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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 19, 1999)
Page 6 • Monday, July 19, 1999 N ATI ON Thefli Searching for Kennedy At its height, the search for John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane ranged over 1,000 square miles. After debris was discovered, the search immediately shifted and focused on an area south of Martha's Vineyard. Here’s a look at some of the equipment and techniques involved in the operation. LONG RANGE SEARCH ©When the location of the target is unknown, parallel searches are used. Two Coast Guard HH-60 helicopters and other aircraft traced Kennedy’s entire route. *■ SHORT RANGE SEARCH © Localized searches are executed by using floating debris as their focal points. Both aircraft and watercraft, such as RHIs (Ridget Hull Inflatables) use methodical Sector and Expanding Square searches to comb the area. * Expanding square NIGHTTIME SEARCH Q Ships with sonar equipment are used for nighttime searches. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship Rude uses a sophisticated sonar device that can scan up to a 1,000-foot wide section of the ocean floor. Camelot’s sole survivor T Caroline Kennedy remains private during family NEW YORK (AP) — She was the lit tle girl who walked her dad to the Oval Office each morning and rode a pony on the White House lawn. Grown up now with a family of her own, Caroline Kennedy appears to be the last survivor of Camelot. Yesterday, the day after her brother’s plane went missing, Caroline Kennedy stayed far from the media and far from the rest of the Kennedy clan gathering in Massachusetts. Kennedy, husband Edwin Schloss- berg and their children aged 12, 9 and 6 were waiting out the search at a home they have in the Hamptons on eastern Long Island, a summer play ground for the rich and famous. It was a characteristically discreet way for a very private woman to han dle her very public life. Kennedy, who had been out West rafting with her family before her brother was reported missing, returned to Long Island Saturday. She had not planned to attend the wedding of Rory Kennedy at Hyannis Port, Mass., but it was not clear why. JFK Jr., 38, was en route to the wed ding when his plane disappeared. His wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, were also on board. Caroline Kennedy, 41, was extreme ly close to her brother. They were chil dren together in the brief presidency that came to be known as Camelot af ter the legend of King Arthur, going on 6 and 3 when their father was assassi nated in 1963. Together, they endured the murder of their uncle, Robert F. Kennedy, in 1968, and adjusted when their mother, Jacqueline Kennedy, married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis the same year. They did well in private schools in New York, avoided drugs and scandals — and were kept far from the rest of the Kennedy clan. “Jackie had made it a strict rule not to allow Caroline and John Jr. to frat ernize with their Hickory Hill cousins," author Jerry Oppenheimer wrote in The Other Mrs. Kennedy, his book about Robert’s wife, Ethel. Robert and Ethel Kennedy’s homestead in Virginia was known as Hickory Hill. Richard Burke, a former aide to an other Kennedy brothers M. Kennedy, D-Mass., s< book that Caroline had spent time there “but w stuff going on out at Hicki especially the problems the having — Jackie just didn't oline and John there As adults, Caroline andJtl joined forces, presenting an preservationists in theirmotlvi or, and launching another 1] their father’s memory. They;f auction house to sell oils from their mother’s estate, blocked someone else some of their father’s Now, as hopes fade for brother alive, “There'sakir of the lonely survivor” said her, author of The Kennedy: ican Drama. When Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, a designer of mi teriors and exhibits, herbroi as best man, and gave this my life there has just heenthe us — Mommy, Caroline and! Now, there is just the one iroinl diaries, | Clinton offers prayers to far Source: U.S. Coast Guard; AP research AP JFK Continued from Page 1 If the beacon did come from Kennedy’s plane, it would be the first time searchers have heard it. An ELT can be triggered man ually or automatically upon a crash and emits signals that can be detected by satellites and air craft. Earlier in the day, searchers found little more than the frag ment of a headrest and some in sulation. Saturday’s search had yielded a wheel, a headrest, part of a plane support, a prescrip tion bottle belonging to Kennedy’s wife and a piece of baggage belonging to his sister- in-law. The Kennedys stayed close to the Hyannis Port compound that has been the family’s gathering point in so many times of tri umph and tragedy. In the after noon, Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and other family members went boating. Kennedy’s sister, Caroline Kennedy, whose whereabouts had been unclear since the acci dent, awaited word on New York’s Long Island. It was not known why she did not attend the wedding or join the family in Hyannis Port. She and her family were said to have just returned from a West ern rafting trip. Mary Medeiros, a family baby sitter, said there were a lot of tears inside the compound. At Our Lady of Victory Church near Hyannis Port, where several Kennedys have been married, the Rev. Stephen Dawber told churchgoers to pray for young Kennedy and his passengers, “that God give them peace and comfort.” Columnist Rowland Evans, at the compound for the wedding, told CNN that on Saturday morning, “It was going from a little piece of heaven into the shadowy depths. Everybody felt the heavy weight, the burden of real sorrow. ” “Nobody had, I think, great hopes even then,” he said. Some experienced pilots said a relatively new pilot like Kennedy ma^ have been ill-ad vised to fly Jt night, while oth ers said it was routine. A source who is friendly with the Kennedy family told the As sociated Press that Kennedy had intended to fly earlier in the day, but his sister-in-law, an invest ment banker, had to work late. Larrabee called yesterday’s operation a “search and rescue” but conceded that the normal survival time in 68-degree wa ters — about 12 hours — had long passed. WASHINGTON (AP) — Saying the Kennedys “have suf fered much and given more” as a family, a grim-faced Pres ident Clinton offered the prayers of a nation yesterday as au thorities scanned the ocean in hopes of finding the son of the one president Clinton personally idolized. Arriving at the White House from Camp David, Md., Clinton thanked the Coast Guard and other searchers who are trolling the coast off Martha’s Vineyard, where wreck age from a private plane carrying John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette began washing ashore on Saturday. “At this difficult moment, we hope the families of these three fine young people will feel the strength of God, the love of their friends and the.prayers of their fellow citizens,” Clinton said. His words rang with personal loss. The Clintons have spent time with the Kennedys during vacations on Martha’s Vineyard, sharing boating excursions and dinners at a com pound once owned by Kennedy’s late mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. “For more than 40 years now, the Kennedy family has inspired Americans to public service, strengthened our faith in the future and moved our nation forward,” Clin ton said. “Through it all, they have suffered much and given more.” He said Kennedy and his wife, who were married al most three years ago, “have captured our imagination and won our affection” in recent years. He said he would al ways be grateful “for their kindnesses to Hillary and Chelsea and me.” Clinton stepped off his helicopter with his wife and daughter. They locked hands and walked in unison across the lawn, Hillary Clinton sandwiched in the middle. When he finished speaking, Clinton swallowed hard and disap peared into the White House. The president spoke just a few feet away from the Rose Garden where, as a teen-ager, he met President Kennedy on July 24, 1963. Back then, Clinton was one among several attending /Boys Nation. When he graduated high school, young Clin ton scribbled his name below a photograph of himself and Kennedy in the yearbooks of his friends. Clinton is unabashed in his admiration of Kennedy, and weaves Kennedy influences into his policies and actions in a va riety of ways. For example, when Clinton journeyed to Africa last year, he made Ghana his first stop because it w; New A& nation where Kennedy’s Peace Corps lx Ain n;v Brian C He once said Kennedy’s emphasis on piM® Mo “taught me to believe in America. ... He made it-*1 and noble and good. The best we can doistokeep burning.” According to David Maraniss’ 1995 biography,?: Class, Clinton wrote a letter to his mother whilestj Georgetown, telling her that a friend whohadw| Kennedy, Tommy Caplan, was preparing to spen an especially precocious toddler. “At this difficult moment, we hope the families of these three fine young people will feel the strength of God, the love of their friends and the prayers of their fellow citizens." ‘John Kennedy Jr. is supposed to visit himatl town sometime this year,” Clinton wrote. ‘‘Hei$(sB ce j n E key 1998 a record low for violent crime WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans were victims of about 8.1 million violent crimes last year, a 7 per cent drop from 1997 and the lowest number report ed since the Justice Department began tracking the figure in 1973. A report released yesterday called the one-year drop “marginally significant,” driven by a small but significant decline in aggravated assault rates. “From 1997 to 1998, no significant changes in rates of rape or sexual assault, robbery or simple assault occurred,” this year’s National Crime Vic timization Survey said. There were slight declines in robbery and simple assault, but rape and sexu al assault actually rose slightly from 311,000 in 1997 to 333,000 in 1998. Rape and sexual assault were the only two crimes to show an increase dur ing the period. The general 1998 decline continued a downward trend that began in 1994, the survey said. Attorney General Janet Reno said there is no one reason for the drop. But she gave Clinton adminis tration policies credit for combining the effects of several strategies. “It’s because of more police officers on the streets, tougher sentences, more prosecutions, bet ter prevention programs, a healthy economy and a new approach to crime fighting that involves a clos er working relationship between communities and federal, state and local law enforcement,” Reno said. Republicans said they are relieved over the de cline but warn that crime rates remain unacceptably high. They also have pointed to passage of anti crime legislation since the GOP took majority con trol of Congress in 1995. NASA prepares for launch of X-ray telescope Looking into the unseen universe The largest and most powerful X-ray telescope ever to be launched will leave aboard the space shuttleCok July 20. Chandra, a Hubble-caliber observatory is meant to detect faint sources of cosmic X-rays, suck* quasars, exploded stars and possibly black holes. Here’s a look at the Chandra X-ray Observatory. HOW IT WORKS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The world’s hefti est, mightiest, priciest X-ray telescope is about to em bark on a five-year voyage to stare deep into the hearts of galaxies and search for signs of black holes. The Chandra X-ray Observatory, a 4 1/2-story colos sus stuffed into space shuttle Columbia and due to lift off tomorrow, is 10 to 100 times more powerful than any of the dozen or so X-ray telescopes previously placed in orbit. If words glimmered in X-rays, Chandra could read a newspaper from a half-mile away or make out the let ters of a stop sign from 12 miles away. “We can make Superman jealous, I guess, with our X-ray vision,” NASA manager Ken Ledbetter said. The astronauts, led by NASA’s first female space shut tle commander, Eileen Collins, will release Chandra with the flick of a switch seven hours after launch. It will be another month before the telescope’s eagerly awaited observations begin. X-rays are produced by quasars, galaxies and rem nants of exploded stars but are invisible to ground-based telescopes. They would go right through flat mirrors, like those used to focus light on the Hubble Space Telescope, or the lenses used in many smaller telescopes, so Chandra uses conical mirrors. X-rays will glance off the sloping glass at a shallow angle like pebbles skipping across a pond. “This is an age that we live in where superlatives are used in everything from sports to politics, probably a lit tle bit too much,” said Martin Weisskopf, a NASA sci- 1 With the sunshade door open, X-rays enter the high X-r£ resolution mirror assembly. Sunshade door years old, but this boy says he is a really smart 1( like his daddy.” Linteiv' As an adult, the younger Kennedy found hisw# p e the White House — on Clinton’s invitation. |j . n When Clinton announced the first woman to a U.S. space shuttle mission, Kennedy was there,r|j eer - U] dience. He brought along his wife in February 13 ' s i ()W| Clinton played host to a state dinner for BritishPir* p at] ister Tony Blair. .® m p 1 Kennedy bowed as he greeted Hillary RodtalL^ a and Cherie Blair, while Bessette removed herloi'Sf| ra( j u gloves before shaking Clinton’s hand. H eace In Los Angeles, Vice President Al Gorecancdef| a l ] s v day brunch that was to raise funds for his t0 campaign. He attended Mass at the Sacred Heart® « ( - l and told reporters afterward his prayers were 1 enc j m Kennedy family. B s to “Above all, we are reminded of the sacrifice Kennedy family, and how precious and fragile life is," a j, r j cu Bho s ■uired §ons e defii The r as es ie pe tates Egical Jn the Itun i,000 i Aspect camera stray light shade High resolution mirror assembly 2 Four sets of cylindrical mirrors within the assembly reflect the X-rays through... I- .transmission gratings. This makes images sharper before they reach the high resolution camera and the CCD imaging spectrometer*. CCD imaging spectrometer ‘Camera that also detects X-ray's energy. Source: NASA 4 Data from the telescope is sent to EartW analyzed by scientists. entist who has been working on the project for two decades. “But I can’t help but use those superlatives with this observatory. They are really well based.” The telescope, built by TRW Inc., cost $1.5 billion to develop. Throw in the shuttle ride and five years of or bital operations, and the price jumps to $2.8 billion, making it one of NASA’s most expensive science pro jects ever. Chandra — named for the late astrophysicist who won a Nobel Prize — is the third of NASA’s four so- ■ Tex^ justice (peak nd the lis e\ ‘ v Oakwo called Great Observatories. The first wasHitfl Station second was the Compton Gamma Ray 0/ Ruth a launched in 1991. Blilleni With Chandra’s help, astronomershop<E Ton: how much so-called dark matter is out/ hire is where it is and more about the matters/i Holt, a black holes and the high-energy jets ofraa/ part of ing away from them. They also hope to m by the dilate the distance to celestial objects,use'-f Co U nci timating the size and age of the universe. :