Free Republic

Dear Lt. Gov. Flanagan: I’m writing to tell you that you’ve inspired me to change my parenting. When you said, bravely, “When our children tell us who they are, it is our job as grown-ups to listen and to believe them,” it struck a chord.

The United States military had to delay a test of its new hypersonic weapons system due to rocket failure, according to Reuters on Thursday. A booster rocket with a hypersonic glide body attached failed to launch during a test at Kodiak, Alaska, according to ABC News. The aborted launch was part of the joint 'Dark Eagle' program jointly run by the Army and Navy... ...It comes after it was revealed that China carried out a second test.. believed to have taken place on August 13

Rocket builder Astra Space on Saturday launched its first rocket since the company went public. At liftoff, the rocket appeared to move sideways rather than straight up. Astra founder, chairman and CEO Chris Kemp told CNBC that about a second into the flight, one engine shut down. The company is currently investigating the reason. Astra founder and Chief Technology Officer Adam London added that the system performed relatively well under the circumstances. The rocket had sufficient thrust even with one engine out to very slowly lift off the pad, and the guidance system maintained control of the rocket. About 2...

In the face of Iran’s continued development of long-range missiles, Israel and the United States completed a series of tests of the long-range Arrow 3 ballistic missile defense system at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska (PSCA) in Kodiak, Alaska, which included the successful interception of an “enemy” target. The series of tests over the course of 10 days saw three successful interceptions. It was the first time that such a test took place outside of Israel. The successful test was attended by Israel’s ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer. The system was tested against targets similar in behavior to advanced ballistic...

8.0 earthquake here. Probably shook 3 minutes!

Big one in Alaska...haven't checked on Tsunami warnings yet...

Three brown bear cubs rescued earlier this month on Kodiak Island are recuperating at the Alaska Zoo, and enjoying some sibling bonding time before being moved to an outdoor exhibit.

Three 4-month-old Kodiak brown bear cubs were dehydrated, starving, cold, wet, exhausted and unprotected when a well-known hunting guide rescued them and put them up in his own cabin. Without his help, Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Nate Svoboda said, the bears “probably wouldn’t have lasted another day.” On May 1, the cubs’ mother was killed by an unguided hunter, Fish and Game said. Alaska Wildlife Troopers are investigating the sow’s death. Although brown bear hunting in Kodiak is open through mid-May, it is never legal to kill a sow with cubs.

A passenger plane crashed into trees off the end of the Kodiak airport runway this afternoon, trapping its three occupants as emergency crews worked to extract them from the wreckage entangled in trees, according to state officials.

Governor Sarah Palin visited the Kodiak Launch Complex Thursday April 23, 2009 located at Narrow Cape, AK on Kodiak Island. The Governor got an up close and personal tour of the facility by CEO Dale Nash and President and COO Tom Case. The State of Alaska has made a significant financial contribution to the construction of this facility. The KLC success rate has brought a growing number of new customers and diverse business opportunities to Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation and the Kodiak Launch Complex. KLC is poised for significant growth as the vital role of the space-based systems becomes increasingly...

A gala dinner at the Golden Anchor at the Coast Guard Base celebrated 50 years of Alaska statehood and fishing,Thursday night. The dinner, titled “Look How Far We’ve Come,” featured appearances by Gov. Sarah Palin, Todd Palin and former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, who received lifetime membership and an achievement award from the United Fishermen of Alaska.

A small plane that tried to turn back to the Kodiak airport just minutes after taking off for a short flight to Homer nose-dived into the harbor off the end of the runway Saturday afternoon, killing six people and injuring four, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board. Dean Andrew, a pilot in another aircraft who had been taxiing nearby, arrived in his floatplane just after the crash. He saw two people standing waist deep in water on the sunken fuselage and two others in the water nearby. He pulled all four aboard his plane

An airplane that tried to turn back to the Kodiak airport just minutes after takeoff nose-dived into the harbor, killing six people and injuring four others Saturday afternoon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board. Nine passengers and one pilot were on the Piper-PA-31 Navajo, operated by Servant Air, which was taking off for Homer when it crashed at 1:48 p.m.about 50 yards offshore, said NTSB investigator Clint Johnson.

AUGUSTINE VOLCANO (CAVW#1103-01-) 59.3633°N 153.4333°W, Summit Elevation 4134 ft (1260 m) Current Level of Concern Color Code: ORANGE The level of Concern Color Code for Augustine Volcano is now RED At 4:44 a.m. (AST) this morning, AVO began recording seismic signals interpreted as explosions at the summit of Augustine Volcano that likely mark the onset of an eruption. The current activity may be emitting ash, steam, and volcanic gases. If the volcano follows a pattern similar to the 1976 and 1986 eruptions, we would expect a further intensification of seismic activity prior to a larger explosive event. It is also...

The United States successfully tested a Boeing Co.-managed missile defense system aimed at thwarting a limited, long-range ballistic missile attack, but did not use a live target, the Pentagon announced. A ground-based interceptor missile was launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands against a simulated target, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said late on Tuesday night. The simulation was based on a hypothetical missile launch from Kodiak, Alaska, using data from previous launches, said the agency, known as MDA.

Help! We are moving to Kodiak Alaska (ISC USCG) in August. Any FReepers up there? My husband (now retired Coastie, but civilian employee) was there for 3 years and assures me I will love it. Any information about what to expect, how to cope with the long winter nights, info. about housing, etc. will be so much appreciated. Or, just to meet another FReeper would be so nice. You can post or FReepmail me if you want to offer advice and assistance. I am having pangs of withdrawal already leaving my home and family even though I am also excited...

Folks: I am posting this notice for my friend, Jeff Epstein, who lives in Connecticut, and headed up the swiftvetsfortruth group who did such a great job defeating John Kerry during the election. Just a heads up to inform you of a “non-political” business venture that I’ve recently initiated. As many of you know, I’ve dedicated my summers, over the past twenty-three years, to exploring Alaska and introducing numerous wilderness-bound adventurers to the state’s natural beauty and abundant resources. These rewarding experiences prompted me to organize a tour company specializing in world-class fishing and/or bear-viewing opportunities on a broader scale....

WASHINGTON (AP) - An experimental interceptor missile failed to get off the ground in a test of the U.S. national missile defense system early Wednesday, raising new doubts about prospects for the imminent activation of the system. In the test, a target missile, a simulated ICBM with a mock warhead, was launched without problem from Kodiak, Alaska, at 12:45 a.m. EST, a statement from the Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency said. However, 16 minutes later, an "unknown anomaly" led to an automatic shutdown of the interceptor missile shortly before it was to launch from the Ronald Reagan Test Site at...

<p>A team of divers has discovered what appears to be the oldest shipwreck ever found in Alaska waters, the remains of a three-masted Russian sailing freighter called the Kadi'ak, which sank off Kodiak Island in March 1860.</p> <p>The searchers, led by Bradley Stevens, a scientist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, located a cannon, an anchor and what they believe to be copper sheeting in an underwater sand channel off Spruce Island, said Steve Lloyd, one of the divers.</p>