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 Steam engine A model of a beam engine featuring James Watt's parallel linkage for double action steam engine, machine using steam power to perform mechanical work through the agency of heat. In a steam engine, hot steam, usually supplied by a boiler, expands under pressure, and part of the heat energy is converted into work. The remainder of the heat may be allowed to escape, or, for maximum engine efficiency, the steam may be condensed in a separate apparatus, a condenser, at comparatively low temperature and pressure. For high efficiency, the steam must fall through a wide temperature range as a consequence of its expansion within the engine. The most efficient performance—that is, the greatest output of work in relation to the heat supplied—is secured by using a low condenser temperature and a high boiler pressure. The steam may be further heated by passing it through a superheater on its way from the boiler to the engine. A common superheater is a group of parallel pipes with ...

 Hubble Space Telescope Seen in orbit from the departing Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2009, flying Servicing Mission 4 (STS-125), the fifth and final Hubble mission. Names HST, Hubble Mission type Astronomy Operator STScI COSPAR ID 1990-037B SATCAT no. 20580 Mission duration 31 years, 8 months, 14 days (ongoing) Spacecraft properties Manufacturer Lockheed Martin (spacecraft) Perkin-Elmer (optics) Launch mass 11,110 kg (24,490 lb) Dimensions 13.2 m × 4.2 m (43 ft × 14 ft) Power 2,800 watts Start of mission Launch date 24 April 1990, 12:33:51 UTC Rocket Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31) Launch site Kennedy, LC-39B Contractor Rockwell International Deployment date 25 April 1990 Entered service 20 May 1990 End of mission Decay date 2030–2040 (estimated) Orbital parameters Reference system Geocentric orbit Regime Low Earth orbit Perigee altitude 537.0 km (333.7 mi) Apogee altitude 540.9 km (336.1 mi) Inclination 28.47° Period 95.42 minutes Main telescope Type Ritchey–Chrétien reflector Diam...

 Sputnik 1 Replica of Sputnik 1 Spacecraft Sputnik-1 Launch date 4 October 1957, 19:28:34 UTC Rocket Sputnik 8K71PS Launch mass 83.6 kg (184 lb) Dimensions 58 cm (23 in) diameter Power 1 watt  Mission type Technology demonstration Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the USSR on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It orbited for three weeks before its batteries ran out. The satellite then silently continued to orbit the planet for two months before it fell back into the atmosphere on 4 January 1958. It was a polished metal sphere 58 cm (23 in) in diameter with four external radio antennas to broadcast radio pulses. Its radio signal was easily detectable by radio amateurs, and the 65° orbital inclination and duration of its orbit made its flight path cover virtually the entire inhabited Earth. The satellite's unanticipated success precipitated the American Sputnik crisis and triggered the Space...