title: Alert, Nunavut

text: In 1957, Alert Wireless Station was conceived as an intercept facility to be jointly staffed by personnel from the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the RCAF. Five additional buildings were constructed: a mess, three barracks/accommodations buildings, and a power house and vehicle maintenance building, in addition to the existing operations building, built in 1956. The operations building housed the radio intercept and cryptographic equipment. On September 1, 1958, control of the station was transferred from the air force to the army, and it officially began operations.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: The following decade saw a dramatic expansion of the station, with a correspondingly greater number of personnel stationed there. The February 1, 1968, unification of the RCN, RCAF, and Canadian Army to form the Canadian Armed Forces saw Alert Wireless Station change its name to Canadian Forces Station Alert (CFS Alert). Its personnel were no longer drawn from only the air force or navy, but primarily from the Canadian Forces Communications Command.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: At its peak, CFS Alert had upwards of 215 personnel posted at any one time. The station became a key asset in the global ECHELON network of the US-UK-CAN-AUS-NZ intelligence sharing alliance, with Alert being privy to many secret Soviet communications regarding land-based and sea-based ICBM test launches and many operational military deployments.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: The first military women to serve in Alert arrived in 1980 as part of the Canadian Forces' Women In Non-Traditional Roles study. After its completion in 1983, women were fully authorized to serve in all roles. The first female commanding officer was Major Cathy Cowan, who took command in January 1996. The first female Station Warrant Officer (SWO), MWO Renee Hansen, was appointed in December 2017.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: Budget cuts to the Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces in 1994 and modernization of communications equipment saw CFS Alert downsized to approximately 74 personnel by 1997–1998, when most radio-intercept operations were remotely controlled by personnel at CFS Leitrim. Remaining personnel are responsible for airfield operations, construction/engineering, food service, and logistical/administrative support. Only six persons are now responsible for actual operations, and control of the facility was passed to DND's Information Management Group following the disbanding of CF Communications Command with force restructuring and cutbacks in the mid-1990s.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: With Canada's commitment to the global war on terrorism following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and Arlington County, Virginia, CFS Alert has received renewed and increased funding to expand its SIGINT capabilities. On April 1, 2009, the RCAF officially took responsibility for CFS Alert from Canadian Forces Information Operations Group (CFIOG).


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: On April 13, 2006, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the heating costs for the station had risen, as a consequence of which the military proposed to cut back on support trade positions by using private contractors. By 2008, maintenance operations on the station—including food and housekeeping services, vehicle maintenance, powerplant operation, and heating, electrical, and plumbing—had been transferred to a civilian contractor. The contract was initially awarded to Canadian Base Operators (CBO), a subsidiary of Black & McDonald. In 2012, the contract was won by Nasittuq, a subsidiary of ATCO.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: In 1975, technicians employed by the weather station began collecting flask samples for a greenhouse gas monitoring program. In 1980, this grew to include the weekly collection of filter-based aerosol samples for the Canadian Arctic Aerosol Sampling Network (CAASN).


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: By 1984, the number of ongoing monitoring programs and the amount of experimental research had outgrown the abilities of the weather station to maintain, and plans were made for the construction of a permanent observatory. This observatory, southwest of Lancaster Hall (more commonly known as the far transmitter building), was opened August 29, 1986. Originally known as the Alert Background Air Pollution Monitoring Network (BAPMoN) Observatory, it was subsequently renamed the Dr. Neil Trivett Global Atmosphere Watch Observatory in honour of the Environment Canada researcher who provided the impetus for its construction. The observatory employs two technicians who reside at CFS Alert, an operator and an assistant operator (normally a university co-op student). It is managed by Environment and Climate Change Canada.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: While Alert has no permanent residents, it has been continuously inhabited since April 1950. This population, while initially small, grew to upwards of 250 in the 1970s and 1980s, before being downsized in the 1990s when information gathering operations were relayed to CFS Leitrim near Ottawa for collation, reducing the on-site staff considerably. Its current population ranges from a winter minimum of 65 to a summer maximum of 110, plus a variety of short-term visitors, who can swell the total to 150 or more. Alert’s temporary population typically consist of both military personnel and civilians, both making up an almost one-to-one ratio in Alert.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: Alert is west of Cape Sheridan, the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island, on the shore of the ice-covered Lincoln Sea. Alert lies just from the North Pole; the nearest Canadian city is Iqaluit, the capital of the territory of Nunavut, distant.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: The settlement is surrounded by rugged hills and valleys. The shore is composed primarily of slate and shale. The sea is covered with sea ice for most of the year but the ice pack does move out in the summer, leaving open water. Evaporation rates are also very low, as average monthly temperatures are above freezing only in July and August.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: Other places on Ellesmere Island are the weather station at Eureka () and the Inuit community of Grise Fiord, , to the southwest and south, respectively. Siorapaluk ( to the south) is the nearest populated place in Greenland.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: Alert has a polar climate, technically a tundra climate (ET) with characteristics of an ice cap climate (EF). There is complete snow cover for at least 10 months of the year on average and snow from one year persists into the next year in protected areas, but enough melts to prevent glaciation. The warmest month, July, has an average temperature of , with only July and August averaging above freezing, and those are also the months where well over 90% of the rainfall occurs. Alert is also very dry, the fourth-driest locality in Nunavut, averaging only of precipitation per year. Most of this occurs during the months of July, August and September, mostly in the form of snow. On average Alert sees of rain, the least of any place in Nunavut, between June and September. Alert sees very little snowfall during the rest of the year. September is usually the month with the heaviest snowfall. The relative humidity is so low that doors are covered in electrical tape to prevent static electricity. February is the coldest month of the year with a mean temperature of . The yearly mean, , is the second-coldest in Nunavut after Eureka. Snowfall can occur during any month of the year, and the frost-free growing season in an average summer averages only five days.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: Being far north of the Arctic Circle, Alert experiences polar night from October 14 to February 28, and midnight sun from April 7 to September 4. There are two relatively short periods of twilight from about February 13 to March 22 and the second from September 19 to October 22. The civil polar night lasts from October 29 to February 11.


title: Alert, Nunavut

text: Nautical polar night—where 24 hours are in effect completely dark with only a marginal astronomical twilight—occurs from November 19 to January 22.


title: Madness (band)

text: Madness are an English ska and pop band from Camden Town, North London, who formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s two-tone ska revival, they continue to perform with six of the seven members of their original line-up. Madness's most successful period was from 1980 to 1986, when the band's songs spent a total of 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. (UB40 shared the same number of weeks, the largest for any British group in the decade, but over a longer period.)


title: Madness (band)

text: Madness have had 15 singles reach the UK top ten, including "One Step Beyond", "Baggy Trousers" and "It Must Be Love", one UK number-one single "House of Fun" and two number ones in Ireland, "House of Fun" and "Wings of a Dove". "Our House" was their biggest US hit, reaching number 7 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. In 2000, the band received the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for Outstanding Song Collection.


title: Madness (band)

text: The core of the band formed as the North London Invaders in 1976, and included Mike Barson (Monsieur Barso) on keyboards and vocals, Chris Foreman (Chrissy Boy) on guitar and Lee Thompson (Kix) on saxophone and vocals. They later recruited John Hasler on drums and Cathal Smyth (better known as Chas Smash) on bass guitar. Later in the year, they were joined by lead vocalist Dikran Tulaine.


title: Madness (band)

text: This six-piece line-up lasted until part-way through 1977, when Graham McPherson (better known as Suggs) took over the lead vocals after seeing the band perform in a friend's garden. Tulaine went on to be an actor under the name Dikran Tulaine. Smyth, who left after an argument with Barson, was replaced by Gavin Rodgers, Barson's girlfriend's brother. McPherson was kicked out of the band for choosing to watch Chelsea instead of rehearsing too often. Thompson left the band after Barson criticised his saxophone playing.


title: Madness (band)

text: By 1978, the band had allowed McPherson to return as a vocalist after he had filled in temporarily for Hasler (who had taken over vocals when McPherson was removed). Thompson returned after patching things up with Barson. Drummer Dan Woodgate (Woody) and bassist Mark Bedford (Bedders) also joined the band, replacing Garry Dovey and Rodgers, respectively. After briefly changing their name to Morris and the Minors, the band renamed itself as Madness in 1979, paying homage to one of their favourite songs by ska and reggae artist Prince Buster. The band remained a sextet until late 1979 when Chas Smash rejoined and officially became the seventh member of Madness as a backing vocalist and dancer.


title: Madness (band)

text: During 1979, the band began to attract a live following in London, being regulars at the Dublin Castle in Camden Town. The band's first commercial recording was the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of the Specials founder and keyboardist Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts at number 16. Madness toured with fellow 2 Tone bands the Specials and the Selecter, before recording their debut studio album.


title: Madness (band)

text: That debut studio album, "One Step Beyond..." was released by Stiff Records. The album included a re-recording of "The Prince" and its B-side "Madness", and the band's second and third singles: "One Step Beyond" and "My Girl". The title song was a cover of the B-side of the 1960s Prince Buster hit "Al Capone". The "One Step Beyond..." album stayed in the British charts for 78 weeks, peaking at number 2. Smyth performed on the album but was not an official member of the band at the time or the album's recording or release. He would formally join Madness a few weeks after "One Step Beyond..." was issued in October 1979.


title: Madness (band)

text: After the release of "My Girl", the band felt that they had exhausted the material from "One Step Beyond...", and did not want to release any more singles from the album. However, Dave Robinson, head of Stiff Records, disagreed. Eventually, a compromise was made, and the band decided to release an EP featuring one album track and three new tracks. The result was the "Work Rest and Play" EP, which was headlined by the song "Night Boat to Cairo", from the "One Step Beyond" album. The EP reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart.


title: Madness (band)

text: In 1980, the band's second studio album, "Absolutely" reached number 2 in the UK Albums Chart. "Absolutely" spawned some of the band's biggest hits, most notably "Baggy Trousers", which peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. "Embarrassment" reached number 4 in the charts, and the instrumental song "The Return of the Los Palmas 7" climbed to number 7. Although the album reviews were generally less enthusiastic than those of "One Step Beyond...", they were mostly positive. Robert Christgau gave the album a favourable B− grade, but "Rolling Stone" awarded the album just one out of five stars. "Rolling Stone" was particularly scathing of the ska revival in general, stating that ""The Specials" wasn't very good" and Madness were simply "the Blues Brothers with English accents".


title: Madness (band)

text: A drama-documentary film titled "Take It or Leave It" was released in 1981, featuring the band members playing themselves in a re-creation of their early days to the then-current period. Live recordings of Madness performances as well as those by other 2 Tone bands were used in the 1981 documentary film and soundtrack album "Dance Craze".


title: Madness (band)

text: In 1981, the band's third studio album, "7", reached number 5 in the UK Albums Chart and contained three hit singles: "Grey Day" (no. 4, April 1981), "Shut Up" (no. 7, September 1981), and "Cardiac Arrest" (no. 14, February 1982). In an article in 1979, Chris Foreman explained that the band's music would move with the times, and change styles as time goes on. This was shown to be the case, as unlike the two ska-filled, fast-paced albums that preceded it, "7" was something of a change in direction. Suggs' vocal performance changed significantly, and his strong accent from the previous studio albums had been watered down. The album strayed from the ska-influenced sound of "One Step Beyond..." and "Absolutely" and moved towards a pop sound; a trend that continued with subsequent studio albums.


title: Madness (band)

text: Near the end of 1981, Madness released one of their most recognised songs: a cover of Labi Siffre's 1971 hit "It Must Be Love". The song climbed to number 4 in the UK, and in 1983, the song peaked at number 33 in the US charts. In 1982, Madness released their only number 1 hit to date, "House of Fun",<ref name="Sony/ATV"></ref> which they played live on the British sitcom "The Young Ones", and also reached number 1 in the album charts with their first compilation, "Complete Madness" (1982).


title: Madness (band)

text: In November 1982, they released their fourth studio album, "The Rise & Fall", which was well received in the UK, but did not get an American release. Instead, many of its songs were included on the US compilation "Madness" (1983), including "Our House", which was their most internationally successful single to date. "Our House" reached number 5 in the UK music charts and number 7 in the US charts; it was also performed live on "The Young Ones". Many reviewers compared "The Rise & Fall" to the Kinks' "The Village Green Preservation Society" (1968), and it is at times retrospectively considered a concept album. The album also featured "Primrose Hill", which was more similar to the Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever", containing similar psychedelic imagery and a layered arrangement.


title: Madness (band)

text: In 1983, their single "Wings of a Dove" peaked at number 2 in the UK charts, followed by "The Sun and the Rain" (no. 5, November 1983). Their following studio album, "Keep Moving", peaked at number 6 in the UK Albums Chart, and two singles from that album reached the top 20 in the UK Singles Chart. The album received some good reviews, with "Rolling Stone" magazine giving the album four out of five stars, applauding the band's changing sound. This was an improvement as the last album reviewed by the magazine, "Absolutely", was heavily criticised.


title: Madness (band)

text: On 5 October 1983 the band were rehearsing and discussing a possible television series, which was being written for them by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis. Barson then informed the band that he would not be able to take part, as he was tired of the music business and wanted to spend more time with his wife. They had recently relocated to Amsterdam. Barson agreed to finish recording the album "Keep Moving;" he left after playing for the last time with the band at the Lyceum Ballroom on 21 December 1983. After leaving the band James Mackie took Barson's place appearing with Madness on the US television show "Saturday Night Live" on 14 April 1984. After leaving the band, Barson returned to the UK for the filming of two music videos as he had played on the tracks, "Michael Caine" and "One Better Day". He officially left the band in June 1984, following the release of "One Better Day", however finished live performance with the band in 1983, Paul Carrack took Barson's place whilst the band toured America in early 1984. The six remaining members left Stiff Records and formed their own label, Zarjazz Records, which was a sub-label of Virgin Records.


title: Madness (band)

text: In 1985, the label released the band's sixth studio album, "Mad Not Mad". Barson's usual keyboard parts were filled by an emphasis on synthesisers provided by Steve Nieve of the Attractions. In later years, frontman Suggs has described the album as a "polished turd". The album reached number 16 in the UK charts, which is the band's lowest position on the album charts to date. Despite the poor chart showing, the album was listed as number 55 in "NME"s "All Time 100 Albums". The singles for the album fared even worse, with "Yesterday's Men" peaking at number 18 in the UK charts. The subsequent singles, "Uncle Sam" and "Sweetest Girl", failed to make the top 20, which was a first for Madness singles.


title: Madness (band)

text: The band then attempted to record a new studio album, and 11 demo tracks were recorded. However, musical differences arose between the band members. The untitled album went unreleased, and in September 1986, the band announced that they were to break-up. Barson rejoined the band for a farewell single, "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train", but did not appear in the music video. The band officially broke up following the release of the single, which reached a high of number 18 in the UK. In 1988, four members of the band – Suggs, Chas Smash, Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman – continued under the name The Madness. After one self-titled studio album and two singles that failed to make the top 40, the band broke up.


title: Madness (band)

text: Towards the end of 1991, "It Must Be Love" was re-released and eventually reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1992. Following that, the singles compilation album "Divine Madness" (1992) was released and peaked at number 1 in the album charts. Madness then announced plans for a reunion concert, Madstock!, which was held at Finsbury Park, London on 8 and 9 August of that year. The original line-up reunited, performing together for the first time since Barson left the band in 1984. Over 75,000 fans attended the weekend festival, and the dancing of the crowd caused some nearby tower blocks to shake perceptibly as they resonated with the frequency of the music.


title: Madness (band)

text: After the Finsbury Park comeback, a live album was released, and the associated single, "The Harder They Come" (a cover of Jimmy Cliff's 1973 song) reached number 44 in the UK, with the album reaching number 22.


title: Madness (band)

text: The band continued to reunite for annual UK Christmas season tours and held three more Madstock! festivals; in 1994, 1996 and 1998. Also in 1998, Madness returned to America for their first tour there since 1984. The live album "Universal Madness" was recorded at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A. and released the following year. In 1999, Madness released their first studio album since 1986, entitled "Wonderful". The album reached number 17 in the UK Albums Chart, and the lead single, "Lovestruck", gave the band their first new top 10 hit in the UK since 1983. Neither of the two subsequent singles from the album, "Johnny the Horse" and "Drip Fed Fred" (featuring Ian Dury on vocals), entered the top 40 of the UK chart.


title: Madness (band)

text: From 28 October 2002 to 16 August 2003, a musical based on Madness songs, "Our House", ran at the Cambridge Theatre in London. Madness played a role in the executive production of the show, and Suggs played a role in the production for a period, playing the central character's father. It won an Olivier Award for best new musical of 2003, and the performance was released on DVD on 1 November 2004. There was also a previous musical based on Madness songs, "One Step Beyond!", written by Alan Gilbey. The musical had a brief run at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in 1993 and a run at Putney Arts Theatre, London in 2012.


title: Madness (band)

text: In 2004, the band played a series of low-key concerts as the Dangermen, performing covers of classic reggae and ska songs. A lot of the songs were those played by the band when they were first forming, and the band performed the songs as a celebration of their 25th anniversary.


title: Madness (band)

text: This led to the release of the cover album "The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1" in August 2005 by V2 Records. During the sessions which produced the album, in mid-2005, guitarist Chris Foreman announced his departure, citing "the petty, time consuming bollocks that goes on in the band" as his reason for leaving. The band completed the album without him, and on release, it peaked at no. 11 in the UK Albums Chart, which was the band's highest studio album chart position in 21 years. Although two singles were released, neither was a major success in the UK. The more successful of the two, "Shame & Scandal", reached number 38, but was more successful in France where it peaked at number 12. "Girl Why Don't You" did not chart and the band left the V2 record label shortly after. At this time, Kevin Burdette joined as the band's guitarist for live appearances and also appeared in the videos for both "Sorry" and "NW5" in early 2007.


title: Madness (band)

text: The six remaining original members of Madness began working on their first original studio album in seven years.


title: Madness (band)

text: In March 2007, the non-LP single "Sorry" was released on the band's own record label Lucky 7 Records, peaking in the UK charts at number 23. The single included a version featuring UK hip hop artists Sway DaSafo and Baby Blue.


title: Madness (band)

text: The new Madness song "NW5" (then still titled "NW5 (I Would Give You Everything)") and a re-recorded version of "It Must Be Love" were featured in the German film "Neues vom Wixxer". The two songs were released in Germany as a double A-side, and both of them were turned into music videos, which – besides members of the film's cast – featured Suggs, Chas Smash, Woody and stand-in guitarist Burdette. A re-recorded version of "NW5" was released as a single on 14 January 2008 in the UK reaching no. 24 – this recording featured original Madness guitarist Chris Foreman, who had rejoined the band in time for the 2006 Christmas tour but had not participated in the original recording of the song.


title: Madness (band)

text: In June 2008, Madness played the majority of their new studio album "The Liberty of Norton Folgate" at London's Hackney Empire for three nights. The Hackney Empire performances were recorded and sold to fans on USB wristbands as they left the show. Madness played two dates in December 2008, firstly in Manchester on 18 December, and secondly a return gig to The O2 in London on the 19th.


title: Madness (band)

text: In December 2008 the band also announced that for their thirtieth anniversary in 2009, they would be staging a fifth Madstock Festival in London's Victoria Park on 17 July, 11 years after the last Madstock concert. It was originally rumoured that the newly reformed the Specials would make an appearance after finishing their reunion tour. However, this did not occur, although original Specials keyboardist Jerry Dammers – who was not part of the reunion line-up – was announced as a support act with the Spatial AKA Orchestra shortly before the festival. Dammers supported Madness again during their 2009 Christmas tour when he opened each night with a DJ set.


title: Madness (band)

text: Through late March and early April 2009, the band played a series of festival and separate headlining dates across Australia. The lead-up single from their latest studio album, titled "Dust Devil", was released on 11 May on Lucky 7 Records. Actors Alfie Allen and Jaime Winstone co-starred in the music video. The single charted at No. 64 on the UK Singles Chart and at No. 1 on the UK Independent charts on 17 May 2009.


title: Madness (band)

text: The new studio album, entitled "The Liberty of Norton Folgate", was released a week later, on 18 May 2009. It charted at No. 5 in the UK Albums Chart. The band continued to play various festivals, including Pinkpop, Splendour, and Glastonbury. On 27 September 2009, the band also played a free concert on a closed-off Regent Street in association with Absolute Radio.


title: Madness (band)

text: On 28 August, Madness played the Rock en Seine festival near Paris, on the same night where Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher engaged in a physical altercation, resulting in the break-up of the band. As Oasis cancelled their headlining slot, Madness, even though having played earlier in the evening, were asked to replace them. They accepted the invitation and both of their sets during the festival were said to have been well received.


title: Madness (band)

text: As in previous years, the band embarked on a Christmas tour of the UK (also playing one concert in Dublin), playing at various medium-sized venues. Mark Bedford took a break from the band and was replaced by Graham Bush for the tour.


title: Madness (band)

text: Some members of the band appeared in Catherine Tate's "Nan's Christmas Carol". They first posed as carol singers, then played "Baggy Trousers" over the credits. On 18 January 2010, Madness released a fourth single, "Forever Young", from "The Liberty of Norton Folgate". The single failed to chart.


title: Madness (band)

text: During an interview with RTÉ 2fm radio host Dave Fanning on 24 May 2010, drummer Daniel Woodgate stated that the members of the band were in the final stages of preparing songs for the follow-up to "The Liberty of Norton Folgate". The band hoped to be able to start recording the album later on in 2010.


title: Madness (band)

text: In September 2010, Madness were awarded the Idol Award at the Q Awards in London. Guitarist Chris Foreman stated in his acceptance speech that Madness were recording a new album.


title: Madness (band)

text: Madness toured the UK throughout November and December 2010 with their final show at London's Earl's Court, where they played a new song from their upcoming album. However, two concerts, in Hull and Sheffield, were cancelled due to heavy snowfall, although they were later rescheduled for 5 and 6 February 2011 respectively.


title: Madness (band)

text: In June 2011, the band performed at Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall, curated by inspiration Ray Davies of the Kinks, who also introduced the band on stage. The concert served as the premiere of three new songs – "1978", "Can't Keep a Good Thing Down" and "Death of a Rude Boy".


title: Madness (band)

text: The summer of 2012 saw two notable performances. In June, the band performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace. The band performed "Our House" and "It Must Be Love" from the roof of the palace with accompanying animations projected onto the palace front. In August, the band was the first to perform at the closing ceremony of the London Olympic Games. Departed bassist Bedford rejoined the band for both performances. In August 2012, Madness released "Death of a Rude Boy" as a free teaser track from their new studio album. Madness' tenth studio album "Oui Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da" was released on 29 October 2012 and entered the UK Albums Chart at no.10. In January 2013 the album re-entered the chart at no. 16 on the back of the airplay success of the single "Never Knew Your Name".


title: Madness (band)

text: From the start of 2013, Bedford increased his performances with the band building to his full-time return to the group, which meant a close to the four years Graham Bush had spent with the band.


title: Madness (band)

text: On 22 March 2013, the band performed outside the BBC Television Centre in a live broadcast for BBC Four. This was followed by "Goodbye Television Centre", a celebration of 50 years of the television centre, marking the closure of the building and the last show to be broadcast from it. Following that the band was the closing act to the new year celebration of 2014 in Dublin, Ireland.


title: Madness (band)

text: On 22 March 2014, Suggs confirmed that Madness were writing a new studio album which he stated "the band plan to record in the summer and release by the end of 2014".


title: Madness (band)

text: In October 2014, Cathal Smyth, aka Chas Smash, left Madness to pursue a solo career. His debut solo studio album, "A Comfortable Man", was released on 11 May 2015 by Phoenix Rising Recording Co. Although Smyth's departure was characterized at the time as a 'break' to concentrate on his solo career and not necessarily a permanent departure, Smyth has not rejoined Madness in the years since the break was announced. Madness has continued as a six-piece.


title: Madness (band)

text: The band announced their new studio album "Can't Touch Us Now" in May 2016. In support of the album, the band played the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival in June. Lead single "Mr. Apples" was accompanied by a scripted video (first one since 2009) and A-listed by BBC Radio 2. The song "Herbert" was released as a taster accompanied by an animation video. Further singles "Can't Touch Us Now" and "Another Version of Me" were also playlisted by BBC Radio 2. The album itself entered the UK Albums Chart at number 5 in November 2016. The band finished the year on a UK arena tour in December.


title: Madness (band)

text: Throughout 2017, the band played at several festivals and concerts worldwide including mainland Europe, Asia, and Australia. In April their first Australian gig at the Fremantle Arts Centre in Western Australia sold out, necessitating a second gig the following night. In August, the band hosted their own "House of Common Festival" for the second year on Clapham Common. This was the band's only London gig of the year.


title: Madness (band)

text: In 2018, the band embarked on a summer tour of stately homes in the UK before a Christmas arena tour in December. Madness performed on New Year's Eve through to New Year's Day at "Madness Rocks Big Ben Live". The entire performance was shown on BBC One before and after that year's fireworks.


title: Madness (band)

text: In March 2019, Madness announced the release of their group autobiography, "Before We Was We: Madness by Madness", to be released on hardback that October. The book includes commentary from all seven members telling the story of their early days and childhoods up until their breakthrough as a group. In May 2021, the book was adapted as a three-part TV documentary on AMC, with the first part free on BT's YouTube channel.


title: Madness (band)

text: The band celebrated 40 years since their debut studio album release with several special live appearances throughout 2019. The band performed at their own "House of Common" festival in August and held a special concert with a full orchestra at Kenwood House. In November they played at Electric Ballroom in Camden; forty years to the day since one of their first appearances there. The performance was broadcast on Sky Arts in 2020. The band saw the year out with three concerts at The Roundhouse.


title: Madness (band)

text: In December 2019, the band released a new single, "Bullingdon Boys (Don't Get Bullied by the Bully Boys)". The "NME" described the song as a 'barbed swipe at Boris Johnson and his Eton cohorts'.


title: Madness (band)

text: In April 2021, following some special videos created during the COVID-19 pandemic, Madness announced their first global live stream, titled "The Get Up!", to be held the next month. It featured live music and comedy from the group and Charlie Higson, pre-recorded at the London Palladium. During the live stream, the band was accompanied by Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals and Paul Weller of the Jam and had a cameo by Queen Elizabeth II, played by Mike Barson. They announced their 2021 tour, The Ladykillers Tour, the next day, to be held alongside Squeeze.


title: Madness (band)

text: The Fink Brothers were a short-lived alter ego created by Madness members Suggs and Chas Smash, working under the aliases Angel and Ratty Fink, using characters from the science fiction comic "2000 AD".


title: Madness (band)

text: The Madness was a line-up of Madness without bassist Mark Bedford, drummer Daniel Woodgate and keyboardist Mike Barson, active between 1988 and 1989. Formed by Suggs, Chas Smash, Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman in 1988, they distinguished this line-up from the previous Madness line-up only by adding the word "The" to the band's name. The band had held a competition to find a new name on BBC Radio 1. They decided on 'The Wasp Factory' after the Iain Banks novel of the same name, but that name had already been taken by another band.


title: Madness (band)

text: The album is notable for featuring guest performers including the Specials' Jerry Dammers, early Madness member John Hasler and Earl Falconer of UB40. It is also the first studio album produced by the band themselves under the alias 'The Three Eyes'.


title: Madness (band)

text: "The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles" and many online discographies consider this band to be the same as "Madness". Several of the songs on the album ("4BF", "Be Good Boy", "Gabriels Horn", "In Wonder") were reworked songs from the cancelled 1986 Madness studio album and had been performed live or demoed in 1986 before the band broke up. Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman also alluded to this view on their sole studio album "Crunch!" (1990), which was dedicated to "the good ship Madness and all who sailed in her (1979 to 1989)".


title: Madness (band)

text: The Nutty Boys were Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman of Madness. The name "The Nutty Boys" was actually the name of their studio album, while the new band was called "Crunch!". The posters for their first concert mistakenly listed the band as "The Nutty Boys" instead of "Crunch!", and the name stuck. While the members of the band Madness were nicknamed "The Nutty Boys" as a whole, this section lists only the work released by Thompson and Foreman under "The Nutty Boys" name in the early 1990s.


title: Madness (band)

text: Crunch! were also Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman. At this point, the band formally corrected the earlier mistake and officially adopted their original name of "Crunch".


title: Madness (band)

text: Madness collaborated with Elvis Costello in 1983 on a version of their song "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)". It was released as a bonus track to the 12" copy of the single. In later years, Barson stated that Costello's "Watching the Detectives" was the main influence on the song "My Girl". For "Wonderful" in 1999, Ian Dury laid down vocals on the track "Drip Fed Fred" which was released as the last single from the album. It was Dury's last recording before his death. Ill health prevented Dury from actively promoting the single, although he did appear on the National Lottery Show, for a later performance on TFI Friday, the song was reworked to incorporate Phill Jupitus on vocals. Live, Madness have collaborated with artists including UB40 and Prince Buster, notably at their first Madstock concert. They have also played live frequently with members of the other 2 Tone bands including the Specials. In May 2008, Suggs and Carl performed live with Pet Shop Boys at London's Heaven collaborating on a new arrangement of "My Girl", as part of a tribute evening to their former minder Dainton 'The Bear' Connell, called "Can You Bear It?". A few days afterwards, Pet Shop Boys posted their own version of the track on their official website.


title: Madness (band)

text: In late 2010, the band collaborated in the "Cage Against the Machine" project, in which numerous artists performed John Cage's "4′33″" for a charity single intended to prevent the winner of "The X Factor" claiming the Christmas Number 1. The title refers to the previous year's successful campaign to get Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" to chart above "X Factor" winner Joe McElderry.


title: Madness (band)

text: Frequent themes in Madness' songs included childhood memories (e.g., "Baggy Trousers", and "Our House") and petty crime (e.g., "Shut Up", and "Deceives the Eye"). Although Madness were seen by some as somewhat of a humorous band with catchy, bouncy songs, many of their songs took a darker tone (such as the singles "Grey Day" and "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)") and they sometimes tackled what were, at the time, controversial issues in their lyrics. "Embarrassment" (from the "Absolutely" album) was written by Lee Thompson, and reflected the unfolding turmoil following the news that his teenage sister had become pregnant and was carrying a black man's child. Madness discussed animal testing in the song "Tomorrow's Dream". The band criticised the National Health Service (NHS) in "Mrs. Hutchinson", which told the story of a woman who, after several misdiagnoses and mistreatment, became terminally ill. The story was based on the experiences of Mike Barson's mother. Madness' final single prior to disbanding, "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train", commented on apartheid in South Africa.


title: Madness (band)

text: The band's first notable musical award came in 1983 when Chris Foreman and Cathal Smyth won an Ivor Novello Award for "Best Song" for the international hit "Our House". Madness received another Ivor Novello Award 17 years later for an "Outstanding Song Collection". In 2005, they were awarded the Mojo "Hall of Fame" Award, notably for being "an artist's artist". In 2007, a campaign took place by fans of Madness for the band to be awarded a Brit Award. Many fans and critics feel they have been overlooked over their past 30 years in the music industry. In July 2009, Madness were awarded the 'Silver Clef' Icon Award. In September 2010, Madness were awarded the 'Idol Award' at the 2010 Q Awards in London.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle that is produced by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. The rocket consists of two strap-on boosters made from Falcon 9 first stages, a center core also made from a Falcon 9 first stage, and a second stage on top. Falcon Heavy has the second highest payload capacity of any currently operational launch vehicle behind NASA's Space Launch System and the fourth-highest capacity of any rocket to reach orbit, trailing the Saturn V, Energia and Space Launch System.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: SpaceX conducted Falcon Heavy's maiden launch on 6 February 2018, at 20:45 UTC. The rocket carried Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, with a dummy dubbed "Starman" in the driver's seat, as a dummy payload. The second Falcon Heavy launch occurred on 11 April 2019, and all three booster rockets successfully returned to Earth. The third Falcon Heavy launch successfully occurred on 25 June 2019. Since then, Falcon Heavy has been certified for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Falcon Heavy was designed to be able to carry humans into space beyond low Earth orbit, although , SpaceX does not intend to transport people on Falcon Heavy, nor pursue the human-rating certification process to transport NASA astronauts. Both Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9 are expected to eventually be superseded by the in-development Starship launch system.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Concepts for a Falcon Heavy launch vehicle using three Falcon 1 core boosters, with an approximate payload-to-LEO capacity of two tons, were initially discussed as early as 2003. The concept for three core booster stages of the company's as-yet-unflown Falcon 9 was referred to in 2005 as the "Falcon 9 Heavy".


title: Falcon Heavy

text: SpaceX unveiled the plan for the Falcon Heavy to the public at a Washington, D.C. news conference in April 2011, with initial test flight expected in 2013.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: A number of factors delayed the planned maiden flight by 5 years to 2018, including two anomalies with Falcon 9 launch vehicles, which required all engineering resources to be dedicated to failure analysis, halting flight operations for many months. The integration and structural challenges of combining three Falcon 9 cores were much more difficult than expected.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In July 2017, Elon Musk said, "It actually ended up being way harder to do Falcon Heavy than we thought. ... We were pretty naive about that".


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The initial test flight for a Falcon Heavy lifted off on 6 February 2018, at 20:45 UTC, carrying its dummy payload, Elon Musk's personal Tesla Roadster, beyond Mars orbit.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Musk mentioned Falcon Heavy in a September 2005 news update, referring to a customer request from 18 months prior. Various solutions using the planned Falcon 5 (which was never flown) had been explored, but the only cost-effective, reliable iteration was one that used a 9-engine first stage — the Falcon 9. The Falcon Heavy was developed with private capital with Musk stating that the cost was more than US$500 million. No government financing was provided for its development.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The Falcon Heavy design is based on Falcon 9's fuselage and engines. By 2008, SpaceX had been aiming for the first launch of Falcon 9 in 2009, while "Falcon 9 Heavy would be in a couple of years". Speaking at the 2008 Mars Society Conference, Musk also indicated that he expected a hydrogen-fueled upper stage would follow 2–3 years later (which would have been around 2013).


title: Falcon Heavy

text: By April 2011, the capabilities and performance of the Falcon 9 vehicle were better understood, SpaceX having completed two successful demonstration missions to low Earth orbit (LEO), one of which included reignition of the second-stage engine. At a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on 5 April 2011, Musk stated that Falcon Heavy would "carry more payload to orbit or escape velocity than any vehicle in history, apart from the Saturn V Moon rocket ... and Soviet Energia rocket". In the same year, with the expected increase in demand for both variants, SpaceX announced plans to expand manufacturing capacity "as we build towards the capability of producing a Falcon 9 first stage or Falcon Heavy side booster every week and an upper stage every two weeks".


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In 2015, SpaceX announced a number of changes to the Falcon Heavy rocket, worked in parallel to the upgrade of the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle. In December 2016, SpaceX released a photo showing the Falcon Heavy interstage at the company headquarters in Hawthorne, California.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: By May 2013, a new, partly underground test stand was being built at the SpaceX Rocket Development and Test Facility in McGregor, Texas, specifically to test the triple cores and twenty-seven rocket engines of the Falcon Heavy. By May 2017, SpaceX conducted the first static fire test of flight-design Falcon Heavy center core at the McGregor facility.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In July 2017, Musk discussed publicly the challenges of testing a complex launch vehicle like the three-core Falcon Heavy, indicating that a large extent of the new design "is really impossible to test on the ground" and could not be effectively tested independent of actual flight tests.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: By September 2017, all three first stage cores had completed their static fire tests on the ground test stand. The first Falcon Heavy static fire test was conducted on 24 January 2018.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In April 2011, Musk was planning for a first launch of Falcon Heavy from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the West Coast in 2013. SpaceX refurbished Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg AFB to accommodate Falcon 9 and Heavy. The first launch from the Cape Canaveral East Coast launch complex was planned for late 2013 or 2014.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Due partly to the failure of SpaceX CRS-7 in June 2015, SpaceX rescheduled the maiden Falcon Heavy flight in September 2015 to occur no earlier than April 2016. The flight was to be launched from the refurbished Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A. The flight was postponed again to late 2016, early 2017, summer 2017, late 2017 and finally to February 2018.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: At a July 2017 meeting of the International Space Station Research and Development meeting in Washington, D.C., Musk downplayed expectations for the success of the maiden flight:


title: Falcon Heavy

text: There's a real good chance the vehicle won't make it to orbit ... I hope it makes it far enough away from the pad that it does not cause pad damage. I would consider even that a win, to be honest.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In December 2017, Musk tweeted that the dummy payload on the maiden Falcon Heavy launch would be his personal Tesla Roadster playing David Bowie's "Life on Mars", and that it would be launched into an orbit around the Sun that will reach the orbit of Mars. He released pictures in the following days. The car had three cameras attached to provide "epic views".


title: Falcon Heavy

text: On December 28, 2017, the Falcon Heavy was moved to the launch pad in preparation of a static fire test of all 27 engines, which was expected on 19 January 2018. However, due to the U.S. government shutdown that began on 20 January 2018, the testing and launch were further delayed. The static fire test was conducted on 24 January 2018. Musk confirmed via Twitter that the test "was good" and later announced the rocket would be launched on 6 February 2018.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: On 6 February 2018, after a delay of over two hours due to high winds, Falcon Heavy lifted off at 20:45 UTC. Its side boosters landed safely on Landing Zones 1 and 2 a few minutes later. However, only one of the three engines on the center booster that were intended to restart ignited during descent, causing the booster to be destroyed upon impacting the ocean at a speed of over .


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Initially, Elon Musk tweeted that the Roadster had overshot its planned heliocentric orbit, and would reach the asteroid belt. Later, observations by telescopes showed that the Roadster would only slightly exceed the orbit of Mars at aphelion.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: A year after the successful demo flight, SpaceX had signed five commercial contracts worth US$500–750 million, meaning that it had managed to cover the development cost of the rocket. The second flight, and first commercial one, occurred on 11 April 2019, launching Arabsat-6A, with all three boosters landing successfully for the first time.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The third flight occurred on 25 June 2019, launching the STP-2 (DoD Space Test Program) payload. The payload was composed of 25 small spacecraft. Operational Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) missions for Intelsat and Inmarsat, which were planned for late 2017, were moved to the Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket version as it had become powerful enough to lift those heavy payloads in its expendable configuration. In June 2022, the US Space Force certified Falcon Heavy for launching its top secret satellites, with the first such launch being USSF-44 planned for October 2022; it successfully launched on 1 November 2022.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Following the announcement of NASA's Artemis program of returning humans to the Moon, the Falcon Heavy rocket has been mentioned several times as an alternative to the expensive Space Launch System (SLS) program, but NASA decided to exclusively use SLS to launch the Orion capsule. However, Falcon Heavy will support commercial missions for the Artemis program, since it will be used to transport the Dragon XL spacecraft to the Gateway. It was also selected to launch the first two elements of the Lunar Gateway, the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), and the Habitation And Logistics Outpost (HALO), on a single launch in November 2024.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Falcon Heavy consists of a structurally strengthened Falcon 9 as the "core" component, with two additional Falcon 9 first stages with aerodynamic nose–cones mounted outboard serving as strap-on boosters, conceptually similar to Delta IV Heavy launcher and proposals for the Atlas V Heavy and Russian Angara A5V. This triple first stage carries a standard Falcon 9 second stage, which in turn carries the payload in a fairing. Falcon Heavy has more lift capability than any other operational rocket, with a payload of to low Earth orbit, to Geostationary Transfer Orbit, and to trans-Mars injection. The rocket was designed to meet or exceed all current requirements of human rating. The structural safety margins are 40% above flight loads, higher than the 25% margins of other rockets. Falcon Heavy was designed from the outset to carry humans into space and it would restore the possibility of flying crewed missions to the Moon or Mars.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The first stage is powered by three Falcon 9 derived cores, each equipped with nine Merlin 1D engines. The Falcon Heavy has a total sea-level thrust at liftoff of , from the 27 Merlin 1D engines, while thrust rises to as the craft climbs out of the atmosphere. The upper stage is powered by a single Merlin 1D engine modified for vacuum operation, with a thrust of , an expansion ratio of 117:1 and a nominal burn time of 397 seconds. At launch, the center core throttles to full power for a few seconds for additional thrust, then throttles down. This allows a longer burn time. After the side boosters separate, the center core throttles back up to maximum thrust. For added reliability of restart, the engine has dual redundant pyrophoric igniters (Triethylaluminium-Triethylborane) (TEA-TEB). The interstage, which connects the upper and lower stage for Falcon 9, is a carbon fiber aluminum core composite structure. Stage separation occurs via reusable separation collets and a pneumatic pusher system. The Falcon 9 tank walls and domes are made from Aluminium–lithium alloy. SpaceX uses an all-friction stir welded tank. The second stage tank of Falcon 9 is simply a shorter version of the first stage tank and uses most of the same tooling, material, and manufacturing techniques. This approach reduces manufacturing costs during vehicle production.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: All three cores of the Falcon Heavy arrange the engines in a structural form SpaceX calls "Octaweb", aimed at streamlining the manufacturing process, and each core includes four extensible landing legs. To control the descent of the boosters and center core through the atmosphere, SpaceX uses four retractable grid fins at the top of each of the three Falcon 9 boosters, which extend after separation. Immediately after the side boosters separate, the center engine in each burns for a few seconds in order to control the booster's trajectory safely away from the rocket. The grid fins then deploy as the boosters turn back to Earth, followed by the landing legs. Each booster lands softly on the ground in fully reusable launch configuration. The two side boosters land on different drone ships in partial reusable configuration. The center core continues to fire until stage separation. In fully reusable launches, its grid fins and legs deploy and the center core touches down either back on land or on a drone ship. If the stages are expended, then the landing legs and grid fins are omitted from the vehicle. The landing legs are made of carbon fiber with aluminum honeycomb structure. The four legs stow along the sides of each core during liftoff and extend outward and down just before landing.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The Falcon Heavy uses a interstage attached to the first stage core. It is a composite structure consisting of an aluminum honeycomb core surrounded by a carbon fiber face sheet plies. Unlike for Falcon 9, the black thermal protection layer on the interstage of Block 5 center core boosters is not seen in the Falcon Heavy flights so far. The overall length of the vehicle at launch is , and the total fueled mass is . Without recovery of any stage, the Falcon Heavy can inject a payload into a low Earth orbit, or to Venus or Mars.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The Falcon Heavy includes first-stage recovery systems, to allow SpaceX to return the first stage boosters to the launch site as well as recover the first stage core following landing at an Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship barge after completion of primary mission requirements. These systems include four deployable landing legs, which are locked against each first-stage tank core during ascent and deploy just prior to touchdown. Excess propellant reserved for Falcon Heavy first-stage recovery operations will be diverted for use on the primary mission objective, if required, ensuring sufficient performance margins for successful missions. The nominal payload capacity to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is with recovery of all three first-stage cores (the price per launch is US$97 million), versus in fully expendable mode. The Falcon Heavy can also inject a payload into GTO if only the two side boosters are recovered.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The partially reusable Falcon Heavy falls into the heavy-lift range of launch systems, capable of lifting into low Earth orbit (LEO), under the classification system used by a NASA human spaceflight review panel. A fully expendable Falcon Heavy is in the super heavy-lift category with a maximum payload of to low Earth orbit.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The initial concept (Falcon 9-S9 2005) envisioned payloads of to LEO, but by April 2011 this was projected to be up to with geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) payloads up to . Later reports in 2011 projected higher payloads beyond LEO, including to geostationary transfer orbit, to translunar trajectory, and on a trans-Martian orbit to Mars.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In April 2017, the projected LEO payload for Falcon Heavy was raised from . The maximum payload is achieved when the rocket flies a fully expendable launch profile, not recovering any of the three first-stage boosters. With just the core booster expended, and two side-boosters recovered, Musk estimates the payload penalty to be around 10%, which would still yield over of lift capability to LEO. Returning all three boosters to the launch site rather than landing them on drone ships would yield about 30 t of payload to LEO.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: From 2013 to 2016, SpaceX conducted parallel development of a reusable rocket architecture for Falcon 9, that applies to parts of Falcon Heavy as well. Early on, SpaceX had expressed hopes that all rocket stages would eventually be reusable. SpaceX has since demonstrated routine land and sea recovery of the Falcon 9 first stage, and have successfully recovered multiple payload fairings. In the case of Falcon Heavy, the two outer cores separate from the rocket earlier in the flight, and are thus moving at a lower velocity than in a Falcon 9 launch profile. For the first flight of Falcon Heavy, SpaceX had considered attempting to recover the second stage, but did not execute this plan.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Falcon Heavy payload performance to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) is reduced by the reusable technology, but at a much lower price. When recovering all three booster cores, GTO payload is . If only the two outside cores are recovered while the center core is expended, GTO payload would be approximately . As a comparison, the next-heaviest contemporary rocket, the fully expendable Delta IV Heavy, can deliver to GTO.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Falcon Heavy was originally designed with a unique "propellant crossfeed" capability, whereby the center core engines would be supplied with fuel and oxidizer from the two side cores until their separation. Operating all engines at full thrust from launch, with fuel supplied mainly from the side boosters, would deplete the side boosters sooner, allowing their earlier separation to reduce the mass being accelerated. This would leave most of the center core propellant available after booster separation.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Musk stated in 2016 that crossfeed would not be implemented. Instead, the center booster throttles down shortly after liftoff to conserve fuel, and resumes full thrust after the side boosters have separated.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: "BBC Science Focus", in February 2018, published an article on Falcon Heavy's environmental impact. It stated concerns that frequent Falcon Heavy launches can contribute to pollution in the atmosphere.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The Planetary Society was concerned that launching a non-sterile object (as was done on the Falcon Heavy Test Flight) to interplanetary space may risk biological contamination of a foreign world. Scientists at Purdue University thought it was the "dirtiest" man-made object ever sent into space, in terms of bacteria amount, noting the car was previously driven on Los Angeles freeways. Although the vehicle will be sterilized by solar radiation over time, some bacteria might survive on pieces of plastic which could contaminate Mars in the distant future.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: A study conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration found that the boost-back and landing of Falcon Heavy boosters "would not significantly affect the quality of the human environment".


title: Falcon Heavy

text: At an appearance in May 2004 before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Musk testified, "Long term plans call for development of a heavy lift product and even a super-heavy, if there is customer demand. We expect that each size increase would result in a meaningful decrease in cost per pound to orbit. ... Ultimately, I believe US$500 per pound or less is very achievable". This goal stated by Musk in 2011 is 35% of the cost of the lowest-cost-per-pound LEO-capable launch system in a 2001 study: the Zenit, a medium-lift launch vehicle that could carry into LEO for US$35–50 million. In 2011, SpaceX stated that the cost of reaching low Earth orbit could be as low as if an annual rate of four launches can be sustained, and as of 2011 planned to eventually launch as many as 10 Falcon Heavies and 10 Falcon 9s annually.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The published prices for Falcon Heavy launches have changed as development progressed, with announced prices for the various versions of Falcon Heavy priced at US$80–125 million in 2011, US$83–128 million in 2012, US$77–135 million in 2013, US$85 million for up to to GTO in 2014, US$90 million for up to to GTO in 2016.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: From 2017 to early 2022, the price has been stated at US$150 million for to LEO or to GTO (fully expendable). This equates to a price of US$2,350 per kg to LEO and US$5,620 per kg to GTO. In 2022, the published price for a reusable launch was $97 million; however in 2022 NASA contracted with SpaceX to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on a Falcon Heavy for approximately $255 million, including launch service and other mission related costs.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The nearest competing U.S. rocket is ULA's Delta IV Heavy with a LEO payload capacity of costs US$12,340 per kg to LEO and US$24,630 per kg to GTO. The Delta IV Heavy will be retired in 2024 with 2 flights remaining .


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Competitors from 2023 onwards may include SpaceX Starship (100+ t to LEO), Blue Origin's New Glenn (45 t to LEO), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) SHLV (41.3 t to LEO) and United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur (27 t to LEO).


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Due to improvements to the performance of Falcon 9, some of the heavier satellites flown to GTO, such as Intelsat 35e and Inmarsat-5 F4, ended up being launched before the debut of Falcon Heavy. SpaceX anticipated the first commercial Falcon Heavy launch would be three to six months after a successful maiden flight, but due to delays the first commercial payload, Arabsat-6A was successfully launched on 11 April 2019, a year and two months after the first flight. SpaceX hoped to have 10 launches every year from 2021 on, but there were no launches in 2020 or 2021.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In May 2012, SpaceX announced that Intelsat had signed the first commercial contract for a Falcon Heavy flight. It was not confirmed at the time when the first Intelsat launch would occur, but the agreement will have SpaceX delivering satellites to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). In August 2016, it emerged that this Intelsat contract had been reassigned to a Falcon 9 Full Thrust mission to deliver Intelsat 35e into orbit in the third quarter of 2017. Performance improvements of the Falcon 9 vehicle family since the 2012 announcement, advertising to GTO for its expendable flight profile, enable the launch of this 6 t satellite without upgrading to a Falcon Heavy variant.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In 2014, Inmarsat booked three launches with Falcon Heavy, but due to delays they switched a payload to Ariane 5 for 2017. Similarly to the Intelsat 35e case, another satellite from this contract, Inmarsat 5-F4, was switched to a Falcon 9 Full Thrust thanks to the increased liftoff capacity. The remaining contract covers the launch of Inmarsat-6 F1 in 2020 on a Falcon 9.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In December 2012, SpaceX announced its first Falcon Heavy launch contract with the United States Department of Defense (DoD). The United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center awarded SpaceX two Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV)-class missions, including the Space Test Program 2 (STP-2) mission for Falcon Heavy, originally scheduled to be launched in March 2017, to be placed at a near circular orbit at an altitude of , with an inclination of 70.0°.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In April 2015, SpaceX sent the U.S. Air Force an updated letter of intent outlining a certification process for its Falcon Heavy rocket to launch national security satellites. The process includes three successful flights of the Falcon Heavy including two consecutive successful flights, and the letter stated that Falcon Heavy can be ready to fly national security payloads by 2017. But in July 2017, SpaceX announced that the first test flight would take place in December 2017, pushing the launch of the second launch (Space Test Program 2) to June 2018. In May 2018, on the occasion of the first launch of the Falcon 9 Block 5 variant, a further delay to October 2018 was announced, and the launch was eventually pushed back to 25 June 2019. The STP-2 mission used three Block 5 cores.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: SpaceX was awarded 40% of the launches in Phase 2 of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) contracts, which includes several launches and a vertical integration facility and development of a larger fairing, from 2024 to 2027.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The payload for the STP-2 mission of the Department of Defense included 25 small spacecraft from the U.S. military, NASA, and research institutions:


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) was a payload; it is a project partly developed by the U.S. Air Force to demonstrate a less-toxic propellant.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Another secondary payload is the miniaturized Deep Space Atomic Clock that is expected to facilitate autonomous navigation. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) has a mass of and will measure the effects of very low frequency radio waves on space radiation. The British 'Orbital Test Bed' payload is hosting several commercial and military experiments.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Other small satellites included Prox 1, built by Georgia Tech students to test out a 3D-printed thruster and a miniaturized gyroscope, LightSail by The Planetary Society, Oculus-ASR nanosatellite from Michigan Tech, and CubeSats from the U.S. Air Force Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, the United States Naval Research Laboratory, the University of Texas at Austin, California Polytechnic State University, and a CubeSat assembled by students at Merritt Island High School in Florida.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: The Block 5-second stage allowed multiple reignitions to place its many payloads in multiple orbits. The launch was planned to include a ballast mass, but the ballast mass was later omitted from the total mass for the payload stack.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In 2011, NASA Ames Research Center proposed a Mars mission called "Red Dragon" that would use a Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle and trans-Martian injection vehicle, and a variant of the Dragon capsule to enter the Martian atmosphere. The proposed science objectives were to detect biosignatures and to drill or so underground, in an effort to sample reservoirs of water ice known to exist under the surface. The mission cost was projected to be less than US$425 million, not including the launch cost. SpaceX 2015 estimation was to the surface of Mars, with a soft retropropulsive landing following a limited atmospheric deceleration using a parachute and heat shield. Beyond the "Red Dragon" concept, SpaceX was seeing potential for Falcon Heavy and Dragon 2 to carry science payloads across much of the Solar System, particularly to Jupiter's moon Europa. SpaceX announced in 2017 that propulsive landing for Dragon 2 would not be developed further, and that the capsule would not receive landing legs. Consequently, the "Red Dragon" missions to Mars were canceled in favor of Starship, a larger vehicle using a different landing technology.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: Falcon Heavy is the launch vehicle for the initial modules of the Lunar Gateway: Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO). To decrease complexity NASA announced in February 2021 that it is launching the first two elements on a single Falcon Heavy launch vehicle, targeting a launch date no earlier than November 2024. Before switching to a merged launch, NASA listed in April 2020 Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle for PPE lone launch.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: In March 2020, Falcon Heavy won the first award to a resupply mission to the Gateway, placing a new Dragon XL spacecraft on a translunar injection orbit.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: NASA has chosen Falcon Heavy as the launch vehicle for its Psyche mission to a metallic asteroid with a planned launch in October 2023. The contract is worth US$117 million.


title: Falcon Heavy

text: "Europa Clipper" was initially targeted to be launched on an SLS rocket. However, due to extensive delays, in 2021 NASA awarded the launch contract to SpaceX for a fully expendable Falcon Heavy.


title: Kink (sexuality)

text: In human sexuality, kinkiness is the use of non-conventional sexual practices, concepts or fantasies. The term derives from the idea of a "bend" (cf. a "kink") in one's sexual behaviour, to contrast such behaviour with "straight" or "vanilla" sexual mores and proclivities. It is thus a colloquial term for non-normative sexual behaviour. The term "kink" has been claimed by some who practice sexual fetishism as a term or synonym for their practices, indicating a range of sexual and sexualistic practices from playful to sexual objectification and certain paraphilias. In the 21st century the term "kink", along with expressions like BDSM, leather and fetish, has become more commonly used than the term paraphilia. Some universities also feature student organizations focused on kinks, within the context of wider LGBTQ concerns.


title: Kink (sexuality)

text: Kink sexual practices go beyond what are considered conventional sexual practices as a means of heightening the intimacy between sexual partners. Some draw a distinction between kink and fetishism, defining the former as enhancing partner intimacy, and the latter as replacing it. Because of its relation to conformist sexual boundaries, which themselves vary by time and place, the definition of what is and is not a kink varies widely as well.


title: Kink (sexuality)

text: In a study published in 2016 it was found that nearly half of respondents reported an interest in some form of paraphilia and about a third had engaged in paraphilic behavior at least once.


title: BMW 1 Series

text: The BMW 1 Series is a range of subcompact executive cars (C-segment) manufactured by BMW since 2004. It is the successor to the BMW 3 Series Compact and is currently in its third generation. Positioned as the entry level model in BMW range of products, the first generation was produced in hatchback, coupé and convertible body styles.


title: BMW 1 Series

text: Since 2014, the coupé and convertible models have been marketed separately as the 2 Series, therefore the 1 Series range no longer includes these body styles. A four-door sedan model became available for the Chinese market in 2017, using the front-wheel drive platform that is also used the basis for the third-generation 1 Series hatchback.


title: BMW 1 Series

text: A high-performance BMW M version called the BMW 1 Series M Coupé was produced for the first generation. Due to the 1 Series coupé model being replaced by the 2 Series, the 1 Series M Coupé was replaced by the BMW M2 in 2016.


title: BMW 1 Series

text: For the first two generations, the 1 Series uses a rear-wheel drive layout, while all-wheel drive was introduced as an option since 2012. For the third generation introduced in 2019, the 1 Series switched to a front-wheel drive layout, while retaining the all-wheel drive option.


title: BMW 1 Series

text: This generation was produced from 2004 to 2013 and is sometimes collectively referred to as the E8x. The E8x replaced the 3 Series Compact as the entry level models of the BMW range. All models were rear-wheel drive, which was a rare configuration in the hatchback market segment. The engines available were four-cylinder turbo-diesel, four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol, six-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol and six-cylinder turbocharged petrol (the latter only available on coupé and convertible models).


title: BMW 1 Series

text: The 1 Series M Coupé is powered by the BMW N54 turbocharged inline-six engine and uses a six-speed manual transmission. It was produced in only the coupé body style and is considered the predecessor to the BMW M2.


title: BMW 1 Series

text: From this generation onwards, the coupé and convertible models have been marketed separately using the BMW 2 Series nameplate.


title: BMW 1 Series

text: The F20/F21 was initially powered by inline-four petrol, inline-four diesel and inline-six petrol engines. In 2015, inline-three petrol and diesel engines were added to the model range. All engines are turbocharged.


title: BMW 1 Series

text: Unlike most hatchback competitors, the F20/F21 uses rear-wheel drive (rather than front-wheel drive) for most models. The F20/F21 is the first 1 Series to offer an optional all-wheel drive (called "xDrive" by BMW).


title: BMW 1 Series

text: The third generation of the 1 Series was released in 2019. Unlike the previous generation F20 1 Series, the F40 1 Series uses a front-wheel drive configuration with an all-wheel drive option, and sharing its platform with the F48 X1, F39 X2, 2 Series Gran Coupé, and others. The F40 1 Series is only available as a 5-door hatchback.


title: BMW 1 Series

text: The 1 Series (F52) is a four-door sedan that began production in 2017 in China. The F52 has been built specifically for the Chinese market by BMW Brilliance, a joint venture between BMW and Brilliance Auto. Unlike other BMW 1 Series cars of the time, it uses the front-wheel drive UKL platform. The F52 was later sold in Mexico in 2018.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after Susan Collins of Maine. She became the dean of Alaska's Congressional delegation upon Representative Don Young's death.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski is the daughter of former U.S. senator and governor of Alaska Frank Murkowski. Before her appointment to the Senate, she served in the Alaska House of Representatives and was elected majority leader. She was controversially appointed to the Senate by her father, who resigned his seat in December 2002 to become governor of Alaska. Murkowski completed her father's unexpired Senate term, which ended in January 2005, and became the first Alaskan-born member of Congress.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski ran for and won a full term in 2004. After losing the 2010 Republican primary to Tea Party candidate Joe Miller, Murkowski ran as a write-in candidate and defeated both Miller and Democrat Scott McAdams in the general election. She is the second U.S. senator (after Strom Thurmond in 1954) to be elected by write-in vote. Murkowski was elected to a third term in 2016 and a fourth term in 2022, running as a Republican.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski was vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference from 2009 to 2010. She served as chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee from 2015 to 2021, and has served as vice chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee since 2021.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski is often described as one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate and a crucial swing vote. According to "CQ Roll Call", Murkowski voted with President Barack Obama's position 72.3% of the time in 2013, one of only two Republicans voting for his positions over 70% of the time. In recent years, she opposed Brett Kavanaugh and supported Ketanji Brown Jackson in their respective nominations to the Supreme Court. On February 13, 2021, Murkowski was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict Donald Trump of incitement of insurrection in his second impeachment trial. Following this vote, she was censured by the Alaska Republican Party.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski was born in Ketchikan in the Territory of Alaska, the daughter of Nancy Rena (née Gore) and Frank Murkowski. Her paternal great-grandfather was of Polish descent, and her mother's ancestry is Irish and French Canadian. As a child, she and her family moved around the state with her father's job as a banker.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: She earned a B.A. degree in economics from Georgetown University in 1980, the same year her father was elected to the U.S. Senate. She is a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority and represented Alaska as the 1980 Cherry Blossom Princess. She received her J.D. degree in 1985 from Willamette University College of Law.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski worked as an attorney in the Anchorage District Court Clerk's office from 1987 to 1989. From 1989 to 1998, she was an attorney in private practice in Anchorage. She served on the Mayor's Task Force for the Homeless from 1990 to 1991.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: In 1998, Murkowski was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives. Her District 18 included northeast Anchorage, Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base (now Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, or JBER), and suburban parts of Eagle River-Chugiak. In 1999, she introduced legislation establishing a Joint Armed Services Committee. She was reelected in 2000 and, after her district boundaries changed, in 2002. That year she had a conservative primary opponent, Nancy Dahlstrom, who challenged her because Murkowski supported abortion rights and rejected conservative economics. Murkowski prevailed by 56 votes. She was named as House Majority Leader for the 2003–04 legislative session. She resigned her House seat before taking office, due to her appointment by her father to the seat he had vacated in the U.S. Senate, upon his stepping down to assume the Alaska governorship. Murkowski sat on the Alaska Commission on Post Secondary Education and chaired both the Labor and Commerce and the Military and Veterans Affairs Committees. After she resigned to join the U.S. Senate, her father appointed Dahlstrom, the District Republican committee's choice, as her replacement.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: In December 2002, Murkowski—while a member of the state House—was appointed by her father, Governor Frank Murkowski, to fill his own U.S. Senate seat made vacant when he resigned from the Senate after being elected governor.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: The appointment caused controversy in Alaska. Many voters disapproved of the nepotism. Her appointment eventually resulted in a referendum that stripped the governor of his power to directly appoint replacement Senators. Along with others eligible to be considered, future Alaska governor Sarah Palin interviewed unsuccessfully for the seat.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski has won three full terms to the Senate, but has never won a majority of the vote; she won 48.6% of the vote in 2004, 39.5% in 2010, and 44.4% in 2016.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski ran for a full Senate term against former Governor Tony Knowles in the 2004 election after winning a primary challenge by a large margin. She was considered vulnerable due to the controversy over her appointment, and polling showed the race was very close. The centrist Republican Main Street Partnership, which wanted to run TV ads for Murkowski, was told no airtime was left to buy. Near the end of the campaign, senior U.S. Senator Ted Stevens shot ads for Murkowski and claimed that if a Democrat replaced Murkowski, Alaska would likely receive fewer federal dollars. Murkowski defeated Knowles by a narrow margin.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski faced the most difficult election of her career in the August 24, 2010, Republican Party primary election against Joe Miller, a former U.S. magistrate judge supported by former Governor Sarah Palin. The initial results showed her trailing Miller, 51–49%, with absentee ballots yet to be tallied. After the first round of absentee ballots were counted on August 31, Murkowski conceded, saying that she did not believe that Miller's lead could be overcome in the next round of absentee vote counting.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: After the primary, the Murkowski campaign floated the idea of her running as a Libertarian in the general election. But on August 29, 2010, the state Libertarian Party executive board voted not to consider Murkowski as its Senate nominee.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: On September 17, 2010, Murkowski said that she would mount a write-in campaign for the Senate seat. Her campaign was aided in large part by substantial monetary assistance from Native corporations and PACs, as well as state teachers' and firefighters' unions.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: On November 17, 2010, the Associated Press reported that Murkowski had become only the second Senate candidate (after Strom Thurmond in 1954) to win a write-in campaign, thereby retaining her seat. She emerged victorious after a two-week count of write-in ballots showed she had overtaken Miller. Miller did not concede. U.S. Federal District Judge Ralph Beistline granted an injunction to stop the certification of the election due to "serious" legal issues and irregularities Miller raised about the hand count of absentee ballots. On December 10, 2010, an Alaskan judge dismissed Miller's case, clearing the way for Murkowski, but on December 13, Miller appealed the Alaska Superior Court decision of the previous week to the Alaska Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court rejected Miller's appeal on December 22. On December 28, U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline dismissed Miller's lawsuit. Governor Sean Parnell certified Murkowski as the winner on December 30.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: After securing the Republican Party nomination by a wide margin, Murkowski was again reelected to the Senate in 2016. Joe Miller, this time the Libertarian Party nominee, was again the runner-up.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: The election was unusual in featuring a Libertarian Party nominee who endorsed the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, running against a Republican incumbent who did not. The Libertarian vice-presidential nominee, former Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld, endorsed Murkowski, citing Miller's support for Trump and "devoted social conservative" views as incompatible with libertarianism.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: In 2017, Murkowski filed to run for a fourth term in 2022. Due to her opposition to some of his initiatives and her vote to convict him during his second impeachment trial, former President Donald Trump has pledged since June 2020 to campaign against Murkowski, implicitly endorsing a primary challenge in the process. Of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump, Murkowski is the only one up for reelection in 2022. After the second impeachment trial, Alaska's GOP had censured her and demanded her resignation. Despite Trump's pledge, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell signaled Republican senators' commitment to back Murkowski's 2022 campaign.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: On June 18, 2021, Trump endorsed former Alaska Department of Administration commissioner Kelly Tshibaka for the Senate in 2022, calling her "MAGA all the way". Murkowski later called Tshibaka "apparently...someone with a pulse", referencing Trump's previous statement that "if [any 2022 Murkowski challenger has] a pulse, [he is] with [them]". On July 10, 2021, the Alaska Republican Party endorsed Tshibaka. Murkowski won reelection by beating Tshibaka in ranked-choice voting. Murkowski's votes amounted to 53.7% after the ranked-choice tabulation.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski is considered a moderate Republican. Since she was reelected in 2010, some have deemed her voting record "more moderate" than that of her previous years in the Senate. In 2013, the "National Journal" gave Murkowski a composite score of 56% conservative and 45% liberal and ranked her the 56th most liberal and 44th most conservative member of the Senate.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: According to GovTrack, Murkowski is the second most liberal Republican senator and, , is placed by GovTrack's analysis to the left of all Republicans except Susan Collins, and to the left of Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. "The New York Times" arranged Republican senators by ideology and also ranked Murkowski the second most liberal Republican. According to FiveThirtyEight, which tracks Congressional votes, she voted with Trump's position approximately 72.6% of the time . According to FiveThirtyEight, as of October 2022, Murkowski has voted with Biden's position about 67% of the time. According to "CQ Roll Call", Murkowski voted with President Barack Obama's position 72.3% of the time in 2013, one of only two Republicans voting for his positions over 70% of the time. According to the American Conservative Union's Center for Legislative Accountability, Murkowski has a lifetime conservative score of 56.72. The liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave her a score of 10% in 2019.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: In 2018, she voted "present" on the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States as a favor to Senator Steve Daines. In 2020, she voted against procedural motions to accelerate Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to that court, though she later voted to confirm Barrett. On April 7, 2022, she voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, with only two other Republicans joining her: Mitt Romney and Susan Collins.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: In a March 2019 op-ed for "The Washington Post", Murkowski and Joe Manchin wrote that climate change debate in Congress was depicted as "an issue with just two sides—those who support drastic, unattainable measures to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and those who want to do nothing" and affirmed their support for "adopting reasonable policies that maintain that edge, build on and accelerate current efforts, and ensure a robust innovation ecosystem."


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: In December 2020, during his lame-duck period, Trump vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. The veto left new Coast Guard cutters that were scheduled to be homeported in Alaska without port facilities to maintain them. Murkowski issued a press release that said, in part, "It’s incredible that the President chose to veto the annual National Defense Authorization Act, particularly because his reason for doing so is an issue not related to national defense."


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: After Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, Murkowski said Trump should resign for inciting the insurrection. With this call for his resignation, she became the first Republican in the Senate to say that Trump should leave office before the inauguration of Joe Biden. When asked whether she would remain a Republican, she replied, "if the Republican Party has become nothing more than the party of Trump, I sincerely question whether this is the party for me", but added, "I have absolutely no desire to move over to the Democratic side of the aisle. I can't be somebody that I'm not." On May 27, 2021, along with five other Republicans and all present Democrats, Murkowski voted to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. The vote failed for lack of 60 required "yes" votes. She was one of seven Republican senators to vote on February 13, 2021, to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial. That vote failed for lack of a two-thirds majority.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski, along with all other Senate and House Republicans, voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. On September 30, 2021, she was among the 15 Senate Republicans to vote with all Democrats and both Independents for a temporary spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. On October 7, 2021, Murkowski voted with 10 other Republicans and all members of the Democratic caucus to break the filibuster of raising the debt ceiling. However, she voted with all Republicans against the bill to raise the debt ceiling. On February 5, 2022, Murkowski joined Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson in condemning the Republican National Committee's censure of Representatives Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney for supporting and participating in the Select Committee of the U.S. House that was tasked with investigating the January 6 United States Capitol attack. The RNC contended that the Capitol riot was "legitimate political discourse." During her 2022 reelection campaign, Murkowski was supported by Democratic colleagues, including Jeanne Shaheen, and Independent Senator Angus King.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: Murkowski is married to Verne Martell. They have two sons, Nicolas and Matthew. Murkowski is Roman Catholic.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: In July 2007, Murkowski said she would sell back land she bought from Anchorage businessman Bob Penney, a day after a Washington watchdog group filed a Senate ethics complaint against her alleging that Penney sold the property well below market value. The "Anchorage Daily News" wrote, "The transaction amounted to an illegal gift worth between $70,000 and $170,000, depending on how the property was valued, according to the complaint by the National Legal and Policy Center." According to the Associated Press, Murkowski bought the land from two developers tied to the Ted Stevens probe.


title: Lisa Murkowski

text: In 2008, Murkowski amended her Senate financial disclosures for 2004 through 2006, adding income of $60,000 per year from the sale of a property in 2003, and more than $40,000 a year from the sale of her "Alaska Pasta Company" in 2005.


title: Thuringia

text: Thuringia (; ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.


title: Thuringia

text: Erfurt is the capital and largest city. Other cities are Jena, Gera and Weimar. Thuringia is bordered by Bavaria, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It has been known as "the green heart of Germany" () from the late 19th century due to its broad, dense forest. Most of Thuringia is in the Saale drainage basin, a left-bank tributary of the Elbe.


title: Thuringia

text: Thuringia is home to the Rennsteig, Germany's best-known hiking trail. Its winter resort of Oberhof makes it a well-equipped winter sports destination – half of Germany's 136 Winter Olympic gold medals had been won by Thuringian athletes as of 2014. Thuringia was favoured by or was the birthplace of three key intellectuals and leaders in the arts: Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Friedrich Schiller. The state has the University of Jena, the Ilmenau University of Technology, the University of Erfurt, and the Bauhaus University of Weimar.


title: Thuringia

text: Thuringia had an earlier existence as the Frankish Duchy of Thuringia, established around 631 AD by King Dagobert I. The state was established in 1920 as a state of the Weimar Republic from a merger of the Ernestine duchies, save for Saxe-Coburg. After World War II, Thuringia came under the Soviet occupation zone in Allied-occupied Germany, and its borders were reformed, to become contiguous. Thuringia became part of the German Democratic Republic in 1949 but was dissolved in 1952 during administrative reforms, to be divided into the Districts of Erfurt, Suhl and Gera. Thuringia was re-established in 1990 following German reunification, slightly re-drawn, and became one of the new states of the Federal Republic of Germany.


title: Thuringia

text: The name "Thuringia" or "Thüringen" derives from the Germanic tribe Thuringii, who emerged during the Migration Period. Their origin is largely unknown. An older theory claims that they were successors of the Hermunduri, but later research rejected the idea. Other historians argue that the Thuringians were allies of the Huns, came to central Europe together with them, and lived before in what is Galicia today. Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus first mentioned the Thuringii around 400; during that period, the Thuringii were famous for their excellent horses.


title: Thuringia

text: The Thuringian Realm existed until after 531, the Landgraviate of Thuringia was the largest state in the region, persisting between 1131 and 1247. Afterwards the state known as Thuringia ceased to exist; nevertheless the term commonly described the region between the Harz mountains in the north, the White Elster river in the east, the Franconian Forest in the south and the Werra river in the west. After the Treaty of Leipzig, Thuringia had its own dynasty again, the Ernestine Wettins. Their various lands formed the Free State of Thuringia, founded in 1920, together with some other small principalities. The Prussian territories around Erfurt, Mühlhausen and Nordhausen joined Thuringia in 1945.


title: Thuringia

text: The coat of arms of Thuringia shows the lion of the Ludowingian Landgraves of 12th-century origin. The eight stars around it represent the eight former states which formed Thuringia. The flag of Thuringia is a white-red bicolor, derived from the white and red stripes of the Ludowingian lion. The coat of arms and flag of Hesse are quite similar to the Thuringian ones, since they are also derived from the Ludowingian symbols.


title: Thuringia

text: Symbols of Thuringia in popular culture are the "Bratwurst" and the Forest, because a large amount of the territory is forested.


title: Thuringia

text: Named after the Thuringii Germanic tribe who occupied it around AD 300, Thuringia came under Frankish domination in the 6th century.


title: Thuringia

text: Thuringia became a landgraviate in 1130 AD. After the extinction of the reigning Ludowingian line of counts and landgraves in 1247 and the War of the Thuringian Succession (1247–1264), the western half became independent under the name of "Hesse", never to become a part of Thuringia again. Most of the remaining Thuringia came under the rule of the Wettin dynasty of the nearby Margraviate of Meissen, the nucleus of the later Electorate and Kingdom of Saxony. With the division of the house of Wettin in 1485, Thuringia went to the senior Ernestine branch of the family, which subsequently subdivided the area into a number of smaller states, according to the Saxon tradition of dividing inheritance amongst male heirs. These were the "Saxon duchies", consisting, among others, of the states of Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Eisenach, Saxe-Jena, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg, and Saxe-Gotha.


title: Thuringia

text: Thuringia generally accepted the Protestant Reformation, and Roman Catholicism was suppressed as early as 1520; priests who remained loyal to it were driven away and churches and monasteries were largely destroyed, especially during the German Peasants' War of 1525. In Mühlhausen and elsewhere, the Anabaptists found many adherents. Thomas Müntzer, a leader of some non-peaceful groups of this sect, was active in this city. Within the borders of modern Thuringia the Roman Catholic faith only survived in the Eichsfeld district, which was ruled by the Archbishop of Mainz, and to a small degree in Erfurt and its immediate vicinity.


title: Thuringia

text: The modern German black-red-gold tricolour flag's first appearance anywhere in a German-ethnicity sovereign state, within what today comprises Germany, occurred in 1778 as the state flag of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz, a defunct principality in the modern state's borders.


title: Thuringia

text: Some reordering of the Thuringian states occurred during the German Mediatisation from 1795 to 1814, and the territory was included within the Napoleonic Confederation of the Rhine organized in 1806. The 1815 Congress of Vienna confirmed these changes and the Thuringian states' inclusion in the German Confederation; the Kingdom of Prussia also acquired some Thuringian territory and administered it within the Province of Saxony. The Thuringian duchies which became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany were Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and the two principalities of Reuss Elder Line and Reuss Younger Line.


title: Thuringia

text: In 1920, after World War I, these small states merged into one state, called Thuringia; only Saxe-Coburg voted to join Bavaria instead. Weimar became the new capital of Thuringia. The coat of arms of this new state was simpler than those of its predecessors.


title: Thuringia

text: In 1930, Thuringia was one of the free states where the Nazis gained real political power. Wilhelm Frick was appointed Minister of the Interior for the state of Thuringia after the Nazi Party won six delegates to the Thuringia Diet. In this position he removed from the Thuringia police force anyone he suspected of being a republican and replaced them with men who were favourable towards the Nazi Party. He also ensured that whenever an important position came up within Thuringia, he used his power to ensure that a Nazi was given that post.


title: Thuringia

text: After being controlled briefly by the US, from July 1945, the state of Thuringia came under the Soviet occupation zone, and was expanded to include parts of Prussian Saxony, such as the areas around Erfurt, Mühlhausen, and Nordhausen. Erfurt became the new capital of Thuringia. Ostheim, an exclave of "Landkreis" Eisenach, was ceded to Bavaria.


title: Thuringia

text: In 1952, the German Democratic Republic dissolved its states, and created districts () instead. The three districts that shared the former territory of Thuringia were Erfurt, Gera and Suhl. Altenburg Kreis was part of Leipzig Bezirk.


title: Thuringia

text: The State of Thuringia was recreated with slightly altered borders during German reunification in 1990.


title: Thuringia

text: From the northwest going clockwise; Thuringia borders on the German states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Bavaria and Hesse.