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Space Camp
Sep. 8th, 2008 08:55 amI am back. More news to come. Here is a gratuitous picture of me at the stick of the shuttle.
Sep. 8th, 2008
Space Camp - The Highlights
Sep. 8th, 2008 10:33 amI'll write more and at great length about my trip. Suffice to say it was just Out of the World (hehehe). Frankly, I'm still buzzing from it.
Going out there I will admit I wasn't too sure about it. The trip was long, getting to Huntsville is a mission in and of itself, taking about as long as flying back to the UK. Plus my SIM card failed on the morning of the first day which added an extra layer of complexity.
However, once that was over I could settle into the camp schedule.
I was there for the 6 day event, and the daily schedule was pretty full, pretty much keeping you busy from meeting at breakfast at 7.30 through to a finish between 9 and 10pm. I'll scan and post the timetables later, but they were a mixture of lectures, team activities and missions. Being located in the Space and Rocket Center there were also ample opportunities for tours and trips around the fantastic museum there.
You're split according to your preferences, I was on the Pilot track. The other track is Mission Specialist. These determine what you get to do on the missions you take, although you'll be able to do all the activities, the Mission Specialists won't get to fly the shuttle and the pilot's don't get to do an EVA and work outside.
Highlights:
Lectures: In addition to some general lectures on space science and orbiter systems engineering we had a lecture from Dr Georg Von Tiesenhausen, who was one of the early team members brought over by Von Braun in the late 40s. The guy is 94 and gives an excellent lecture.
Team Activities: Too many to list. Flight simulator training (Hornets and Shuttles), multi-axis trainers, MMU simulation, moon walk simulation, rocket building (and launching), team building "command test" activities, scuba tank work and so on.
Missions: You take 4 1 hour missions where you'll have time in the Shuttle Sim, Space Station Mock Up and Mission Control. You then pick roles for the extended 6 hour mission on the penultimate day. I was Shuttle Commander during the ascent phase and a Flight Engineer on the Descent. This was due to a desire in the team for more people to land the shuttle.
I can honestly say this is the most fun I've had in years. We also have the distinction of being the first team to crack a serious fuel cell problem on our return - something that was helped by one of our team members being a former camp counsellor who really knew his way around the orbitor flight deck and who was my pilot on the way up.
Our only black spot. We landed with the cargo bay doors open.
Whoops.
I wasn't commander at that point :)
Going out there I will admit I wasn't too sure about it. The trip was long, getting to Huntsville is a mission in and of itself, taking about as long as flying back to the UK. Plus my SIM card failed on the morning of the first day which added an extra layer of complexity.
However, once that was over I could settle into the camp schedule.
I was there for the 6 day event, and the daily schedule was pretty full, pretty much keeping you busy from meeting at breakfast at 7.30 through to a finish between 9 and 10pm. I'll scan and post the timetables later, but they were a mixture of lectures, team activities and missions. Being located in the Space and Rocket Center there were also ample opportunities for tours and trips around the fantastic museum there.
You're split according to your preferences, I was on the Pilot track. The other track is Mission Specialist. These determine what you get to do on the missions you take, although you'll be able to do all the activities, the Mission Specialists won't get to fly the shuttle and the pilot's don't get to do an EVA and work outside.
Highlights:
Lectures: In addition to some general lectures on space science and orbiter systems engineering we had a lecture from Dr Georg Von Tiesenhausen, who was one of the early team members brought over by Von Braun in the late 40s. The guy is 94 and gives an excellent lecture.
Team Activities: Too many to list. Flight simulator training (Hornets and Shuttles), multi-axis trainers, MMU simulation, moon walk simulation, rocket building (and launching), team building "command test" activities, scuba tank work and so on.
Missions: You take 4 1 hour missions where you'll have time in the Shuttle Sim, Space Station Mock Up and Mission Control. You then pick roles for the extended 6 hour mission on the penultimate day. I was Shuttle Commander during the ascent phase and a Flight Engineer on the Descent. This was due to a desire in the team for more people to land the shuttle.
I can honestly say this is the most fun I've had in years. We also have the distinction of being the first team to crack a serious fuel cell problem on our return - something that was helped by one of our team members being a former camp counsellor who really knew his way around the orbitor flight deck and who was my pilot on the way up.
Our only black spot. We landed with the cargo bay doors open.
Whoops.
I wasn't commander at that point :)
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