Huntsville, Alabama
Tuesday June 24th, 2008 -arrived at the Huntsville airport and were met by our counselors decked out in their flight suits. There were 3 of us on my flight from Houston, Sarah from Utah, Amy from Peoria, and moi. Several others were also arriving about the same time so we waited and loaded the bus to our dorm.
Checking In
After arriving at our dorm it was time to check in and receive all the goodies including a flight suit and assignments for our groups. My group was Unity which we would later call ourselves Unity 3. Then it was time for dinner and meeting lots of new friends. Of the 300 people selected this year for Honeywell Space Camp there were representatives from 45 states and 17 countries. During our session, 3 , there were about 100 participants.
Wednesday June 25th, 2008
Today would prove to be quite busy. We began the day with an orientation of the Honeywell Space Camp program where we were introduced to the staff and our counselors. Then it was on to a team building activity where we played a game to learn each other's names and something about each person in our group. Next we would tour the Davidson Center Museum.
After lunch it was time to take our group/team photos. We were then given a mission overview which gave us background information for the two missions that we would prepare for during the week. We then met as groups to begin designing our group mission patch. Each space mission has their own unique patch to commemorate the mission. Our charge was to design a patch that would represent our mission as well as our individual group. Then it was time for dinner followed by a reception at the Shelby Center at the University of Alabama/Huntsville. This was a brand new science building that we were allowed to tour. Back to the dorm.
Davidson Museum
The next pictures are a sample of the things we saw at the Davidson Museum.
Thursday June 26th, 2008
Our day began with an overview of the Ares missions presented by Kimberly Robinson the engineer in charge of the Ares project which will return men to the moon early in the next decade. We then attended our first of 3 classes, Toys in Space. It was then time for our first training session for our first mission, the Endeavor. I was assigned to be Mission Specialist 2. I would be working with another astronaut to repair tiles on the shuttle that were damaged during our launch. Then it was on to two more classes in the afternoon, Bottle Rocket Design and Thermal Protection. All the classes gave me great ideas for hands on activities to use with my students. We finished the day with a talk by two-time shuttle astronaut, Bob Springer.
Friday June 27th, 2008
Today we met Ed Buckbee, public relations director for NASA from the early years. We also attended 3 more classes, Geography, Living & Working in Space, and Space Gardening. Today is also the day for our Endeavor Mission that we trained for yesterday. As mission specialist, my partner and I would be assigned an EVA (External Vehicular Assignment) to repair damaged tiles. One of the highlights of my trip was to meet Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys (October Sky), at a barbeque. His talk was very motivating.
Saturday June 28, 2009
This would prove to be a very fun and exciting day. We began the day with our Discovery Mission training right after breakfast. My job for this mission was Cap Com whose responsibility it is to communicate with the shuttle. Then it was on to Middle School Math, our only class today. The afternoon would bring the Aviation Challenge including a zipline from a tower into the water and rescue simulation in the helodunker. All this was weather permitting so we were watching the sky all morning.
Sunday July 29th, 2008
Well it's our last day of Space Camp. We had two more classes, Lunar Station and Martian Math. Our Discovery Mission will be linking up with the Space Station. Our final group activity before graduation is Astronaut Sims. The first sim I did was simulating 1/6 gravity like you would encounter on the moon. The second was a simulation of a free fall that astronauts could encounter if they lost control during reentry. Then it was on to graduation where we received a beautiful frame for our group picture, a diploma, and wings.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my experiences this summer at Space Camp. Please feel free to leave a message.
