A Call to the Space Center Leads to an Enjoyable Conversation with the Director

"Why can't we go to the Space Center?" Nick asked with a sigh. Nick and James sat outside pondering their next move. Nick's mother banished both of them to the outdoors. She thought they needed some fresh air.

"Four hours of video games is enough," she explained to the boys. They objected, but it didn't do any good.

"The guy said the Space Center was closed this week when I called." James answered with an added shrug of the shoulders for emphasis.

"Maybe he just meant they were closed for a couple days. I'll bet they're open now. Call and find out." Nick shoved his friend, unplanting his backside from deck.

"I'm telling you they are closed."

"Call and see!"

"OK, ok." James pulled his phone out from his pocket and dialed the Space Center.

"Space Center," Mr. Williamson answered in his bright and welcoming voice. He strictly reserved his Bright and Welcoming Voice for telephone calls and the issuing a 'Get Out of Jail Free' cards to members of the Space Center staff and volunteers who do remarkable things above and beyond the call of duty.

"Are you open this week?" James asked, not realizing he was actually talking to the founder and director of the Space Center himself. Had James known............ well, it really wouldn't have really matter so never mind.

"Sorry, we are closed for Spring Vacation," Mr. Williamson replied with a voice so rich in melody, his words could have been sung over the phone - giving the listener something to whistle for the remainder of the day.

"Well, my friend and I were just wondering." James was about to say "bye" when Mr. Williamson cut him off with a question.

"Bored are we?" Mr. Williamson deciphered the sound of his disappointment. Mr. Williamson continued to explain the reasons for closing the Center

"You see, Spring Break gives us an opportunity to do maintenance on our ships. We are so busy during the school year that we rarely can get into the ships to fix things that break or modify the ships so they run better."

James held up the hand that wasn't holding the phone and tapped his forefinger and middle finger against this thumb, giving Nick the universal symbol for 'this guy won't stop talking'. Nick smiled.

"Let me hear." Nick pulled on James's phone. Nick held the phone away from his ear so Nick could hear the lecture for himself.

Mr. Williamson spoke in one long run on sentence, seemingly without needing to pause for a breath - the sure sign of an experience Space Center Flight Director. "


"Most people don't know all the work that's needed just to keep the Space Center running. Just yesterday, Jon replaced the video projector mount for the Voyager. Today he's in the Phoenix taking up the floor to replace the blue rope lighting......."


..... Christine is in the Odyssey cleaning. The Odyssey hasn't had a good clean in a long time...

....She's making a real mess of things. She is watching the BBC show "Sherlock Holmes" while she cleans. Everyone around here is a real fan of the new Sherlock Holmes......


.....Jackie was here helping Christine. The more hands the merrier when it comes to cleaning we always say.....

.....Megan Warner is a Phoenix Flight Director. She's taken everything out of the Phoenix's Control Room for a good clean. Jon is going to install a new shelve.....

...of course, this deep cleaning means everything from the ships must be stored in the Space Center's office. You should see my office. It's a real mess right now.....



....Matt Ricks is the Space Center's Tech and a member of our Programming Guild. He is in the Magellan debugging the Magellan's new simulator controls. The Magellan is converting from a Starbase to a Starship this summer.....



.....Yesterday the Phoenix Flight Directors spent time decorating the school's Faculty Lounge. They put out a few props to see what it would take to create a Canteena scene in the Faculty Lounge for the Phoenix's new summer story.....



.....They also spent a good part of the morning painting a couple of lamps for the Canteena. So now I hope you understand why I have to close the Space Center from time to time. Because even when we are closed, we are here working to ensure people like you always have the best experience we can give with the resources we have."

Mr. Williamson stopped talking when he heard the steady beeping tone a phone makes when the person on the other end hangs up . He hung up the Space Center's phone confident he'd educated a young Space Center fan on the inner workings of the Second Happiest Place on Earth!

Spring Vacation, Our New Benches and The Great Wall of the Space Center.

Hello Troops,

It is a beautiful Easter Sunday here in Pleasant Grove. I see a busy week full of classes, planetarium shows, missions, screams, laughs, and cheers in my rear view mirror. Ahead, and as far as a week stretches over the horizon, I see the calm open fields of Spring Vacation.

The Space Center is closed until April 16. While not all of us have this week of Spring Vacation, those of us working and going to school in the Alpine School District get a beautiful seven nights of wistful sleep and seven days with nothing more to occupy our time than the passing thought of what to do next.

I will be in the office daily to keep up on emails and phone calls. If I don't, I'll regret the almost insurmountable deluge which would surely be waiting on my desk and computer upon my return Monday next. Don't pity me. There is something I enjoy about being alone at the Space Center and kept company by the ghosts of missions past and present. I get more done and can set my hours.

Tyler Gardner finish his Eagle Project for the Space Center and Central School yesterday. I asked him to replace the park benches that sat in the school's lobby for as far back as I remember.

The Benches which occupied the school's lobby since the fist seconds were counted in time.
I've heard Brigham Young sat on one of them, and if you look closely behind the bench on the
right you'll find Egyptian hieroglyphics carved into the wood .
I believe the carving says "Bakara is a blessing to Banafrit whom Osiris loves"

Tyler built two beautiful new benches for the lobby. They are modern in design and graffiti free.
He and his fellows did an excellent job. In fact, they are so well done, I'm charging a small fee for their use. You may pay per sitting or pay a monthly fee for the privilege of resting your backside upon them.

I let Tyler sit on his benches for free so I could take these pictures.

Tyler on bench one near the school's front doors.
Charge: 0.25 cents for just sitting with a 0.10 cents per minute charge afterwords.
The 25 cent just sitting down fee applies only to this bench because of the beautiful
view one has of the school's front sidewalk and lawn.

Tyler sitting on bench 2.
Fee: 0.10 cents per minute with an additional charge for
using the handy electrical plug
found beside the bench.

The Space Center is happy to take your bench reservations. When calling, please identify which bench you'd like to reserve (front with the scenic view or library). Don't forget to include your arrival and departure times. Please have your credit card ready for the down payment. Be sure to book early for weekend use.

"I came to school early and sat on the Space Center's new benches without paying."

Local businessman may want to consider advertising near our two new benches. Please contact the Space Center's office for details.

Disrespect Rampant at the Space Center?

I decided to run home for a few minutes early Saturday morning after the campers were back in their ships and off to the four corners of the known universe. I always appoint someone to be in charge while I'm away. Dave Daymont was that person on Saturday.

I wrote "Gone Home for a minute. Dave Daymont in Charge" on the white board behind my desk notifying everyone of who was in charge. Dave Daymont is the Phoenix Set Director. Everyone knows that the "in charge" person carries my authority. Dave took advantage of his "in charge" status and added a few things to my note as seen in the photograph below:

Dave added the following three orders to my notification:

1. "The Phoenix always wins". The Space Center's Outstanding Performance Trophy is awarded after every Overnight Camp to the simulator that gets the best overall scores from the campers as written on their post camp survey form. Dave's order simply states that the Phoenix will always win. Dave's order is Space Center law until I return to the office.
2. "Never Say Bad Things About the Phoenix" was Dave's second order.
3. "Bring Gifts to Dave Daily" was his third order. While some might consider this bribery, I look at it as a way to show respect to someone I consider worthy enough to be left in charge of the Space Education Center in my absence. Shouldn't someone with whom I've placed such trust deserve gifts from his or her subordinates?

Sadly, someone without scruples and a shred of human decency took an erasable marker and defiled Dave's mandates as shown in the photograph below:


Sadly, others were overheard taking Dave's name in vain and speaking rudely of the Phoenix. The offender's names were placed on the white board: Miranda, The Demontress and The Red Blemish.

Another sick individual added the following to Order 1: "unless the Voyager is flying". Rumor has it that Jon Parker was the culprit. Dave was visibly upset by the ordeal and had to go lay down for a few minutes to recover. Chelsey Roberts was running the Phoenix at the time so Dave's absence was not noticed by the Phoenix Overnight Crew.

One would expect The Demontress and "M" the Destroyer of Worlds to be involved in this conspiracy, but The Red Blemish - our scooter transported superhero sworn to uphold the law and protect the week and confused? There is something not right at the Space Center and I will get to the bottom of this, rest assured.

An Update on the Great Wall of the Space Center

Drywall and taping was on Friday's agenda for the Space Education Center's Great Wall currently under construction in the school's Commons area. Mudding and sanding will be next, topped off by a few coats of paint. Soon troops, soon and the wall will be finished and our Digitarium Planetarium will have its new quiet home.





Mr. W.

The Space Center Paid What for this Thermos? Has Mr. Williamson No Shame for his Actions?

Hello Troops,
Yes, that's one expensive thermos. Care to take an educated guess? What would you expect to pay for this white thermos? Notice there are no cartoon characters decorating the outside cylinder. Why buy a thermos for your milk, coffee, hot chocolate etc without pictures of your favorite cartoon characters? When I was a kid at Canyon Lake Elementary School in Rapid City, South Dakota I had a Johnny Quest lunch box with a Johnny Quest thermos. Standing alongside Johnny was his best friend Hadji and Bandit the dog.

What would I pay today to get my Johnny Quest lunch box and thermos back? I'm thinking $50.00 real American money. So if I'd pay $50 for a vintage Johnny Quest lunch box and thermos, what would I pay for a plain white unremarkable thermos?

I asked Jon Parker (Voyager Flight Director) what he thought this white thermos was worth. Jon appreciates a good vintage lunch box. You rarely find him coming to work without his Amazing Hulk lunchbox.


Jon looked at the picture of the thermos I had just purchased for the Space Center and nearly fainted to the ground at the price.

"You paid WHAT?" he exclaimed after coming around. We had to use the extra strong smelling salts from the big First Aid kit. Everyone in the room agreed that I was the perfect example of Government waste.

"What did you pay for this plastic ruler?" Stacy asked sarcastically. "$200.00?"

"But this isn't your run of the mill lunchbox thermos." I stood my ground with determination. "This is a Cryogenic Liquid Nitrogen Dewar 10 Liter 1C0- 10 D."

"A What?" The staff spoke in unison. They were perplexed by my use of scientific words.

"This is a Cryogenic Liquid Nitrogen Dewar 10 Liter 1C0- 10 D," I repeated myself. The words fell from my tongue with ease. They were impressed. Heck, I even impressed myself, and that isn't easy to do.

Jon raised his hand to speak for the rest of the staff. "What do you carry in Cryogenic Liquid Nitrogen Dewar 10 Liter 1C0- 10 D?"

"Liquid nitrogen, of course."

Stacy laughed. "Of course, why didn't the rest of us think of that? But come on, $430 dollars for a thermos to carry liquid nitrogen? Are you crazy? Think of what we could have bought for that kind of money."

"It will allow us to do liquid nitrogen science demonstrations for our field trip lessons." My explanation didn't seem to sway them to my way of thinking. I resigned myself to the fact that my staff would always be skeptical toward my nearly $500 thermos.

By the way, I thought you readers of the Troubadour, and true fans of the Space Center might like to see the other flight director's lunch boxes so Jon doesn't feel picked on.

Zac's Lunchbox (Magellan Set Director)
He is a closeted Jetsons fan.
I'll tell you a secret, I think he's got a crush on Rosie the Robot.

Emily's favorite lunchbox (Voyager and Odyssey Flight Director). She rarely arrives at the Center without her Barbie lunchbox complete with a Ken Thermos and an assortment of decadent delicacies. Emily and her Barbie lunch box are well known at BYU's Cougareat where some mistake her for BYU's Homecoming Queen. Emily rarely if ever corrects their misunderstanding.

Stacy's Lunchbox (Galileo Set Director).
Careful, she also carries her live fishing bait in this box.

Christine's Lunchbox (Odyssey Set Director) with
Woodstock Thermos. Christine always shares, just in case you
arrive at the Center hungry.

Dave's Lunchbox (Phoenix Set Director)
Always carries a Thermos full of Mt. Dew, a BLT sandwich and a Twinkie.

Megan's lunchbox. Megan doesn't get a thermos

until she learns how to drink from one without spilling!

And life moves on at the Space Center.

Have a Happy Easter!
Mr. W.

The Volunteer Club Meets for Keyboard Training and the Space Center's Great Wall Under Construction

The Home for our Special Volunteers
(a crow caws in the distance)

Hello Troops,
Flight Directors Emily, Megan and Jon held a special training meeting on Monday, April 2 for the Space Center's special volunteers. The training was held in the computer lab at Central School - home of the Space Education Center.

"Our special volunteers enjoy the time we give them away from the day to day drudge of the Home for Special Volunteers," Emily said. Emily started this special training program last month. She says her special program is a win win for all. "The Space Center wins because we get a better trained staff who require less supervision. The volunteers win because good volunteers get released time from the home on a more regular basis."

Megan and Jon walked the volunteers across the marshlands and bog to the school for the training meeting. There was a bit of a crisis along the way. One of the smaller volunteers was pushed off the well worn path and fell into the marsh. He was up to his neck in mud and muck before Jon successfully pulled him back to dry land with a rope and hook.

" 'bout lost one," Jon meekly confessed to Emily when they arrived. Emily stood outside waiting. She was aghast at the boy's mud pie appearance.

"We've had this conversation before," Emily reminded him. "Lose just one more and you're through."

Jon glanced down at his feet, embarrassed at the dressing down he was given in front of the volunteers. He spoke in his defense, "You can't blame me for...."

"Stop right there," Emily held out her hand as if to strike. Jon winced backward. "Don't start - we still haven't found that boy you lost along the path two years ago." Megan smirked. She's been after Jon's position for several years now. Anything that makes Jon look incompetent and untrustworthy betters the odds of her removing him from his position.

The volunteers marched through the school's halls and into the computer lab.


Each was assigned to a computer. James sat down, licked his lips, mumbled "glass and aluminum" and leaned forward to touch his tongue to the computer. Some people like to smell things. James likes to taste things.

"NO!" Jon spoke sharply. James stopped abruptly - his tongue 1/2 inch from the screen.

"James was going to lick the screen again," Marissa giggled. James kicked her from under the table. Marissa yelped.


"STOP IT!" Jon spoke even more sharply. He caught Emily glancing at him questioningly from the white board. He heard Megan smirking. James went back to chewing on his yellow shirt sleeve - a tactic suggested by his therapist to help overcome the urge.



Jorden raised his hand. "What's today's lesson on?" he asked. Jorden likes to smile. His nickname at the Home is 'Smiler'.

"Good question, ten points for the Blue Team because of Jorden's good question," Emily snapped her fingers and ten points appeared on the Home's House Tally Board. Matthew patted Jorden on the back. Jorden's smile broadened to stretch from ear to ear. Seeing his face contort like that can take you slightly off your mark if you've not seen him do it before.

"STOP IT!" Jon barked. "Smile normally."

"Smiling normally," Jorden's smile released its broad hold on his face, returning his ears to their normal position.

Emily cleared her throat and continued. She was careful not to look at Jorden. "We are going to practice our keyboarding. The biggest problem volunteers have at the Space Center is keyboarding and spelling. We flight directors need volunteers who can keyboard quickly and spell reliably.


Al sat up smartly and spoke out of turn without raising his hand. "I keyboard quick and can spell Reliable."
Kimball smirked. He knew that Al had a hard enough time just finding the home row on the keyboard, let alone type anything readable. Nathan starting making monkey faces and noises. He sat on Al's right. No one knows why, but Nathan makes monkey faces and noises when he feels threatened. Keyboards threaten Nathan - with all the buttons and the consequences for not pushing each one correctly.

"What is that?" Emily questioned, pointing toward Al.

"His name is Nathan," Jon answered. "He's somewhat new to the Home for Special Volunteers. He makes those faces and noises when he feels threatened. Just ignore him. He stops after awhile if you ignore him ."

"I'm not referring to Nathan," Emily moved closer to Al. "What is that on HIS face!?"

"A beard," Jon answered.

"And what is a beard doing on the face of a Space Center volunteer?"

"Is there a policy against it?"

"If there isn't then there should be."

"I'll consult Mr. Williamson on the matter - shall I?" Jon moved toward the door.

"Let's get through this class first." Emily walked back to the white board. "Hands on the home row............"

"STOP THAT!" Jon reached out and stopped James from licking the back of his chair.

Emily continued. "And begin.... A, S, D, F....."

The Space Center's Great Wall.
One of the Space Center's New and Marvelous Wonders

The Great Wall of the Space Center is under construction. This new wonder will divide and separate the school's commons area from the 6th grade hallway. The commons is where the Space Center's Digitarium Planetarium is housed. Noise from the hallways is a constant disturbance during the Space Center's planetarium shows. This new and wonderful wall will solve the noise problem.

In addition to the wall, the Space Center is installing black out curtains in the commons. The black out curtains will completely darken the room. Having a dark room is a real plus because of the tiny pinpricks in the planetarium's fabric dome. The pinpricks let in tiny points of room light into the dome. Each point of light is seen as an extra star in the night sky. I'm sure you get the picture.

The Alpine School District Maintenance Shop is building the wall. It should be finished by week's end. We are all very excited.

ATV-3 Resupply Docks with ISS

ATV-3 Resupply Docks with ISS

ATV-3 (left) approaches the docking port of the Zvezda Module (right).

On Friday, March 23, the European Space Agency launched the third in their series of Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV) to resupply the International Space Station. ATV-3 was nicknamed "Edoardo Amaldi" after an Italian scientist. The launch, operated by ArianneSpace, took place at the Agency's Korou, French Guiana space center in Northern South America. The mighty Arianne 5 rocket lifted off for an 8-minute ride to orbit, lifting the 20-ton cargo vessel in a beautiful flight over the Atlantic and past the Azore islands.

ESA launch facilities in French Guiana.

ATV-3 blasts off on an Arianne 5 rocket.

The Edoardo Amaldi is the first of the ATV series of 5 launches to meet the ESA's goal of one flight per year to the ISS. The Agency hopes the remaining two flights in this first resupply program will continue to meet their goal. Soon after reaching orbit, the ATV extended its 4 solar panels and made course corrections to catch up to the orbiting ISS.

ATV-3 is powered by 4 solar panels (2 in the shadows on right). An ISS solar panel, seen edge-on, blocks the front view of the ATV.

ATV-3 finally caught up to the ISS and docked to the aft end of the Russian-built Zvesda Service Module on March 28th. Although the craft itself weighs about 20 tons, its cargo comprised about six and a half tons of propellant, air, water, food, and other supplies needed for operations. It will remain docked to the ISS for 5 months. One of its most important missions will be to use it's own propellant and engines to boost the altitude of the ISS higher above the Earth.

50 YA - Kennedy watches an Atlas Test

President Kennedy with Air Force Generals at Vandenberg AFB. Picture from the SAC Elite Guard Association site.

On March 23, 1962 President John F. Kennedy did something no other president had ever done. He watched a test firing of an Atlas D InterContinental Ballistic MIssile (ICBM) from a silo at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Vandenberg AFB was the site for many of the military test missions of ICBM's, and also included launch silos for operational use of in-service ICBMs.

Welcome for Air Force One and the President. Picture from the SAC Elite Guard Association site.

It's important for us to remember today, that way back then in the early 60's our nation was experiencing the Cold War with our enemies, Soviet Russia. ICBMs stood by in each country ready to launch and inflict nuclear warfare on the other nation. So it seems more than appropriate that the American President should have been witness to a launch of our country's most important defensive weapon at the time. At the same time, both of our countries were engaged in a politically-inspired race of technology to conquer space and lead the world in space technology. In 1962, the Soviets seemed to be winning that race, and President Kennedy was gearing up the nation to be the first to land men on the Moon.

Atlas D ICBM at Pad 12 at Cape Canaveral.

The rocket launched that day from California was the Atlas D model ICBM. This type first flew in 1959. The operational rocket witness by the President was launched from a silo buried in the ground to protect it from enemy attack and hide it from surveillance. I was unable to find a picture of the silo and launch, though there is a video on Youtube that shows President Kennedy observing the blast-off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j5UaRnk4mg

(Thanks HelmerReenberg and Youtube!) I've included a picture of an Atlas D model at Launch Complex 12 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Atlas D was used for other NASA purposes as well, including 4 Mercury Program launches.

The Space Center Marathon. Do You Have What it Takes?

Hello Troops,
This is what our staff and volunteers look like when given a bit of food at the end of our weekly Space Center Marathon. The 25 hour Marathon begins every Friday afternoon at 4:00 P.M. and ends at 5:00 P.M. Saturday afternoon. During the Space Center Marathon, our brave volunteers and staff work the Friday 4:00 P.M. private mission. Then they stay and work the Overnight Camp. After the Overnight Camp they stay and work the 11:00 A.M. Saturday missions and finish the Marathon by staying for the 2:30 P.M. missions. They volunteer for this torture themselves. It is their way of testing their grit and determination. It is their way of finding out who has it and who doesn't. It is their way of separating the men and women from the boys and girls.

The Iditarod in Alaska is peanuts compared to the Space Center Marathon. Imagine 25 hours of missions, only briefly interrupted by six hours of sleep? Imagine living on drinking fountain water and a bit of soda and a cookie at 11:00 P.M. before bedtime. Imagine eating a couple Walmart donuts, Gogurts, a banana and a bit of milk or Sunny Delight for breakfast. Imagine only having a few day old Walmart dinner rolls to keep you going through the long Saturday afternoon. Imagine dealing with dozens and dozens of campers ranging in age from ten to 90. And worse of all, Imagine having to deal with me all that time! The horror of it all can hardly be expressed in writing. It must be witnessed. Only when witnessed do you truly appreciate the effort these braves souls put into their work.

The Space Center has an awesomely dedicated tribe of volunteers and staff. They work hard to make everyone's visit to the Center meaningful and enjoyable. Please be sure to thank the volunteers and staff who work your next mission. Tell them you appreciate their effort. Tell them you feel sorry for the small pitiful wage (if any) they receive. Tell them they will be in your prayers.

The benefits of taking the time to thank them will result in their extra effort to ensure your mission goes without a fault.

Springtime is when we ask the most from our volunteers. Springtime is that time of the year when we run most of our two a day field trips. Two a day field trips start with two classes arriving by bus at 9:30 A.M. They leave at 1:30 P.M. The second school bus arrives at 2:00 P.M. Those kids stay until 6:00 P.M. Birthdays and other parties arrive at 6:15 P.M. for their evening missions. This could mean as many as 21 missions per day using all five simulators. Volunteers are needed for nearly every mission. A flight director's worst nightmare is to find out there aren't enough volunteers to fill all their staffing needs when they arrive to direct a mission. Once again, we thank our volunteers. They are the Center's life blood.

Please contact the Center by email if you have an interest in volunteering. It is a great way to develop good working habits while interacting with outstanding, wholesome, teens and adults. It is a good place to make new friendships with others your age with similar interests.

And now, from the Imaginarium:




And a bit of something for our hybrid fans (those loving Dr. Who and the Space Center).

I always wondered what became of that little green alien.
Come to find out he's lived here all the time

This should read: "Always be yourself, Unless you can be Batman or a volunteer or staff member at the Space Center!"

One way to solve the ever rising fuel price problem.
This goes hand in hand with the belief that the only way out of our nation's
financial crisis is to print more money!

The only thought that kept me going during the dark times while the Space Center was being built and the program developed.

Mother's day is next month.
How does one thank the woman who brought you into this world and loves you
more than life itself?

Well, its back in the trenches tomorrow. I have no worries. I know I've got my staff and volunteers beside me riding shotgun.

Mr. W.