a vital service for our
Letters now require 221
was able to walk in space without any attachment to the Shuttle country.”
Challenger. During this eight-day mission McCandless tested the

32