title: Speed limit

text: Just over half of the German autobahns have only an advisory speed limit (a "Richtgeschwindigkeit"), 15% have temporary speed limits due to weather or traffic conditions, and 33% have permanent speed limits, according to 2008 estimates. The advisory speed limit applies to any road in Germany outside of towns which is either a dual carriageway or features at least two lanes per direction, regardless of its classification (e.g. Autobahn, Federal Highway, State Road, etc.), unless there is a speed limit posted, although it is less common for non-autobahn roads to be unrestricted. All other roads in Germany outside of towns, regardless of classification, do have a general speed limit of 100 km/h, which is usually reduced to 80 km/h at Allée-streets (roads bordered by trees or bushes on one or both sites). Travel speeds are not regularly monitored in Germany; however, a 2008 report noted that on the autobahn in Niemegk (between Leipzig and Berlin) "significantly more than 60% of road users exceed [and] more than 30% of motorists exceed ". Measurements from the state of Brandenburg in 2006 showed average speeds of on a 6-lane section of autobahn in free-flowing conditions.


title: Speed limit

text: Prior to German reunification in 1990, accident reduction programs in eastern German states were primarily focused on restrictive traffic regulation. Within two years of reunification, the availability of high-powered vehicles and a 54% increase in motorized traffic led to a doubling of annual traffic deaths, despite "interim arrangements [which] involved the continuation of the speed limit of on autobahns and of outside cities". An extensive program of the four "E"s (enforcement, education, engineering, and emergency response) brought the number of traffic deaths back to pre-unification levels after a decade of effort, while traffic regulations were conformed to western standards (e.g., freeway advisory limit, on other rural roads).


title: Speed limit

text: Rural roads on the Isle of Man have no speed limits on many rural roads; a 2004 proposal to introduce general speed limits of 60 mph and 70 mph on Mountain Road, for safety reasons, was not pursued following consultation. Measured travel speeds on the island are relatively low.


title: Speed limit

text: The Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana also do not have speed limits by default.


title: Speed limit

text: Many roads without a maximum limit became permanently limited following the 1973 oil crisis. For example, Switzerland and Austria had no maximum restriction prior to 1973 on motorways and rural roads, but imposed a temporary maximum limit in response to higher fuel prices; the limit on motorways was increased to later in 1974.


title: Speed limit

text: Montana and Nevada were the last remaining U.S. states relying exclusively on the basic rule, without a specific, numeric rural speed limit before the National Maximum Speed Law of 1974. After the repeal of federal speed mandates in 1996, Montana was the only state to revert to the basic rule for daylight rural speed regulation. The Montana Supreme Court ruled that the basic rule was too vague to allow citation, prosecution, and conviction of a driver; concluding enforcement was a violation of the due process requirement of the Montana Constitution. In response, Montana's legislature imposed a limit on rural freeways in 1999.


title: Speed limit

text: Australia's Northern Territory had no rural speed limit until 2007, and again from 2014 to 2016. Sections of the Stuart Highway had no limits as part of an open speed limit trial.


title: Speed limit

text: For instance, the "Injury Minimization" (known as Safe System) method takes into account the crash types that are likely to occur, the impact forces that result, and the tolerance of the human body to withstand these forces to set speed limit. This method is used in countries such as the Netherlands and Sweden.


title: Speed limit

text: The "Operating speed" method sets the maximum speed at or around the 85th percentile speed. This reduces the need to enforce the speed limit, but also allows drivers to fail to select the appropriate travel speed, when they misjudge the risk their environment induces. This is one method used in the United States of America.


title: Speed limit

text: Speed limit enforcement is the action taken by appropriately empowered authorities to check that road vehicles are complying with the speed limit. Methods used include roadside speed monitoring, set up and operated by the police, and automated roadside speed camera systems, which may incorporate the use of an automatic number plate recognition system.


title: Speed limit

text: In 2012, in Europe, 62% of people supported the idea of setting up speed-limiting devices, with adequate tolerance levels in order to limit driver confusion. One efficient scheme consists of penalty points and charges for speeding slightly over the speed limit.


title: Speed limit

text: Another possibility is to alter the roadway by implementing traffic calming measures, vehicle activated signs, or safety cameras.


title: Speed limit

text: The city of Munich has adopted "self-explaining roads": roadway widths, intersection controls, and crossing types have been harmonized so that drivers assume the speed limit without a posted sign.


title: Speed limit

text: Speed limits are more likely to be complied with if drivers have an expectation that the speed limits will be consistently enforced.


title: Speed limit

text: To be effective and abided by, the speed limits need to be perceived as credible; they should be reasonable regarding factors such as how well the driver can see ahead and to the sides on a particular road. Speed limits also need to conform to road infrastructure, education, and enforcement activity.


title: Speed limit

text: In the UK, in 2017 the average free flow speed for each vehicle type is correlated with the applicable speed limit for that


title: Speed limit

text: road type and for motorways and national speed limit single carriageway roads, the average free flow speed is below


title: Speed limit

text: A 1998 US Federal Highway Administration report cited a number of studies regarding the effects of reductions in speed limits and the observed changes in speeding, fatalities, injuries and property damage which followed. Some states increase penalties for more serious offenses, by designating as reckless driving, speeds greatly exceeding the maximum limit.


title: Speed limit

text: A 2018 OECD-ITF case study established a strong relationship between speed and crash frequency: when the mean speed decreases, the number of crashes and casualties decreases; to the contrary, when speed increases, the number of crashes and casualties increases. In no case was an increase in mean speed associated with a decrease in the number of crashes or casualties.


title: Speed limit

text: South Dakota increased its maximum speed limit from 65 to 75 mph (120 km/h) in 1996. Annual surveys of speed on South Dakota Interstate roads show that from 2000 to 2011, the average speed rose from 71 to 74 mph. A 1999 study found that the U.S. states that increased speed limits in the wake of the repeal of federally mandated speed limits had a 15% increase in fatalities.


title: Speed limit

text: The "Synthesis of Safety Research Related to Speed and Speed Limits" report sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, published in 1998, found that changing speed limits on low and moderate speed roads appeared to have no significant effect on traffic speed or the number of crashes, whilst on high-speed roads such as freeways, increased speed limits generally resulted in higher traffic speeds and more crashes. The report stated that limited evidence suggests that speed limits have a positive effect on a system wide basis.


title: Speed limit

text: Research in 1998 showed that the reduction of some United Kingdom speed limits to had achieved only a 1 mph drop in speeds and no discernible reduction in accidents; 20 mph speed limit zones, which use self-enforcing traffic calming, achieved average speed reductions of 10 mph; child pedestrian accidents were reduced by 70% and child cyclist accidents by 48%. Zones where speeds are set at 30 km/h (or 20 mph) are gaining popularity as they are found to be effective at reducing crashes and increasing community cohesion.


title: Speed limit

text: Studies undertaken in conjunction with Australia's move from speed limits to in built-up areas found that the measure was effective in reducing speed and the frequency and severity of crashes. A study of the impact of the replacement of with speed limits in New South Wales, Australia, showed only a 0.5 km/h drop in urban areas and a 0.7 km/h drop in rural areas. The report noted that widespread community compliance would require a combination of strategies including traffic calming treatments. Information campaigns are also used by authorities to bolster support for speed limits, for example the Speeding. No one thinks big of you. campaign in Australia in 2007.


title: Speed limit

text: Speed limits are set primarily to balance road traffic safety concerns with the effect on travel time and mobility. Speed limits are also sometimes used to reduce consumption of fuel or in response to environmental concerns (e.g. to reduce vehicle emissions or fuel use). Some speed limits have also been initiated to reduce gas-oil imports during the 1973 oil crisis.


title: Speed limit

text: According to a 2004 report from the World Health Organization, 22% of all injury mortality worldwide was from road traffic injuries in 2002, and without "increased efforts and new initiatives" casualty rates would increase by 65% between 2000 and 2020. The report identified that the speed of vehicles was "at the core of the problem", and recommended that speed limits be set appropriately for the road function and design, along with the implementation of physical measures related to the road and the vehicle, and increased effective enforcement by the police. Road incidents are said to be the leading cause of deaths among children 10–19 years of age (260,000 children die a year; 10 million are injured).


title: Speed limit

text: Maximum speed limits place an upper limit on speed choice and, if obeyed, can reduce the differences in vehicle speeds by drivers using the same road at the same time. Traffic engineers observe that the likelihood of a crash happening is significantly higher if vehicles are traveling at speeds faster or slower than the mean speed of traffic; when severity is taken into account, the risk is lowest for those traveling at or below the median speed and "increases exponentially for motorists travelling much faster".


title: Speed limit

text: It is desirable to attempt to reduce the speed of road vehicles in some circumstances because the kinetic energy involved in a motor vehicle collision is proportional to the square of the speed at impact. The probability of a fatality is, for typical collision speeds, empirically correlated to the fourth power of the speed "difference" (depending on the type of collision, not necessarily the same as "travel" speed) at impact, rising much faster than kinetic energy.


title: Speed limit

text: Typically motorways have higher speed limits than conventional roads because motorways have features which decrease the likelihood of collisions and the severity of impacts. For example, motorways separate opposing traffic and crossing traffic, employ traffic barriers, and prohibit the most vulnerable users such as pedestrians and bicyclists. Germany's crash experience illustrates the relative effectiveness of these strategies on crash severity: on autobahns 22 people died per 1,000 injury crashes, a lower rate than the 29 deaths per 1,000 injury accidents on conventional rural roads. However, the rural risk is five times higher than on urban roads; speeds are higher on rural roads and autobahns than urban roads, increasing the severity potential of a crash. The net effect of speed, crash probability, and impact mitigation strategies may be measured by the rate of deaths per billion-travel-kilometres: the autobahn fatality rate is 2 deaths per billion-travel-kilometres, lower than either the 8.7 rates on rural roads or the 5.3 rate in urban areas. The overall national fatality rate was 5.6, slightly higher than urban rate and more than twice that of autobahns.<ref name="http://www.bast.de 2011"></ref>


title: Speed limit

text: The 2009 technical report "An Analysis of Speeding-Related Crashes:Definitions and the Effects of Road Environments" by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that about 55% of all speeding-related crashes when fatal listed "exceeding posted speed limits" among their crash factors, and 45% had "driving too fast for conditions" among their crash factors. However, the authors of the report did not attempt to determine whether the factors were a crash cause, contributor, or an unrelated factor. Furthermore, separate research finds that only 1.6% of crashes are "caused" by drivers that exceed the posted speed limit. Finally, exceeding the posted limit may not be a remarkable factor in the crash analysis as there are roadways where virtually all motorists are in technical violation of the law.


title: Speed limit

text: The speed limit will also take note of the speed at which the road was designed to be driven (the design speed), which is defined in the US as "a selected speed used to determine the various geometric design features of the roadway". However, traffic engineers recognize that "operating speeds and even posted speed limits can be higher than design speeds without necessarily compromising safety" since design speed is "based on conservative assumptions about driver, vehicle and roadway characteristics".


title: Speed limit

text: Vision Zero, which envision reducing road fatalities and serious injuries to zero by 2020, suggests the following "possible long term maximum travel speeds related to the infrastructure, given best practice in vehicle design and 100% restraint use":


title: Speed limit

text: "Roads with no possibility of a side impact or frontal impact" are sometimes designated as Type 1 (motorways/freeways/Autobahns), Type 2 ("2+2 roads"), or Type 3 ("2+1 roads"). These roadways have crash barriers separating opposing traffic, limited access, grade separation and prohibitions on slower and more vulnerable road users. Undivided rural roads can be quite dangerous even with speed limits that appear low by comparison. For example, in 2011, Germany's -limited rural roads had a fatality rate of 8.7 deaths per billion travel-km, over four times higher than the autobahn rate of 2 deaths. Autobahns accounted for 31% of German road travel in 2011, but just 11% (453 of 4,009) of traffic deaths.


title: Speed limit

text: In 2018, an IRTAD WG published a document which recommended maximum speed limits, taking into account forces the human body can tolerate and survive.


title: Speed limit

text: Fuel efficiency sometimes affects speed limit selection. The United States instituted a National Maximum Speed Law of , as part of the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, in response to the 1973 oil crisis to reduce fuel consumption. According to a report published in 1986 by The Heritage Foundation, a Conservative advocacy group, the law was widely disregarded by motorists and hardly reduced consumption at all. In 2009, the American Trucking Associations called for a 65 mph speed limit, and also national fuel economy standards, claiming that the lower speed limit was not effective at saving fuel.


title: Speed limit

text: Speed limits can also be used to improve local air quality issues or other factors affecting environmental quality (e.g. the "environmental speed limits" in an area of Texas). The European Union is also increasingly using speed limits as in response to environmental concerns.


title: Speed limit

text: European studies have stated that, whereas the effects of specific speed reduction schemes on particulate emissions from trucks are ambiguous, lower maximums speed for trucks consistently result in lower emissions of CO and better fuel efficiency.


title: Speed limit

text: Speed limits, and especially some of the methods used to attempt to enforce them, have always been controversial. A variety of organisations and individuals either oppose or support the use of speed limits and their enforcement.


title: Speed limit

text: Speed limits and their enforcement have been opposed by various groups and for various reasons since their inception. In the UK, the Motorists' Mutual Association (est. 1905) was formed initially to warn members about speed traps; the organisation would go on to become the AA.


title: Speed limit

text: More recently, advocacy groups seek to have certain speed limits as well as other measures removed. For example, automated camera enforcement has been criticised by motoring advocacy groups including the Association of British Drivers, and the German Auto Club (ADAC).


title: Speed limit

text: Various other advocacy groups press for stricter limits and better enforcement. The Pedestrians Association was formed in the United Kingdom in 1929 to protect the interests of the pedestrian. Their president published a critique of motoring legislation and the influence of motoring groups in 1947 titled "Murder most foul", which laid out in an emotional but detailed view of the situation as they saw it, calling for tighter speed limits. Historically, the Pedestrians' Association and the Automobile Association were described as "bitterly opposed" in the early years of United Kingdom motoring legislation. More recently organisations such as RoadPeace, Twenty is Plenty, and Vision Zero have campaigned for lower speed limits in residential areas. In the United States, advocacy groups favoring stricter limits and better enforcement include the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Safety Council.


title: Speed limit

text: Most countries worldwide measure speed limits in kilometres per hour, while the United Kingdom, United States, and several smaller countries measure speed limits in miles per hour instead. Signs in Samoa display both units simultaneously.


title: Speed limit

text: There are two basic designs for speed limit signs: the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals specifies a white or yellow circle with a red border, while the "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices" (MUTCD) published by the United States Federal Highway Administration specifies a white rectangle with the legend "SPEED LIMIT". Vienna-style speed limit signs originated in Europe and are used in most of the world, including many countries that otherwise follow the MUTCD. Variations on the MUTCD design are used in Canada, Guam, Liberia, Puerto Rico, the mainland United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands. Australia also used a variation on the MUTCD design until the country metricated in 1974.


title: Speed limit

text: In the United States, Canada, Australia and Peru, speed limit signs are rectangular. In most of the United States, speed limit signs bear the words "SPEED LIMIT" above the numeric speed limit, as specified in the MUTCD. However, in Alaska and California, speed limits are often labeled "MAXIMUM SPEED" instead. In Oregon, most speed limit signs are simply labeled "SPEED". Canada has similar signs bearing the legend "MAXIMUM", which has a similar meaning in English and French, the country's two main languages. Peru uses a similar, reversed variation of the MUTCD order in which the words "VELOCIDAD MAXIMA" (speed limit) are placed below the numeric limit. Australia uses the same rectangular design, but inscribes the numeric speed limit within a red circle as in Vienna Convention signs. The MUTCD formerly specified an optional metric design that included the words "SPEED LIMIT" and the numeric limit inscribed within a black circle, though it was rarely used in the United States; this design is still occasionally found in Liberia. Speed limit signs of Mexico and Panama are square, unlike the United States.


title: Speed limit

text: In the European Union, large signposts showing the national (maximum) speed limits of the respective country are usually erected immediately after border crossings, with a repeater sign some after the first. Some places provide an additional "speed zone ahead" ahead of the restriction, and speed limit reminder signs may appear at regular intervals, which may be painted on the road surface.


title: Speed limit

text: In Ontario, the type, location, and frequency of speed limit signs are covered by regulation 615 of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act.


title: Speed limit

text: Minimum speed limits are often expressed with signs using blue circles, based on the obligatory sign specifications of the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. In the United States, minimum speed limit signs are identical to their respective maximum speed limit signs, with "SPEED LIMIT" replaced with "MINIMUM SPEED". Some South American countries (e.g.: Argentina) use a red border. Japan and South Korea use their normal speed limit sign, with a line below the limit.


title: Speed limit

text: In some countries, speed limits may apply to certain classes of vehicles or special conditions such as night-time. Usually, these speed limits will be reduced from the normal limit for safety reasons.


title: Speed limit

text: In some countries, derestriction signs are used to mark where a speed zone ends. The speed limit beyond the sign is the prevailing limit for the general area; for example, the sign might be used to show the end of an urban area. In the United Kingdom, the sign means that the national speed limit applies (60 mph on open roads and 70 mph on dual carriageways and motorways). In New Zealand it means you are on an open road, but the maximum legal speed of 100 km/h still applies. On roads without general speed limits, such as the German Autobahn, a portion of the Stuart Highway, and rural areas on the Isle of Man, it means the end of all quantitative speed limits.


title: Speed limit

text: Advisory speed limits may provide a safe suggested speed in an area, or warn of the maximum safe speed for dangerous curves.


title: Speed limit

text: In Germany, an advisory speed limit may be combined with a traffic signal to recommend the speed at which drivers should drive to reach the next light at its green phase, thereby avoiding a stop.


title: Speed limit

text: Some European cars include in-vehicle systems that support drivers’ compliance with the speed limit, known as intelligent speed adaptation (ISA). ISA supports drivers in complying with the speed limit in various parts of the network, while speed limiters for heavy goods vehicles and coaches only govern the maximum speed. These systems have positive effects on speed behaviour, and improve safety. A speed-limiting device, such as ISA are considered useful by 25% of European car drivers. In 2019, Google Maps integrated alerts for speed traps within its application, along with audible alerts for nearby speed cameras. The technology was first developed by Waze, with requests for it to be removed from the application by police officers.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Pygmy marmosets are two species of small New World monkeys in the genus Cebuella. They are native to rainforests of the western Amazon Basin in South America. These primates are notable for being the smallest monkeys in the world, at just over . They are generally found in evergreen and river-edge forests and are gum-feeding specialists, or gummivores.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: About 83% of the pygmy marmoset population lives in stable troops of two to nine individuals, including a dominant male, a breeding female, and up to four successive litters of offspring. The modal size of a standard stable troop would be six individuals. Although most groups consist of family members, some may also include one or two additional adult members. Members of the group communicate using a complex system including vocal, chemical, and visual signals. Three main calling signals depend on the distance the call needs to travel. These monkeys may also make visual displays when threatened or to show dominance. Chemical signaling using secretions from glands on the chest and genital area allow the female to indicate to the male when she is able to reproduce. The female gives birth to twins twice a year and the parental care is shared between the group.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: The pygmy marmoset has been viewed as somewhat different from typical marmosets, most of which are classified in the genera "Callithrix" (where they were placed in a subgenus) and "Mico", and thus is accorded its own genus, "Cebuella", within the family Callitrichidae. The biggest threats are habitat loss and the pet trade.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: There has been debate among primatologists concerning the proper genus in which to place the pygmy marmoset. An examination of the interstitial retinol binding protein nuclear gene (IRBP) in three marmoset species showed that "Callithrix" as constructed in the 1990s also needed to include "C. pygmaea" to be monophyletic, and that the times of separation of "pygmaea" and the "argentata" and "jacchus" species groups from one another are less than 5 million years ago, as might be expected for species of the same genus. However, subsequent separation of the "argentata" and "jacchus" species groups into different genera (the "argentata" group having been moved to "Mico") justifies maintaining a separate genus for the pygmy marmosets, as "Callithrix" is no longer paraphyletic.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: There are few morphological differences between these species, as they may only differ slightly in color, and they are only separated by geographical barriers, including large rivers in South America.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: The evolution of this genus diverged in terms of body-mass from typical primates, with a high rate of body-mass reduction. This involves large decreases in pre-natal and post-natal growth rates, furthering the thought that pro-genesis played a role in the evolution of this animal.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Pygmy marmosets are the world's smallest primates, being the smallest true monkey, with a head-body length ranging from and a tail of . The average adult body weight is just over with the only sexual dimorphism of females being a little heavier. The fur colour is a mixture of brownish-gold, grey, and black on its back and head and yellow, orange, and tawny on its underparts. Its tail has black rings and its face has flecks of white on its cheeks and a white vertical line between its eyes. They have many adaptations for arboreal living including the ability to rotate its head 180 degrees and sharp claw-like nails used to cling to branches and trees. Their dental morphology is adapted to feeding on gum, with specialised incisors that are used to gouge trees and stimulate sap flow. The cecum is larger than usual to allow for the greater period of time gum takes to break down in the stomach. Pygmy marmosets walk on all four limbs and can leap up to between branches.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Pygmy marmosets can be found in much of the western Amazon Basin, in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The western pygmy marmoset, "Cebuella pygmaea", occurs in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, eastern Peru, southern Colombia, and north-eastern Ecuador. The eastern pygmy marmoset, "C. niveiventris", is also found in Amazonas, but also in Acre, Brazil, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia. The distribution of both species is often limited by rivers. They typically live in the understory of the mature evergreen forests and often near rivers. Population density is correlated with food tree availability. They can be found between ground level and about into the trees but generally does not enter the top of the canopy. They are often found in areas with standing water for more than three months of the year.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: These monkeys have a specialized diet of tree gum. They gnaw holes in the bark of appropriate trees and vines with its specialized dentition to elicit the production of gum. When the sap puddles up in the hole, they lap it up with its tongue. They also lie in wait for insects, especially butterflies, which are attracted to the sap holes. They supplement their diet with nectar and fruit. A group's home range is , and feeding is usually concentrated on one or two trees at a time. When those become depleted, a group moves to a new home range. Brown-mantled tamarins are generally sympatric with pygmy marmosets and often raid pygmy marmosets' gum holes.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Pygmy marmosets have adapted insect-like claws, known as tegulae, to engage in a high degree of claw-clinging behaviors associated with plant exudate exploitation. Claw-clinging is primarily used during feeding, but also during plant exudate foraging.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: A pygmy marmoset group, ranging from two to nine members, contains one or two adult males and one or two adult females, including a single breeding female and her offspring. Interbirth interval ranges from 149–746 days. In contrast to other callitrichines, there is no relationship between the number of adult males and the number of infants and offspring. However, there is a significant positive relationship between the number of juveniles and the number of adult and sub-adult group members. Young marmosets typically remain in the group for two consecutive birth cycles. The pygmy marmoset uses special types of communication to give alerts and warning to its family members. These include chemical, vocal, and visual types of communication. It is believed to serve to promote group cohesion and avoidance of other family groups.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Infant pygmy marmosets, along with their parents, twin, and other siblings, form cooperative care groups. Babbling, or vocalizing, by the infant marmoset is a key part of its relationships with its family members and is a major part of its development. As the infant develops, the babbling gradually changes to resemble and eventually become adult vocalization. There are many similarities between the development of vocalization in infant pygmy marmosets and speech in infant humans. Vocalizing gives the infant advantages such as increased care and allows the entire family to coordinate their activities without seeing each other.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Siblings also participate in infant care. Infant marmosets require the most attention, so having more family members participating in the care decreases the cost for any individual and also teaches parenting skills to the juvenile marmosets. Members of the group, usually female, may even put off their own reproduction through a temporary cessation of ovulation in order to care for the offspring of others in the group. The ideal number of caregivers for an infant marmoset has been shown to be around five individuals. Caregivers are responsible for finding food for the infants as well as helping the father watch for predators.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Pygmy marmosets are non-seasonal breeders and usually gives birth to twins once or twice a year. However, single births occur 16% of the time and triplet births 8% of the time. The pygmy marmoset is usually monogamous though there is some variation within the species in terms of breeding systems. Polyandry also occurs as male marmosets are responsible for carrying the infants on their backs. Having a second male to carry the offspring can be beneficial as marmoset litters are often twins and decreases the cost to any particular male. The daily range of pygmy marmosets, however, is relatively small, which decreases the rate of polyandry.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Male and female pygmy marmosets show differences in foraging and feeding behavior, although male and female dominance and aggressive behavior varies within the species. Males have less time to search out food sources and forage due to the constraints of their infant caring responsibilities and predator vigilance. Without an infant to carry, female pygmy marmosets have greater freedom to forage, giving them an apparent feeding priority. This priority may serve to compensate mothers for the energetic costs of carrying and lactating for two offspring at a time. However, the fact that feeding priority is also given to females without offspring weakens the argument. Instead, female feeding priority may have evolved through sexual selection. Females may choose mates who invest more time in infant care and predator vigilance. Such males have less time to look for food, allowing the female feeding priority.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Pygmy marmosets are well known for their communication abilities including an intricate system of calls. The trill is used during feeding, foraging, and when travelling and the group is close together. The J-call is a series of fast notes repeated by the caller and is used at medium distances. Both calls are used as contact calls. The long call is used when the group is spread out over distances greater than ten meters or in response to a neighboring group. The pygmy marmoset uses the trill for short-distance communication, J-calls for intermediate distances, and long calls for long distances; these have respectively decreasing frequencies. Pigmy marmosets interpret these calls not only by type but also, through subtle sonic variance, by individual calling. Research based on audio playback tests shows that calls recorded from different individuals in captivity varied significantly in all seven auditory parameters analyzed for each type of call. Behavioral responses to trills were greatest when the caller was the dominant male of the group. Responses to J-calls were greatest when the caller was the monkey's mate or a same-sex monkey from outside the group. Varying responses to individual callers were only observed when the call was given spontaneously from another animal rather than being played back from a recording, with one exception. That exception was that male monkeys responded to playbacks of their own calls differently from those of other monkeys, when the call was played back from a familiar location. It is thought the pygmy marmoset reacts at first to the type of call that is being made and then adjusts its behavior slightly to react to the specific individual that is making the call. This allows the marmoset to react appropriately to all calls but show some variation when the call gives extra information.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Environmental factors play a role in communication by affecting the frequency of the signal and how far the signal can travel and still be audible to communicate the desired message. Since pygmy marmosets are often found in the rain forest, plant life and the humid atmosphere add to the normal absorption and scattering of sound. Because low frequency calls are affected less by the disturbances than their high frequency counterparts, they are used for communication across longer distances. The pygmy marmoset changes the characteristics of its calls when its social environment is changed. Adult marmosets will show modifications in the structure of their calls which mimic that of their group members. In addition to changes of existing calls, novel calls may be heard from marmosets after pairing.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Pygmy marmosets have other ways to communicate information about matters such as a female's ovulatory state. New World monkeys do not show genital swelling during ovulation as female Old World monkeys do. Instead, a lack of female aggression towards males can serve as a signal of ovulation. Scent glands on its chest, anus, and genitals are also rubbed on surfaces which leave chemical signals about the reproductive state of the female. Pygmy marmosets also perform visual displays such as strutting, back-arching, and piloerection when they feel threatened or to show dominance.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Both species of pygmy marmosets are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They are threatened by habitat loss in some areas of its range, and by the pet trade in others (i.e. Ecuador). Interaction between humans and the pygmy marmoset is associated with a number of behavioral changes in the animal including social play and vocalization, both of which are important to communication between animals in the species. Particularly in areas of heavy tourism, pygmy marmosets have a tendency to be less noisy, less aggressive, and less playful with other individuals. They are also pushed into higher strata of the rainforest than they would normally prefer. Tourism in areas native to the pygmy marmoset is also correlated with increased capture of the animal. Due to its small size and relatively docile nature, captured pygmy marmosets are often found in exotic pet trades. Capture causes even more behavioral variations, including a decrease in both the number and the sound level of vocalizations. Pygmy marmosets can also be found at local zoos, where they exist in groups.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Finger monkeys' (pygmy marmoset) value is associated with them being the smallest primate in the world. New-born pygmy marmosets are usually tall, and weigh from . Although these primates are not in danger of extinction, they are rare to find in the market for purchase. Prices range from $1,000 to $4,000. Generally, a pygmy marmoset's life span is from 15 to 20 years, they are known to have a shorter life in the wild mainly because they fall out of trees.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: Another expense for these creatures as pets is the necessary essentials in order to maintain them. Creating an environment similar to that of where they are from is important. For food, these creatures as pets are often fed fruits, insects, and smaller lizards. As pets, a baby pygmy marmoset needs to be fed every two hours for at least two weeks. Understanding their natural diet is also important because it helps maintain their good health from the necessary protein, calcium and other nutritional sources they need in order to survive.


title: Pygmy marmoset

text: In the United States, each state has different regulations when it comes to owning one of these creatures. Another factor that needs to be considered is that a regular veterinarian might not be able to help provide medical evaluations or care; one would need to seek out a veterinarian with a primate specialization. In South America it is illegal to either import or export these creatures. Understanding the laws within those countries is important when it comes to considering owning or taking care of a pygmy marmoset. Many people do not agree that pygmy marmosets should be pets. The argument is usually that they have a longer life span when they are in good care from a human. However, the UK RSPCA says they should "not be considered as pets in the accepted sense of the word. They are wild undomesticated animals that cannot be house-trained or fully tamed".


title: Frances the Mute

text: Frances the Mute is the second studio album by American progressive rock band The Mars Volta released in February 2005 on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal. Produced by guitarist and songwriter Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, the album incorporates dub, ambient, Latin and jazz influences, and is the first to feature bassist Juan Alderete and percussionist Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez. The album also includes contributions from future saxophonist Adrián Terrazas-González, who joined the band during its subsequent tour.


title: Frances the Mute

text: "Frances the Mute" album made multiple "Best of" lists at the end of 2005. In the "Q" & "Mojo" magazine Classic Special Edition "Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock", the album came #18 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums" and was also named as one of "Classic Rock" magazine's 10 essential progressive rock albums of the decade.


title: Frances the Mute

text: Jeremy Ward, audio artist for The Mars Volta until his death, had previously worked as a repo man. One day, Ward discovered a diary in the backseat of a car he was repossessing, and began to note the similarities between his life and that of the author—most notably, that they had both been adopted. The diary told of the author's search for his biological parents, with the way being pointed by a collection of people, their names being the basis for each named track of "Frances the Mute".


title: Frances the Mute

text: Omar Rodríguez-López started writing material for the band's second album even before "De-Loused in the Comatorium" was released, and during the subsequent tour, several new musical ideas would be tried out in concert. Two parts of "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus" ("Facilis Descenus Averni" and "Con Safo") first appeared as middle sections in "Drunkship of Lanterns" (as heard on "Live" EP) and "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" respectively, while several parts of "Cassandra Gemini" previously appeared in "Cicatriz ESP" lengthy improvisational workouts (as would be heard on "Scabdates"). The album was initially to be titled "Sarcophagus".


title: Frances the Mute

text: Rodríguez-López arranged and produced the recording sessions himself. Rather than bring his ideas to the band as a whole and working them out at group rehearsals, he met individually with each player to practice each part one-on-one. "We'll sit there and play it forever and slow—real slow—to understand what's happening. It's easy to play something fast and loud, but to play it soft and slow takes a certain amount of discipline. Then once we understand the part, everyone's free to elaborate—their personalities come out and it's not my part anymore; they get into and give it that swing that I can't give it."


title: Frances the Mute

text: Rodríguez-López took the additional step of recording the band member separately before layering the various tracks to create each song. Drummer Jon Theodore was the first to record his parts, and he spent time arranging and mapping out the songs with Omar and in the process figuring out what the rhythmic structures would be stated on the recording process. "This is the first time I've ever been so methodical about recording. Normally I would go into the situation with as good an idea as I could, whether that was from performing the songs on tour or having a general road map. But this was the first instance where I considered every single hit all the way through, every figure up to and including every change. There were no question marks. So when I was tracking with the metronome it was just a question of right or wrong." An exception of such recording method was the middle section of "Cassandra Gemini", edited from a lengthy jam session.


title: Frances the Mute

text: Tracking this way had a mixed reception in the band; Theodore and bassist Juan Alderete responded well to the individualistic approach while keyboard player Isaiah "Ikey" Owens didn't like it at all. However, as Rodríguez-López stated, "People filling in ideas can become tedious and counterproductive. You find yourself working backwards. When you're in the studio 'what ifs' are your biggest enemy, so my general rule is, if it's something you can't live with—if a sentence begins with 'I can't' or 'I will not'—then we examine it. But if it's 'maybe we should' or 'I think that' then it's like, hey man, full steam ahead. Not that there isn't a lot of refinement to what we do—obviously there is— but I consider it a balance of raw energy and refinement."


title: Frances the Mute

text: "Frances the Mute" featured the largest array of guest musicians on any Mars Volta album to date. Flea, who played bass on "De-Loused in the Comatorium", this time contributed trumpet to "The Widow" and "Miranda...". "L'Via L'Viaquez" featured guitar solos from John Frusciante as well as Omar's childhood hero, salsa pianist Larry Harlow, while "Cassandra Gemini" had Adrián Terrazas-González (who eventually became a full-time member of the band) on woodwinds. All the tracks also included full string and horn sections, arranged by David Campbell with the help of Omar Rodríguez-López.


title: Frances the Mute

text: "Frances the Mute" is comparable to The Mars Volta's 2003 release "De-Loused in the Comatorium", with its cryptic lyrics and highly layered instrumentals, although the progressive rock influence is stronger on "Frances the Mute" than it was on "De-Loused in the Comatorium". "The Widow" is notably the only short, pop-structured song on the album, although the last half of it features a lengthy, non-radio-friendly outro of manipulated tape loops of organs and electronic noise; for the single release, this part was edited out. Ambient noise plays a larger role on "Frances the Mute" than it does on "De-Loused in the Comatorium": "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus" ends with the recording of children's voices and passing cars (made by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez in front of the house where he used to live with Bixler-Zavala and Ward), while the first movement of "Miranda That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore" ("Vade Mecum") features 4 minutes of coquí frogs (credited as "The Coquí of Puerto Rico" on the album sleeve) singing while a thick soundscape is slowly built from guitars, synthesizers and Bixler-Zavala's voice.


title: Frances the Mute

text: According to Rodriguez-Lopez, "Miranda..." was influenced by the music from western movies: "I'm a big fan of spaghetti-western and I think it shows on "Miranda". Our Morricone-influence has always been there, but on "Miranda" we let it all out. The last song ["Non-Zero Possibility"] on the last At the Drive-In album, the best thing we ever did by the way, had touches of spaghetti-western."


title: Frances the Mute

text: The fifth and final song of the album, "Cassandra Gemini", clocking at 32 minutes and 32 seconds is to date the longest studio song released by The Mars Volta. Rodriguez-Lopez said of the song: "Ever since I was a teenager, and had various listening experiences with the likes of King Crimson, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis's "Bitches Brew", I've always wanted to do something like "Cassandra". Something deformed and out of control. Something enormous and violent, a whole album fitted into one composition. Something ruthless that no one can remain careless to."


title: Frances the Mute

text: In December 2004, a full copy of "Frances the Mute" was leaked to the Internet from the vinyl version. The rip was of poor quality. Encoded as a 96 kbit/s MP3, other versions were reencoded to 192 kbit/s WMA from the source mp3, resulting in even worse audio quality. Gold Standard Laboratories issued a statement decrying the Internet release for its subpar sound quality, and suggesting that fans should respect the band's request not to share the leaked music.


title: Frances the Mute

text: "Frances the Mute" was released on February 11, 2005 in Japan and February 21, 2005 in Europe; the US release followed on midnight, March 1, 2005. The Japanese version included a bonus DVD with three videos from the band's live performance at the Electric Ballroom, London in 2003 as well as an audio of non-album track "Frances the Mute". Gold Standard Laboratories issued two vinyl versions of the album, a standard 3-LP set on black vinyl, and a limited-edition 4-LP set printed on glow-in-the-dark vinyl and packaged in a red plastic case; the fourth disc was a bonus 12" featuring "Frances the Mute" and a live acoustic version of "The Widow", recorded at The Wiltern, Los Angeles on May 6, 2004. A CD single featuring the same two tracks was given free with the purchase of the album at Best Buy stores in the US.


title: Frances the Mute

text: "Frances the Mute" sold over 100,000 copies within the first week of release, and debuted at number four on the Billboard Album Charts. As of February 2007 according to Nielsen SoundScan, 488,000 copies were sold in the United States. The album was the band's career best at No. 4 until their fourth album "The Bedlam in Goliath" came out almost 3 years later on the Billboard 200 at No. 3. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in the US for shipments of 500,000 albums on October 5, 2009.


title: Frances the Mute

text: The album so far has a score of 75 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews". "The Aquarian Weekly" gave it an A and called it "a very heavyweight fight for a listener to get through". Punknews.org gave it all five stars and said, "Leave the hating to the real playa hatas, like Buc Nasty and Silky Johnson, because "Frances The Mute" will blow your mind. So give up your qualms about how pretentious this is, and how overindulgent, because given the chance, you're in for a hell of a ride." "Drowned in Sound" gave it a perfect score of ten and called it "a compulsory purchase." "Spin" gave it an A− and said it "explores an explosive groove "Comatorium" only implied." "Kludge" gave it a score of ten out of ten and called it a "multi-layered album that can be enjoyed through multiple artistic perspectives" which "works beautifully". Playlouder gave it four-and-a-half stars out of five and said, "Miraculously the lyrics never "sound" like the pompous shite they undoubtedly are. They fit the music and make the whole picture even more laughably and absurdly brilliant." In 2005, the album was ranked number 440 in "Rock Hard" magazine's book "The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time".


title: Frances the Mute

text: "Blender" gave it four stars out of five and called it "a visceral, powerful muso's record, a nerve-jangling explosion in a drum clinic." "Paste" also gave it four stars out of five and said it "bursts at the jewel-case hinges with Comatorium's trademarks: musical inventiveness and wildly emotive vocals." "NME" gave it a score of seven out of ten and said, "Within this impressive, ambitious, often stupid whole, are moments of melting human beauty." "Billboard" gave it a positive review and said the album "unfolds upon multiple listens, sometimes threatening to collapse under its own pretensions (meandering musical passages, sound effects), but ultimately, it is an ambitious and rewarding album." "The A.V. Club" also gave it a positive review and said, "On the whole, the record sounds more like the blueprint for a stunning live show than like a viable document of a top-flight hard rock band."


title: Frances the Mute

text: Other reviews are average, mixed or negative: "Uncut" gave it a score of three stars out of five and said it "smells like another concept album, is far too long and so pretentious as to be farcial. Amazingly, it's also mighty entertaining." "The Guardian" also gave it a score of three stars out of five and said of The Mars Volta: "You have to give them credit for ambition, though, because you're not going to find this particular witches' brew anywhere else." "The New York Times" gave it an average review and said, "The music combines the kitchen-sink inclusiveness of psychedelia with the swerves and jolts of the hip-hop era, to approach the ravenous eclecticism of Latin alternative rock." Yahoo! Music UK gave it five stars out of ten and called it "An incredibly accomplished record, a true testament to the band's imagination, intellectual curiosity and outrageous musical talent... Unfortunately, 'Frances The Mute' is also awful." "Under the Radar" also gave it a score of five stars out of ten and said, "Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala are fantastically talented musicians and arrangers. But until they rein in their astronomical pretension, they'll always look more important than they truly are."


title: Frances the Mute

text: The album was initially slated to have six songs, however the title track "Frances the Mute" (which was going to be the first song) was left out due to time constraints. The lyrics for the title track still appeared on the inside of the CD jewel case tray, while the song itself was released on "The Widow" single. The ending of "Frances the Mute" reprises the album's bookend, "Sarcophagi" filtered through radio static.


title: Frances the Mute

text: The finalized track listing had five tracks and was intended to be released as such on all formats. Because of disputes with Universal Records, "Cassandra Gemini" (listed as "Cassandra Geminni" on most versions of the album) was arbitrarily split into eight tracks on the CD version, taking up tracks 5 through 12, since the band would otherwise only be paid an EP's wages for a 5 track album. The splits also were not done according to the song's actual five movements. On digital music stores such as Amazon.com and iTunes Store, "Cassandra Gemini" appears as a single track.


title: Frances the Mute

text: A second Best Buy promotion included a free separate CD of the song "Frances The Mute" itself along with the live acoustic "The Widow".


title: Frances the Mute

text: On vinyl, "Cassandra Gemini" was split between two sides, in the middle of "Faminepulse". Each side of vinyl (save the final one) ends with a locked groove, repeating either a sound effect or a bar of music endlessly until the needle is lifted. The end of the first side and the start of the third side also contain the bookends of "L'Via L'Viaquez"; these small portions are indexed separately from both "The Widow" and "Miranda". This was more than likely done to allow the loops ending each side to function properly.


title: Burn pit

text: According to the United States Army field manual, there are four other ways outside of burn pits to dispose of nonhazardous solid waste: incinerators, burial, landfills, and tactical burial. Open-air burning is a way to dispose of waste, but increases risk of fire and produces noxious fumes. Due to modern waste in deployed environments, there is plastic (including water bottles), shipping materials, electronic waste, and other material that may emit toxic aerial compounds. Burn pits were heavily criticized and resulted in lawsuits by veterans, Department of Defense Civilians, and military contractors. Global environmental consciousness has especially criticized these instances of large-scale burn pit operation. The effects of burn pits seem to be similar to that of fire debris cleanup.


title: Burn pit

text: The Department of Defense estimates 3.5 million exposed service members. The Department of Veterans Affairs has denied about 75% of veterans’ burn pit claims.


title: Burn pit

text: The phrase "burn pit" gained notoriety in the 21st century, especially in U.S. military sites in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, this practice was used well before the War on Terror (2001 to present).


title: Burn pit

text: During the Iraq and Afghanistan wars starting in 2001, military bases throughout the region used burn pits as a way to dispose of waste. These locations included Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Djibouti, Diego Garcia, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Red Sea. In 2010, large-scale burn pit operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, allegedly operated by the U.S. military or its contractors such as KBR, were reported to have allowed the operation of the burn pits for long periods, burning many tons of assorted waste. Active duty personnel reported respiratory difficulties and headaches in some cases, while some veterans made disability claims based on respiratory system symptoms allegedly derived from the burn pits. General David Petraeus, commander, US Central Command and Multi-National Force-Iraq, stated commanders' concerns were about basic needs (food and water) of the soldiers under his command and not burn pits, at the time. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found burn pits to be indefensible because their emissions are potentially harmful to US servicemembers.


title: Burn pit

text: Joint Base Balad (JBB), the largest U.S. base in Iraq had a burn pit operation as late as the summer of 2008, burning 147 tons of waste per day when the "Army Times" published a major story about it and related health concerns. The burn pit at JBB was 10-acres and the waste produced by each person assigned to JBB is estimated to be between 3.6 and 4.5 kg of waste per day. An Air Force spokesman speaking for the 609th Combined Air and Space Operations Center Southwest Asia vigorously contested allegations of health effects and emphasized mitigation efforts. In Afghanistan, at its peak, more than 400 tons of waste was disposed using burn pits daily.


title: Burn pit

text: According to Leon Russell Keith, a military contractor stationed at Balad who testified at a Senate hearing in 2009, ash was everywhere, including on beds and clothes. He described that the thick black smoke was present even in the barracks, where it permanently stained sheets. One soldier described the smoke as “like San Francisco fog.” Another called it “pollen dust.” The color of the smoke could be blue and black, or yellow and orange, but was usually black.


title: Burn pit

text: Burn pits were allegedly adopted as a temporary measure but remained in use several years after alternative methods of disposal such as incineration were available. Burn pits were used during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. As of July 2019, there were still nine sanctioned burn pits in operations in Syria, Afghanistan and Egypt. Per the DoD, this is a last resort when no feasible alternative exists. For longer term enduring locations, conventional solid waste practices are used.


title: Burn pit

text: Hazardous materials are burned in open piles at military installations in the United States, including the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Virginia.


title: Burn pit

text: The waste burned using burn pits included chemicals, paints, medical waste, human waste, metal and aluminum products, electronic waste, munitions (including unexploded ordnance), petroleum products, lubricants, plastics, rubber, wood, and food waste. A typical burn pit uses jet fuel (usually JP-8) as the accelerant. The burning of such material created clouds of black smoke.


title: Burn pit

text: According to an Air Force fact sheet, "Burning solid wastes in an open pit generates numerous pollutants. These pollutants include dioxins, particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, hexachlorobenzene, and ash. Highly toxic dioxins, produced in small amounts in almost all burning processes, can be produced in elevated levels with increased combustion of plastic waste (such as discarded drinking water bottles) and if the combustion is not at high incinerator temperatures. Inefficient combustion of medical or latrine wastes can emit disease-laden aerosols." Hexachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (colloquially known as dioxin) is the same chemical found in Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War. Additionally, burn pits also created particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and PM 10 pollution. Below is a table that has all of the known pollutants that were discovered in burn pits.


title: Burn pit

text: In 2009, growing concerns regarding the health effects of burn pits led President Barack Obama to direct federal agencies to consult recent scientific findings regarding burn pits to protect US military personnel, and for military commanders to implement recommendations to protect those under their command. Anthony Szema, MD of Stony Brook School of Medicine stated that humans exposed to air pollution, especially particulate matter (PM), have high risk of death and lung disease (e.g. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Benzene (a component of JP-8) is a known carcinogen and was a commonly used accelerant for burn pits. Burn pits operate at lower temperatures which causes more incomplete combustion, which results in greater amounts of aeresolized toxic by-products.


title: Burn pit

text: In November 2009, the Veteran's Administration (VA) and the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM) began an 18-month study to determine the long-term health effects of exposure to the burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. The VA and the Department of Defense (DoD), the Board on the Health of Select Populations of the Institute of Medicine formed the Committee on Long-term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan which held its first meeting February 23/24, 2010 in Washington, D.C. In 2011, the Institute of Medicine reviewed the scientific literature related to the possibility of adverse long-term health effects of open burn pits. The report, Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan noted U.S. Department of Defense air quality monitoring data measured levels of particulate matter (PM) higher than generally considered safe by U.S. regulatory agencies. It also cited work linking high PM levels to cardiopulmonary effects, particularly in individuals at increased risk due to pre-existing conditions such as asthma and emphysema. They concluded that there is only limited evidence suggestive "of an association between exposure to combustion products and reduced pulmonary function in these populations." If there is sufficient evidence of a connection between exposure to burn pits and subsequent illness and disability, it might serve as the basis for congressional enactment of a "presumption of service connection" similar to that in place for exposure to Agent Orange.


title: Burn pit

text: Currently, there has been research in the following areas to determine exposure to burn pit and health effects:


title: Burn pit

text: But according to the Army, proper waste management practices have reduced the spread of infectious diseases that contributed significantly to mortality and morbidity in military populations.


title: Burn pit

text: The Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry established in 2014 of to gather information about veterans and service members collected through a question regarding exposure to burn pits air. Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn or 1990-1991 Gulf War veterans and service members can use the registry questionnaire to report exposures to airborne hazards (such as smoke from burn pits, oil-well fires, or pollution during deployment), as well as other exposures and health concerns.


title: Burn pit

text: 1. Report on Data from the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit (AH&OBP) Registry, June 2015 - Between April 25, 2014, and December 31, 2014, nearly thirty thousand Veterans and Active Duty Servicemembers filled out the registry survey. This report highlights health conditions and physical limitations experienced by burn pit registry participants.


title: Burn pit

text: As of December 31, 2019, 186,051 veterans and active duty members have completed the questionnaire since June 2014.


title: Burn pit

text: US Army veteran and University of Pennsylvania graduate student Chad Baer has vocally asserted that claims of inclusive results are due to faulty research design. Baer was selected as a SVA/VFW Legislative Fellow in 2019, and traveled to Capitol Hill to advocate for a predictive analytics model. Baer has asserted that technological advances have made longitudinal studies of all veterans feasible, except that this is not possible so long as the Department of Defense refuses to give VA researchers more complete data. The data in question would be the personnel data that would allow the VA to establish "clusters", based on items such as physical location, job specialties, or other relevant data points.


title: Burn pit

text: A Minnesota mother, Amie Muller, was a victim of the exposure and her senator, Amy Klobuchar (MN-DFL), carried a bill called the “Helping Vets Exposed to Burn Pits Act” that was passed and signed into law by President Donald Trump (as H.R. 5895) on September 21, 2018. Through 2019, it will provide $5 million for burn pit research, education and evaluation of the exposure of other U.S. service members and veterans to burn pits and toxic airborne chemicals.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Middle Eastern cuisine or West Asian cuisine includes Arab, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Cypriot, Egyptian, Georgian, Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli, Kurdish, Lebanese, Palestinian and Turkish cuisines. Common ingredients include olives and olive oil, pitas, honey, sesame seeds, dates, sumac, chickpeas, mint, rice and parsley, and popular dishes include "kebabs", "dolmas", "falafel", "baklava", yogurt, "doner kebab", "shawarma" and "mulukhiyah".


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: The exact countries considered to be part of the Middle East are difficult to determine as the definition has changed over time and from source to source. Currently the countries that are considered to comprise the Middle East are: Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. However, Middle Eastern cuisine includes dishes from Arab, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Cypriot, Georgian, Iranian, Israeli, Kurdish, Levantine, and Turkish cultures.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: The Middle East incorporates the Fertile Crescent, including Mesopotamia (Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia) where wheat was first cultivated, followed by rye, barley, lentils, beans, pistachios, figs, pomegranates, dates and other regional staples. The domestication of sheep, goats and cattle took place in the region as well. Fermentation was also discovered there, in order to leaven bread and make beer in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Additionally, the earliest written recipes come from that region.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: As a crossroad between Europe, Asia, the Caucasus and North Africa, it has been a hub of food and recipe exchange. During the first Persian Empire (ca. 550–330 BCE), the foundation was laid for modern Middle-Eastern food when rice, poultry and fruits were incorporated into the local diet. Figs, dates and nuts were brought by merchants to conquered lands, and spices were brought from the Orient.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: The region was also influenced by dumplings from Mongol invaders; turmeric and other spices from India; cloves, peppercorns and allspice from the Spice Islands; okra from Africa, and tomatoes from the New World.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Religion has impacted the cuisine by making lamb the primary meat since both Jews and Muslims do not eat pork.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: The Qur'an forbids alcohol consumption, which is why non-Islamic countries produce and export alcohol. Prime example would be wine made in Lebanon, in vineyards such as Château Ksara, Chateau Kefraya and Chateau Masaya which have gained international recognition. Château Ksara is also known for its "arak ksarak". Al-Maza is Lebanon's primary brewery, and once it was the Middle East's only beer producer.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Under the Ottoman Empire, sweet pastries of paper-thin phyllo dough and thick coffee were brought and introduced to the region.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Grains are the basis of the Middle Eastern diet, where wheat and rice are considered staple foods. Barley is also widely used in the region, and maize in addition has become common in some areas. Bread is a universal food eaten in some form by all classes at nearly every meal.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: In addition to bread, wheat is also used in "burghul" and "couscous". "Burghul" is cracked wheat made by partially cooking wheat grains in water, drying them in an oven (or in the sun), and breaking them into pieces. It is typically cooked in water with flavorings, much like rice.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: "Burghul" is also used in meat pies and as an ingredient in salads (notably in "tabbouleh" with chopped parsley, tomato, lemon, and oil). "Freekeh" is another common grain, made from immature green wheat.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Many types of rice are produced and consumed in the region. Plain rice is served under grilled meats or in meat and vegetable stews. More complex rice dishes have layers of meat, vegetables, sauces, nuts, or dried fruits.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Butter and clarified butter (also known as "smen"), also ghee, are traditionally the preferred oil to cook in. Also, olive oil is prevalent in Mediterranean coastal areas, where Christians use it during the Lenten and other fasts which disallow meat and dairy products. and Jews use it instead of animal fats (such as butter) to avoid combining meat and dairy products.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Most regions in the Middle East use spices. A typical stew will include a small amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cumin, and coriander. Black pepper is popular and chili peppers are used occasionally, especially as a sauce or as pickles. Parsley and mint are widely used in cooking and in salads.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Thyme and thyme blends ("za'atar") are common among Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel, in addition to a mixture of dried thyme and sumac (crushed sour berries) which is prevalent at breakfast with oil and bread. Sumac is also sprinkled over grilled meat and garlic is frequently used in many dishes and salads.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Grilled meats ("kebabs") are popular, with many regional varieties. The most popular is cubed lamb on skewers ("shish kebab"), and chicken that may also be grilled in the same fashion. Another extensive variety is "kofta kebab", made from ground meat mixed with onions and spices, shaped around the skewer like a sausage and grilled. "Kebabs" are typically street or restaurant food, served with bread, salad and pickles, and are not usually prepared at home.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Meat and vegetable stews are served with rice, bulgur, or bread. "Kibbeh" is a pie (or dumpling) made with meat and cereal.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: The most popular "kibbeh" is made with ground meat (typically lamb) and "burghul", worked together into a dough and stuffed with minced meat fried with onion, herbs and sometimes pine nuts, or almonds and raisins, prepared as individual small dumplings (shaped like a torpedo) or sliced like a cake and baked on an oven tray with two layers of stuffed dough.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Another variation of "kibbeh" is "kibbeh naye", made by pounding raw meat and "burghul" with seasonings, served with lemon juice and chili sauce for dipping.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Vegetables and pulses are staple foods, and are boiled, stewed, grilled, stuffed, and cooked with meat and rice. Leaf vegetables include many varieties of cabbage, spinach, and chard. Root vegetables, such as onions, garlic, carrots, turnips, and beets, are also popular in the region.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Squash, tomato, eggplant, and okra are distinctive elements of the region's cuisine. Eggplant is often sliced, fried and dressed with yogurt and garlic. "Baba ghanoush" is eggplant roasted over an open fire, mashed and dressed with "tahini" (sesame paste), lemon juice, garlic, and cumin.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Tomato is the most ubiquitous ingredient in Middle-Eastern cookery, used fresh in salads, cooked in stews and broth, and grilled with "kebab".


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Beans and pulses are crucial to the regional diet, second only to cereals. Fava beans are eaten both green and dried. Dried fava beans are boiled into "ful medames", one of the most popular Egyptian domestic and street foods. As for mashed fava beans, they are dressed with oil, lemon, and chili. Similar dishes are found throughout the region.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: "Falafel", which is popular in Europe and the United States, was originally made from dried fava beans formed into a "rissole" with herbs and spices and then fried. It is also made from chickpeas, or a blend of the two. Green fava are cooked like other green beans, boiled and dressed with oil or stewed with meat. Haricots and black-eyed peas are also well-known.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Lentils, split peas and chickpeas are widely used in soups and salads, with rice or meat. "Hummus", made from chickpeas and "tahini", originated in Syria and Lebanon.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Stuffed vegetables, a dish associated with the Middle East cuisine, is commonly called "dolma" (Turkish for "stuffed") or "mahshi". Grape leaves, chard, and cabbage are stuffed with rice, ground meat, pine nuts and spices, and stewed in oil and tomatoes. Many vegetables, such as squash, onion, tomato, eggplant, peppers and carrots, are similarly stuffed and stewed (or baked).


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: "Meze" is popular throughout the Middle East. It consists of a number of small dishes (cheese, melon, nuts, salads and dips such as "tabbouleh", "hummus" and "mutabbal", and pickles) and more substantial items, such as grilled meat, "kibbeh", and sausage.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Middle Easterners frequently consume milk, fresh or soured. Yogurt is commonly consumed plain, also used in cooking and in salad dressing, or diluted as a drink. Greek feta and "halloumi" are the region's most popular cheeses.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Turkish coffee is a beverage well known internationally. Thicker than other coffee, it is made by boiling finely-ground coffee in water and letting the grounds settle. During the 1980s, instant coffee became popular.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: "Arak" is a distilled, anise-flavored alcoholic drink, usually diluted with water and ice, and served in social gatherings with "meze".


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Some Christians, such as the Assyrians, Armenians, Cypriots, and Maronites make their own beer and wine.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: "Qamar al-Din", a thick, sweet apricot beverage, is drunk by Muslims during Ramadan. Apricots are boiled with sugar and water until they are thick, and sun-dried on wooden planks. The dried fruit is then mixed with water and sugar.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: "Jallab" is a fruit syrup made from grape molasses, dates and rose water served over crushed ice, sometimes with raisins or pine nuts.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: In some Arab countries, especially in the Persian Gulf region, it is common for diners to take their food from a communal plate in the center of the table. They traditionally do not use forks or spoons; instead they scoop up the food with pita or a thumb and two fingers.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: In Arabic culture, the left hand is considered unclean and even left-handed people eat with the right hand. A common exception, however, is that the left hand may hold a drinking glass when eating greasy food with the right.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: It is proper etiquette to compliment the host on their food and hospitality, and to try every plate on the table. If a guest does not leave food on his plate, the host generally fills it immediately.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: During Ramadan, food consumption increases dramatically in Muslim communities. Breaking the daily sunrise-to-sunset fast is a banquet with family and friends whereas public banquets are held by charities and other associations.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Cafes and pastry shops are open at night, and the streets have a carnival atmosphere. Many Muslims, following Muhammad's reported example, break their fast with a date followed by a variety of dishes. Sweet pastries and puddings are always present on Ramadan nights.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: The end of Ramadan is marked by Eid al-Fitr, featuring a great quantity and variety of sweets and pastries.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: The other major Muslim feast is the four-day Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, which occurs during Dhu al-Hijjah (the pilgrimage month). An animal (usually a sheep or goat) is slaughtered in every household that can afford it, great banquets are prepared, and food is given to the poor.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Tea is usually served in curved glasses which are held by the lip to which water may be added. A cup of tea may be refilled if it is less than half full. An honored guest is expected to make a toast, usually soon after the host does or at the end of the meal.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Forks, spoons and knives are used. Sometimes, the knife is held in the right hand and the fork in the left, presenting the British-style. Smoking may be acceptable between courses of a dinner.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: In formal situations and with more traditionalist company, the hosts sit at the head of the table, with the honored guest next to them on the side of the table which is farthest from the door.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: The honored guest is served first, and then it's customary to serve from elder guests to younger, with a bias in favour of men. Diners do not begin eating until the oldest person at the table begins eating.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: In some informal restaurants, dishes are ordered when desired (not all at once at the beginning of a meal). At informal restaurants a table may be shared, but diners are not required to converse.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Guests may be required to remove their shoes. It is customary to say "Afiyet olsun" ("May what you eat bring well-being") before or after eating, and to say "Elinize sağlik" ("Bless your hand", a compliment for the manual, i.e. "hand" labour involved in cooking) to whomever prepared the meal after a meal.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Iranian dishes and foods are known for being rice-based and Iran has been popular for its wide rice production. Dishes are typically served as savory or sweet, rather than in courses.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: In traditional Iranian restaurants, a large, low table lined with Persian rugs and with cushions around the sides is the setting for a meal. Diners sit cross-legged in a circle and food is served in the center (eaten with cutlery on separate plates). Tea is served in "kamar baareek" ("narrow-waist") glasses with sugar and Persian sweets.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: When entertaining dinner guests at home, it is seen as discourteous to serve just enough food, so food is prepared in large quantities. An important Persian practice is "taarof" (ritual politeness) where if a person is offered food or drink, they will initially politely decline. Only after the host has offered repeatedly, it is accepted and that is to avoid appearing greedy.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: In 2017, Middle-Eastern cuisine was reportedly one of the most popular and fastest-growing ethnic cuisines in the US. Dishes such as "hummus" and "falafel" are becoming increasingly common in restaurants across the United States.


title: Middle Eastern cuisine

text: Middle-Eastern cuisine is often misrepresented as simply interchangeable with Mediterranean food in Western markets.


title: OneWeb

text: OneWeb (legally Network Access Associates Ltd) is a communications company that aims to build broadband satellite Internet services. The company is headquartered in London, and has offices in Virginia, US and a satellite manufacturing facility in FloridaOneWeb Satellitesthat is a joint venture with Airbus Defence and Space. The company was formerly known as WorldVu Satellites Ltd.


title: OneWeb

text: The company was founded by Greg Wyler in 2012 and launched its first satellites in February 2019. It entered bankruptcy in March 2020 after failing to raise the requisite capital to complete the build and deployment of the remaining 90% of the network. The company emerged from the bankruptcy proceedings and reorganization in November 2020 with a new ownership group. As of 2021, Indian multinational company Bharti Global, France-based satellite service provider Eutelsat and the Government of the United Kingdom were the company's largest shareholders, while Japan's SoftBank retained an equity holding of 12%.


title: OneWeb

text: Early reports of the potential involvement of Google in offering broadband internet services surfaced in February 2014, when a "very large [satellite] constellation" was rumored to be in the plans with as many as 1600 satellites. In May 2014, the early concept had been to have at least 20 satellites operating in each of 20 orbital planes to provide consistent internet coverage over the surface of the Earth.


title: OneWeb

text: By June 2014, WorldVu (later to be renamed to OneWeb) had acquired the satellite spectrum that was formerly owned by SkyBridge, a company that went bankrupt in 2000, in a much earlier attempt to offer broadband Internet services via satellite.


title: OneWeb

text: By September 2014, the WorldVu company had 30 employees, and several Google employees who had joined Google as part of the acquisition of O3b Networks in 2013 — Greg Wyler, Brian Holz and David Bettinger — left Google to become a part of WorldVu Satellites Ltd. They took with them the rights to a certain radio frequency spectrum that could be used to provide Internet access. At the time, WorldVu was working closely with SpaceX and SpaceX's founder Elon Musk to explore satellite internet services, although no formal relationship had been established and no launch commitments had been made in 2014.


title: OneWeb

text: By November 2014, "The Wall Street Journal" reported that Musk and Wyler were considering options for building a factory to manufacture high-volume low-cost satellites, and that "initial talks had been held with state officials in Florida and Colorado" about potentially locating a factory in those states, as well as that SpaceX would likely launch the satellites. Also in November 2014, WorldVu issued a tender "to satellite manufacturers for 640 125-kg satellites", asking for responses by mid-December 2014, having secured regulatory approval for use of the requisite electromagnetic spectrum communication frequencies in mid-2014.


title: OneWeb

text: The 2014 OneWeb solicitation to satellite manufacturers was for a total build of approximately 900 small Internet-delivery satellites, including ground and on-orbit spares. Responses were received from both European and American manufacturers including Airbus Defence and Space, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, OHB SE, SSL and Thales Alenia Space, and discussions focused on how each of these companies might "escape their status-quo histories as major space hardware contractors and remake themselves into producers capable of producing multiple satellites per month, each with a cost of fewer than US$500,000". OneWeb announced that it planned to form a joint venture with the winning bidder and open a new facility for manufacturing the new smallsats.


title: OneWeb

text: In January 2015, "The Wall Street Journal" reported that WorldVu, now operating under the name OneWeb Ltd, had secured funding from Virgin Group and Qualcomm to build and launch the constellation. OneWeb also divulged that the planned satellites would weigh approximately 125 kg and that the plans were to deploy approximately 650 of them in low Earth orbit to operate at altitude. Just a few days later, Elon Musk announced the rival Starlink venture, with the opening of the SpaceX satellite development facility in Seattle, Washington, with the intent of taking SpaceX itself into the business of internet provision and internet backhaul services, initially announced as aiming to build an approximately 4000-satellite constellation, with the first generation becoming operational in approximately 2020.


title: OneWeb

text: The satellites for the OneWeb constellation were initially announced to be in the class, about the same size as the two Earth-imaging satellites that were then operated by Skybox Imaging, which Google acquired in August 2014. However, by the following year, sources put the satellites nearer in mass.


title: OneWeb

text: In 2015, OneWeb secured US$500 million in funding, and agreed to purchase certain future launch services, from existing aerospace industry companies Arianespace and Virgin Galactic. In June 2015, OneWeb also entered into a deal with Airbus Defence and Space for the construction of its broadband Internet satellites after a competition among American and European manufacturers.


title: OneWeb

text: In July 2016, one year after the initial announcement, OneWeb stated they were on schedule. In December 2016, OneWeb raised US$1 billion from SoftBank Group Corp. and US$200 million from existing investors.


title: OneWeb

text: In February 2017, OneWeb announced that it expected to sell all of its capacity by launch time. At the time, it had formally announced capacity sold for a joint Gogo and Intelsat venture. OneWeb's founder and then executive chairman Greg Wyler announced he was considering nearly quadrupling the size of the satellite constellation by adding 1972 additional satellites that OneWeb had priority rights to. With the original capital raise of US$500 million in 2015, plus the US$1 billion investment of SoftBank in 2016, previous "investors committed to an additional US$200 million, bringing OneWeb's total capital raised to US$1.7 billion". A merger arrangement with Intelsat that had been in negotiations during May 2017 collapsed in June 2017 and did not go forward.


title: OneWeb

text: The constellation was originally announced in June 2014 to be just half of the total of approximately 720 satellites. A quarter of the satellites were to make up the initial constellation, and these would operate in the lower of the two proposed orbits, at approximately . The initial constellation would presumably be raised or lowered into its final orbital altitude of either or as consumer and business use of the broadband service grows over time. By early 2015, OneWeb indicated that the first launches would occur no earlier than 2017.


title: OneWeb

text: In February 2016, OneWeb announced that they would set up an assembly and test facility in Florida with plans to assemble and launch the majority of the satellites by the end of 2019, while manufacturing an additional 250 of the 140 kg-satellites as spares to be used in later years.


title: OneWeb

text: In 2019, OneWeb had formed a joint venture, OneWeb Satellites, with the European company Airbus Defence and Space in order to manufacture its satellites in higher volume and at lower cost than any satellites previously built by Airbus. A manufacturing facility was built in Merritt Island, Florida. Initial satellite production at the new facility began in mid-2019 and by January 2020, the factory reached the target production rate of two satellites per day.


title: OneWeb

text: By the time the actual orbital deployment of the constellation began, in February 2019, the planned constellation size had settled once again at 648, near the original projection, with 600 active satellites with 48 on-orbit spares.


title: OneWeb

text: In January 2020, OneWeb reached a production rate of two satellites per day. In February 2020, the company launched its first large batch of satellites.


title: OneWeb

text: In January 2021, OneWeb amended its application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to change the number of satellites planned for its Phase Two constellation to 6,372.


title: OneWeb

text: In November 2021, OneWeb says it has suffered a failure of one of its broadband satellites. The craft, which orbits at 1200km, was said by OneWeb to be one of a batch launched early last year and the failure is blamed on a software problem


title: OneWeb

text: On 27 February 2019, OneWeb launched its first six satellites into 1,200 km low Earth orbit from the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana using a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle. The same day OneWeb announced that it had signed its first two client agreements marking the beginning of its commercialization. On 18 March 2019, OneWeb announced it had secured US$1.25 billion in funding following a successful first launch. The funding was from existing investors SoftBank and Qualcomm, as well as Grupo Salinas and the Government of Rwanda.


title: OneWeb

text: By August 2019, the company had six of its satellites broadcasting at the right frequencies for 90 days, meeting the "use-it-or-lose-it" spectrum conditions set by the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This secured the vital rights OneWeb needed to operate its global satellite broadband network.


title: OneWeb

text: In February and March 2020, the company launched an additional 68 satellites to orbit, stating that launches would be paused to allow a minor design modification to be made before planning to resume in May 2020.


title: OneWeb

text: On 27 March 2020, OneWeb Global Limited and 18 affiliates filed for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The company said the decision has been made because of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company laid off approximately 85% of its approximately 500 employees, but retained the capability to control its operational satellites during the period of court protection.


title: OneWeb

text: On 3 July 2020, a consortium led by Bharti Global and the Government of the United Kingdom won the auction to purchase the bankrupt company. The sale closed in November, allowing the company to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy.


title: OneWeb

text: On 3 July 2020, the Government of the United Kingdom and Sunil Mittal's Bharti Global (formerly a partner of OneWeb) announced a joint plan to invest US$500 million each for equal stakes in OneWeb Global, approximately 42% each; the rest would be held by other creditors including Softbank. The UK government would also hold a golden share to give it control over any future sales. The plan was approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on 10 July 2020, and the deal closed in November 2020, allowing OneWeb to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy.


title: OneWeb

text: In July 2020, Hughes Network Systems invested US$50 million in the consortium. The same month, the UK government stated an intention to repurpose the OneWeb satellites for its own Global Navigation Satellite System.


title: OneWeb

text: Shortly after the July public announcement of the OneWeb sale, a letter from Sam Beckett, the leading civil servant in the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), was released. In the letter, Beckett raised concerns that taxpayers' money could be at risk. The comments were made as part of a request for "ministerial direction", therefore it was required that the letter be made public and any concerns raised be formally overruled. BEIS minister Alok Sharma overrode the concerns and proceeded with the bid.


title: OneWeb

text: On 21 September 2020, OneWeb announced that it was set to resume launching satellites for its global broadband network in December 2020 under a modified 16-launch contract with Arianespace. The December payloads would ride to orbit aboard a Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia, according to Arianespace, and additional satellites were to be launched later from Russia, Kazakhstan, and French Guiana.


title: OneWeb

text: In November 2020, the company announced that Neil Masterson, formerly chief operating officer at media company Thomson Reuters, had been appointed CEO. The company launched 36 additional satellites on 17 December 2020. Furthermore, OneWeb announced plans to accelerate launches in 2021 so that the 650 satellites necessary for global coverage would be in orbit by 2022.


title: OneWeb

text: In January 2021, a further funding round raised $400 million from SoftBank and Hughes Network Systems, with SoftBank getting a director seat on OneWeb's board. This brought available funding to $1.4 billion, which "positions the company" to fund its first-generation fleet of 648 satellites, but would be insufficient to fund full deployment of the constellation by mid-2022. OneWeb chairman, Sunil Mittal, estimated about a further $1 billion is required, but did not anticipate difficulty in raising that.


title: OneWeb

text: In April 2021, OneWeb launched its sixth batch of satellites to orbit. It comprised 36 units, bringing the total in-orbit constellation to 182. In the same month, it was also reported that Eutelsat was putting £400M into the company, in return for a 24% equity stake. Eutelsat's stake decreased to 19.3% when Bharti Global increased its holding in June 2021.


title: OneWeb

text: In May 2021, OneWeb was asked by the UK Space Agency to lead a consortium of space companies working to develop a satellite that can beam hop, meaning it can change which part of the world it covers. The consortium includes SatixFy, Celestia UK, and Astroscale UK. That same month, OneWeb announced plans to buy TrustComm, a U.S.-based managed satellite communications provider. After the purchase, the company became OneWeb's government distribution partner.


title: OneWeb

text: In May 2021, OneWeb's seventh launch took the number of satellites in orbit to 218, to create the second largest fleet behind Starlink.


title: OneWeb

text: In June 2021, Oneweb raised an additional US$500M from Bharti Global, increasing Bharti's holding to 38.6%. In August 2021, Hanwha Systems invested $300 million to purchase an 8.8% share in OneWeb, enabling Hanwha to appoint one member of the board of directors and bring its own dual-use defense and satellite technology to the company.


title: OneWeb

text: OneWeb became the founding member of Indian Space Association (ISpA). ISpA will act as bridge between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and private industries to form the space ecosystem in India.


title: OneWeb

text: In March 2022, media reported that OneWeb was scheduled to launch satellites from Russia despite the UK's sanctions against that country due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. There were calls for the UK to cancel the launch. Russia said the launch had already been paid for and would not be refunded, and would be cancelled from the Russian side unless OneWeb provided additional assurance that the satellites would never be used for military purposes and the British Government disposed of its shares in the company. The British government refused this demand and the launch was cancelled, along with other Russian launches.


title: OneWeb

text: On 21 March 2022, OneWeb announced that it had signed a launch agreement with United States launch provider SpaceX to launch the remaining satellites on Falcon 9 rockets, with the first launch expected no earlier than summer 2022. On 20 April 2022 OneWeb announced a similar deal with NewSpace India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, OneWeb satellites were deployed by LVM 3 on 22 October 2022, using a lightly modified version of the satellite dispenser previously used on Soyuz.


title: OneWeb

text: The merger of OneWeb and France's Eutelsat – an operator of geostationary satellites – was announced in July 2022. OneWeb shareholders would receive 50% of the enlarged share capital whilst the UK would retain its golden share in OneWeb itself, in a transaction which valued OneWeb at $3.4bn (£2.8bn). The French and British governments are expected to have similar direct stakes of roughly 10% in the new joint entity as well as a seat on the board each, while France will also receive guarantees about Eutelsat, while the Eutelsat intergovernmental governance scheme will remain in place.


title: OneWeb

text: The OneWeb satellite constellation is a planned initial 648-satellite internet constellation in low Earth orbit which, as of 2022, is in the process of being completed. Its goal is to provide global broadband internet services by the end of 2023. The constellation is being deployed by OneWeb, headquartered in London, with offices in California, Florida, Virginia, Dubai and Singapore.


title: OneWeb

text: OneWeb's first six satellites were launched in February 2019, the first large batch of 34 satellites was launched in February 2020, and another 34 were put into orbit in March 2020. These were followed by more launches in 2021. The small satellites were built by OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between Airbus and OneWeb. The satellites are in a circular low Earth orbit, at approximately altitude, transmitting and receiving in the Ku-band of the radio frequency spectrum.


title: OneWeb

text: In late March 2020, after securing its global satellite spectrum and orbital rights with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and launching 74 satellites, OneWeb filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but maintained the satellite operations center for the satellites already in orbit while the court determined the disposition of OneWeb's assets. The company exited bankruptcy in November 2020, after being sold to the Government of the United Kingdom and Bharti Global.


title: OneWeb

text: By October 2022, OneWeb had launched 464 of the planned low Earth orbit satellites in the initial constellation. In July 2022 it was announced that OneWeb was to merge with France's Eutelsat, an established operator of geostationary satellites.


title: OneWeb

text: The satellites in the OneWeb constellation are approximately in mass, a bit smaller than the 2015 design estimate of . The 648 operational satellites are to operate in 12 near polar orbit planes at altitude, at 86.4° orbital inclination. Initially 18 orbital planes with 49 satellites per plane was planned, requiring 882 satellites plus some spares, but improved satellite coverage capability allowed this to be reduced to 12 planes of 49 satellites requiring 588 satellites plus some on-orbit spares.


title: OneWeb

text: The first-generation satellites do not have inter-satellite data links, so will only provide a user service when also in the range of a gateway ground station.