Camp Survey Results, and Other Things.

From the Institute of Incomplete Surveys

Hello Troops,
The results are in from EdVenture Camp 1.

Lord of the Votes:  Bracken
SubLord of the Votes:  Bradyn L.

Overall:
Voyager: 1.09
Odyssey:  1.13
Phoenix:  1.20
Galileo:  1.28

Magellan:  1.08

Come Back:  1.07
Class Session:  1.50
Bonus:  9.11

Lagoon:  1.29
Movies:  1.00
Mall:  1.07
Water Park:  1.17

Congratulations to the Magellan!  Magellan takes the first camp.  Great Job Zac, Mark, Nicole, Tanner, Jackie, Scott, Tim, James M., Aliah, Mark S., Matt M., Marissa and Dakota. 

The following was written by Aleta Clegg and taken from her Blog.  Aleta is our curriculum writer, Digitarium Director, Office Assistant, Summer Cook etc., etc.,
Oh, I almost forgot - Ultimate Queen of the Galaxy!

She is also a published author.  

I have a new title at work

My day job (www.spacecamputah.org) is interesting, in all sorts of ways. I never quite know what to expect from day to day. The other week, I had a girl give me a new title.

I had a planetarium show scheduled for the evening, a local youth group wanted to learn more about the night sky. One of the girls was an avid Dr. Who fan. She was so excited to be at a place that celebrated science fiction, even if it was a different universe. Until we got to the planetarium.

Our planetarium is a portable system from Digitalis. (They make the Stellarium software package. If you ever wanted to learn constellations or find out what's in the sky when, this is an excellent program. Plus, it's FREE. And no, they didn't pay me to endorse it for them.) The inflatable dome is dark blue, almost an exact color match to Dr. Who's tardis. She had to point it out to me. So I, being a big Dr. Who fan myself, told her it was bigger inside than outside. Not really, but since we have the entire universe inside, it does look bigger inside than out.

Once we were inside and seated, I launched into my spiel about how we can time travel and where they should look to see what time and date we were at. This girl couldn't contain herself. She blurted out, "You're a Time Lord!"

I love it. I'm going to print that on all my business cards. I'm a Time Lord. I can take you anywhere in time and/or space in my tardis. Oh, yeah, work is sweet.

(I'm also Ultimate Queen of the Galaxy. My boss officially gave me the title because titles cost nothing and it doesn't change my job description.)

Aleta Clegg


And Now, From the Imaginarium.....

 Standing Alone for Right.  

This is how change happens.

The Enterprise, your Grandfather's Ship.

You wouldn't find a USS Voyager crew doing this on a Friday Night.

Weekend Comments, News and... The Imaginarium

Hello Troops,

We've successfully complete our first week of summer camps.  The staff stumbled to their cars yesterday afternoon and disappeared - only to be recalled once again Monday to start the whole thing again.  This week we add an extra camp day.  We have an overnight camp on Monday, then an Ultimate Camp starting on Wednesday and ending Saturday.  Let it never be said grass grows under the feet of a Space Center staff or volunteer.  

We realize work brings reward.  Our reward for these long summer hours is the financial means to operate for another year from our summer camp earnings.  There is also the joy we feel deep inside from running our missions.  It is rewarding to watch a simulator full of campers respond to your work with applause, laughter, and the occasional scream.  It is, at least for me, the best job in the world and I want to thank my staff and volunteers for coming along for the ride and helping me make this all possible.  We have done a truly amazing thing! 

This last week's campers were truly amazing.  Everyone agrees the EdVenture Camp ending Saturday was one of the best ever.  If you were on that camp as a staff, volunteer or camper - WELL DONE!  I'd love to see everyone of those campers back again.  They were kind to each other, respectful to the staff and appreciative of our hard work.  If only all our camps this summer were as good.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping with every fiber of my being that our temptress Fortuna finds her summer's entertainment in Greece or Spain (as if they need any more bad luck with their economies). 

 

This is Tori.  Tori is being congratulated for receiving her one year pin from none other than yours truly.  Tori is one of our outstanding young volunteers with a great attitude.  The Flight Directors and Supervisors have nothing but good to say about Tori. 

This is Mr. Daymont congratulating young Jordan Smith on the occasion of his receiving his Phoneix Pin.  Jordan is one of those volunteers who never stops talking.  He talks and talks and talks and talks - almost non-stop.

"I can never get a word in edgewise," Mr. Daymont confided to me just last week.  "What do I do?  You've got to help me.  He knows something about everything.  I bring up a subject I'm sure he is ignorant about and OFF HE GOES throwing out facts, figures, prose, poetry and dialog."  

I promised Mr. Daymont I'd figure out a way to contain Jordan's abundant, vocal, and demonstrative enthusiasm.  I could be rich if his energy could be bottled and sold as an elixir for diminished attentiveness.   

(of course, many of you who know Jordan are scratching your heads and saying, "There Mr. Williamson goes again.....). 

Bracken, Jon and a slew of staff and volunteers did a couple test missions of the Voyager's new summer story, Much Ado About Horace.   The fist test mission was told last Saturday to  the Park City iWorlds staff.  That night the part of Dweeb was played by none other than Bradyn Lystrup pictured above.  Horace was played by Bracken's young cousin.   Since then, this new mission has been told three other times and was very well received by our last EdVenture Campers.  

Picture above are four of the Space Center's most awesome and vivacious volunteers enjoying a wee bit of down time on one of Tyler Gardner's new luxury benches found only at the Space Center in Central School's lobby.  I was happy to pay the bench fee as a treat for their hard work.  Left to right..
Caitlynn, Erin, Samantha and Marissa.

I noticed something strange about this quartet. Did you spot it?  I appears they are all color blind.  I'm also wondering if there is a condition called Pattern Blindness?

   

I refer you to the photograph above.  Do you see the reason for my concern?  Is this the kind of volunteer we want at the Space Center?  Volunteers with mother's who will let them leave home with mismatched socks and shoes?  What is the story here?  Are we seeing proof that this new generation of Americans are truly so hopelessly lost and uneducated that they can't even dress themselves properly?  Is this country going to the dogs?

I can only hope my horror at the photo above may be the result of my advanced age.  Could it be that Mr. Williamson isn't "with it" any more.  Could it be that I'm so far gone that I don't know what is fashionable these days?

In my day on the prairies of South Dakota,  girls would never dress in such an UnChristianlike way.  The Lutherans would never tolerate it.  Social ostracism would be the result, for the young ladies and possibly their families.  Of course, that was in my day on a planet far far away from Utah.  Perhaps I need to get with the times and become more accepting of the latest fads.  Hey, if I can tolerate long hair, shorts that look more like skirts and skin tight jeans on boys, than I can learn to accept mismatched socks and shoes on girls.

"Groovy," is what I've got to say about that.

And Now, A Few Things from the Imginarium   

There is a lot to this cartoon.  The subject is math, but I see it could also work for Flight Directing.

The formula to running a Space Center mission flows along, completely understandable, until you reach that point at the beginning of the mission when a miracle happens and the magic begins.

My Flight Directors know just what I'm talking about.  

 This is one high tech and efficient way to stop cheating soon to be implemented at your friendly neighborhood school.  Yes, here in the Imaginarium we find the most creative ways to accomplish our goals and objectives.  Cheap and easy is the name of the game. 

Where are you on the spectrum in regards to your goals?

A lesson learned by many of us.

Funny how many wet pant legs I saw at the Space Center right after that movie.

I end this post with something truly amazing.  Great imagination and creativity - both qualities greatly admired at the Space Center.  Enjoy.......

Our First Summer Camp of the 2012 Season.

Hello Troops,
What is this, a midnight post on a Tuesday night?  Strange as it may seem, yours truly is sitting at my computer at 11:45 P.M. at the Space Center.  Having just put the boys to bed, I find there is a measure or two of intelligence still bottled in my consciousness with an expiration date of 12:30 A.M.  If I don't process these last few thoughts now, they will be forever lost to the Langoliers as they devour what was our Tuesday.

This is the first camp of our 2012 Summer Camp Season!  There were a few grumbles from the staff.  Usually I give everyone a week off between the end of the school year and the start of the summer camp season.  I decided to ignore tradition and forge ahead with the first summer camp.  The decision could be regarded as both wise and foolish.  Wise because of the few extra summer dollars this additional week will bring.  Foolish because my staff may decide to strike back.  I'm leery about going to bed, fearful of the evil that could befall me in the dark of a Space Center night.

Our first EdVenture Camp (3 day camp) starts Thursday.  The ships have new stories.  Mrs. Remy and Mrs. Houston have an awesome class session mapped out and Mrs. Clegg is ready with measuring cups, knives, forks, spoons and crock pots waiting to unveil her new alien culinary creations.  Lucky are those who got their registrations in on time, for the waiting lists are long with the names of those unfortunate souls who didn't.

And now, its time for bed.


Mr. W.

Venus Transit today

 

False-color image of the Sun. Solar Prominences visible along the edges of the horizons.

The big giant ball of nuclear fusion is presenting a special show today. Starting about 4:10 pm MDT (3:10 pm PDT) the planet Venus will slowly traverse (or TRANSIT) the face of the sun. If you still have your solar filters from seeing the recent eclipse, you should be able to see the tiny dot of a planet. Unfortunately, I suspect cloudy skies this afternoon in Utah, but if necessary, I can see it on the Internet.

Astronomy Photo of the day will have live updated images you can check on. Just go to 

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

to see large images of the event. Also, you can watch the event live on NASATV:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

Happy Viewing!
Mark 

Getting Ready for Tuesday's Launches.

Hello Troops,

Starbase One is scheduled to launch the Voyager, Magellan, Odyssey, Phoenix and Galileo for their summer voyages on Tuesday evening. The ships are prepared and nearly ready for departure.  There are a few hiccups in the Odyssey, the Magellan's retrofit from a space station to starship is nearly complete, the Voyager's orders into the Wild West region of the Galaxy are still being written, the Galileo's new air conditioning system is installed and the Phoenix has its new controls debugged and running as per expectations.  I'm feeling confident about our missions into the unknown and honored many of you kind readers decided to enlist in Starfleet and venture into deep space with us on missions of deep space exploration.

The Voyager's command officers ran a detailed simulation of their mission into the Wild West last night.  The simulation was a bit rough as everyone learned their duties and responsibilities.  Bracken Funk was at the helm, assisted by Jon Parker and Emily Paxman.  The simulation exposed several potential problems requiring a bit of fine tuning.  The simulations are necessary to ensure the safety of the Paklid Prince Horace as the Voyager transports him to Paklidia.  Another simulation is scheduled for 10:00 A.M. tomorrow.  Command is convinced this training will prove beneficial to the success of the mission.

Last night, the commanders of our ships gathered in Starbase One's Forward Lounge.  We sat at one of the long banquet tables closest to the transparent aluminum windows overlooking the slowly rotating Earth.  There was a great deal of reminiscing about old times and old missions while the commanders enjoyed a few drinks of non alcoholic Romulan Ale.  As the minutes passed, the reminiscing morphed into boasting as the commanders verbally jostled with each other in an attempt to prove their summer mission was the most important to the overall success of the Federation's long term plans for the exploration and colonization of the Galaxy.

"You call transporting a snot nosed, obnoxious Paklid prince home an important mission?" Christine laughed as she reached across the table to take a handful of peanuts from a green illuminated bowl.  Emily saw Christine reach and moved quickly to intercept the bowl.  She moved it closer to her person.

"I haven't eaten anything today so I'm claiming these as mine," she said while encircling the bowl with both arms thus creating an impregnable fortress.

"Why don't you order something, it's not too late?"  Jon suggested.  "Adrian Stevens is on duty in the kitchen.  She's working a few extra shifts to make a little extra money before the Voyager sails Tuesday night.

"Exactly why I'm not ordering anything to eat," Emily replied.  "Have you noticed how many times she's poked her head out of the kitchen's doors  to see if we're still here.  She want's to go home.  Who knows what she'll do to my food if I ordered something right now, so close to closing time."

"There's always the replicators,"  Nicole suggested. "The food tastes like cardboard, but its better than starving."

"The peanuts will be fine until I get back to my quarters.  I've got a bit of something stashed away to get me through."  Emily tapped one index finger against her nose signifying whatever it was she had tucked away was good.

Bracken jumped into the conversation's pause.  "The Odyssey's mission is nothing compared to the Voyager's.  You know what will happen if anything goes wrong with the Paklid Prince.  We could lose the Dilithium contract, and that would be devastating to the Federation's future plans."  He picked up his shot glass, held it up to the ceiling and watched the light from the ceiling fixtures bend and wave through the green liquid.

Christine shook her head and waved him off.  Zac reached down and picked up his guitar.
"Anybody for a tune or two?"

"Sure, play something relaxing," Dave put his head down on the table as he spoke.  It was far past his bedtime.  He knew his wife would be wondering where he was.  He thought to tap his communicator and call but didn't want to disturb her in case she had gone to bed without him.

"Relaxing.....?" Zac thought for a moment before strumming a tune unknown to everyone at the table.  It sounded like a old Earth ballad.

"I think everyone would agree the Phoenix's mission is the most important."  Megan spoke over the music.  "Of course, I can't prove it because our orders are sealed, and none of you are cleared to read them."  She looked rather proud of herself for pointing that out.  "You'll all get a chance to read the mission debriefing when we get back." 

" I'd love to read your mission debriefing - if we make it back alive," Stacy was slumped half way down her chair as she spoke.  "The Galileo's mission will place us in harm's way and I'm not sure we will make it."  She sat up straight and held her glass high. "So cheers to impossible missions."

"The Galileo? Honestly, the Galileo?  The words Galileo and dangerous should never be put together."  Zac stopped playing to make his point.  "The Magellan is the ship that gets the most dangerous missions.  If you want something done right, send the Magellan."  

"I'm outta here before it gets to deep," Bracken stood up emptied his glass, wished everyone a good night and disappeared through the lounge's double doors and into corridor leading to the turbolift elevators.

"Let's break this up and get some sleep," I suggested.

"Look, North America is coming into view," Christine stood up and moved closer to the large windows making up one full wall of the lounge.  The others joined her.  I bid them all a good night and walked out of the lounge.  Tuesday will come fast and there is still much to do.

Mr. W.
  

New Era in Space Travel

 

ISS CanadArm releases Dragon cargo spacecraft.

SpaceX Made space history yesterday, and set the path for future commercial activities in space. On Thursday morning, astronauts aboard the ISS used the remote manipulator CanadArm to move an undocked Dragon cargo spacecraft from the U.S. Harmony module. Dragon had just completed its task to be the first commercial (non-government project) spacecraft to deliver supplies to the ISS. However, it was still scheduled for one more task: a safe return to the Earth.

Camera view from CanadArm: "Dragon Flight 001 now departing for California."

The Expedition 31 astronauts and cosmonauts had received 1000 pounds of supplies brought up by the Dragon, after a successful rendezvous and docking procedure that went nearly flawlessly. Then, with the cargo space emptied, they carefully packed in about 1,400 pounds of scientific equipment and samples that needed to be returned to NASA. With the closing of the shuttle program, the ability to bring back equipment (other than tiny packages in a Soyuz capsule) had been lost.

With the hatches aboard Dragon and the ISS sealed, the craft was undocked and the robot arm moved the Dragon gently away from the Harmony module. Upon release, SpaceX mission controls remotely control thrusters to move the Dragon away from the station and lower in orbit. A short time later, the Dragon service module engine began a 9-minute retrofire burn to slow down the Dragon from its speed of 17,500 mph. The service module was then jettisoned and the capsule began orientation to enter the atmosphere.

Artist rendering of Dragon re-entry. Credit: SpaceX.

Dragon began a fiery re-entry over the Indian ocean and proceeded towards the west coast of the USA. The parachutes deployed perfectly and the Dragon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean not far off the coast of Baja California. Recovery vessels soon found the craft and recovered it.

Hoping that Dragons aren't seasick. Credit: SpaceX.

With the successful completion of this test mission to the ISS, SpaceX completes its tests for the government and will now begin regular supply mission to the ISS, returning US space supply capability to our space program. Instead of terribly costly shuttle missions bring supplies to the ISS, NASA can hire out delivery services, saving millions of dollars. This will be the new norm for space exploration in Earth orbit: NASA will lead the way in exploration while private business takes over the routines of supply and travel infrastructure. Of course now it remains for a private company to supply human flight opportunities to low Earth orbit and the ISS. We should see these developments expand during the next few years. SpaceX and other companies are already designing, building, and testing human-rated capsules for use on new and current rocket boosters.

By Mark Daymont
Space Center Educator

The End of the School Year and the Start of the Summer Season.

Hello Troops,

Tonight we put the last of our school year campers to bed.  The School Year Camp Season started on October 7, 2011 with Lindon Elementary School.  The School Year Camp Season ends tonight with Orem Elementary School's 6th Grade.  The summer season starts tomorrow with the first of our summer private missions at 11:00 A.M.  The first overnight camp for the season will be June 5th.  Our last summer season camp will be the overnight camp of September 28.

It has been a good school year season.  We've weathered the recession and survived everything Fortuna threw our way (and I write that with humility, not wanting to upset the Olympians and tempt Fate).  Our success was earned on the backs of our fantastic staff and volunteers, all good people who make my job easier and give me the occasional shoulder to lean on.  Thank you.

We start this new season not knowing what lies ahead.  Will the seas be calm and the winds reliable?  Will our campers be considerate and follow the rules?  Will the volunteers be willing and able to help us staff our  missions?  Will our sanity have the mental reserves to remain firm even in the strongest tempest? The answers are out there in that labyrinth called 'the future'.  There is one thing you can count on.  No matter what cometh our way, be it friend or foe, light or dark, or good or bad, this blog will report it all, truthfully (except when I believe a bit of imagination added to the telling will enhance the point I'm trying to make).

The bell rang today at 10:30 A.M. dismissing our students for the summer.  Just before the bell rang the sound of Central's third grade students counting down the seconds to freedom echoed up and down the Space Center's hallway; 3,  2,  1,  The Bell rang followed by a hugh cheer. Five hundred students came pouring out of their classrooms like prisoners just paroled.  It was like the running of the bulls.  It is a sight to behold!

It's strange, this being a Thursday night and I'm here at my computer at 12:06 A.M.  My mind is trying to convince me its Friday.  All day tomorrow I'll think its Saturday.  We will all be a bit befuddled until we get our summer legs beneath us.

The one major project accomplished today was the changing of the Galileo's air conditioners.  Thank you to Kyle Herring (The Great Fish) for his help along with our maintenance director, Kyle Jones.  Their is one remaining issue to be resolved.  The Magellan's sound system is being fussy. Maggie's subwoofer has forgotten its contribution to the overall quality of the Magellan's sound.  Zac and Megan used every incantation to correct the problem, but to no avail.  Once again we will rely on the generosity of the Great Fish to get us out of this pickle.

Now it's time to go to bed.  The camper are down.  The staff are quiet and sleep is all that remains on my "to do" list.

Goodnight,
Mr W.

The Voyager's New Summer Story, And Other Things.

 Todd Wilps was on a Memorial Day trip to the beach when he got the news 

that he was too late to sign up for a Space Center Summer Camp.

Don't Let This Be You!  

Register Today

Hello Troops,
While many enjoy a three day weekend, the Space Center staff and volunteers will have two days off.  These rare occasions give us a chance to recharge, rebuild, reenergize and prepare ourselves for the two busiest months of the year - June and July.

June and July are summer camps months.  Each week you'll find us hosting a three day camp, an overnight camp and a few dozen or so private missions.  It is the time of year when the Space Center makes much of its budget for the upcoming year.  If you haven't registered for a summer camp I urge you to do so quickly.  They are filing quickly. Soon, you may find yourself like the boy above, shocked to his very core at the discovery that there is no place for him at the Space Center this summer.  He'd waited too long to register.  Now, he faces a bleak summer without an infusion of pure, unadulterated imagination and creativity.  Rare, natural brain enhancing drugs dispensed at very few places - the Space Center being one of them.

Our simulators are preparing their new summer missions.  The Phoenix's mission has been told several times.  Each telling was received warmly by the crews who flew them.  The Odyssey's mission is ready.  The Galileo's had its first telling last week.  The crew responded favorably.  The Magellan's new summer story is waiting on its tactical screens and visual track.  The Voyager's new summer story will be told for the first time this weekend.

The Voyager's New Mission

The great space faring nations are struggling to rebuild after the long night of terror unleashed on them by the Borg.  The Federation, Romulan, Klingon and Cardassian nations are mere shadows of their former selves.  Their home worlds devastated, their fleets all but demolished and their citizens scattered to the four corners of this galactic quadrant.  Each nation struggles to regain what it once had.  Each nation rebuilds, sending their tattered fleets back to the stars to reclaim the worlds which once flew their flags and proclaimed their greatness.

In the midst of this devastation, the Paklids remain - untouched by the Borg.  Their home world left as it was before, their identity and national purpose unmarred.  The Borg Cubes flew by the Paklids on their way to Earth, Kronos, Romulas and Cardassian Prime.  The Borg scanned Paklidia and found the Paklid people undeserving of assimilation into the collective.  They believed the Paklids had nothing to offer.  To some extent, the Borg were correct.  The Paklids appear to be a very simple people, yet buried deep in what most think to be simpleness, lies the strength, culture and national purpose that has kept the Paklids an independent people for thousands of years.

In their hurry to subdue the great nations, the Borg overlooked something else about Paklidia.  The Paklid home world is rich in dilithium ore.  Dilithium is the controlling agent which allows massive warp drive engines to harness the power of antimatter and channel it is such that a doorway can be opened into the realm of hyperspace.  Hyperspace allows warp travel and warp travel opens the galaxy to exploration and colonization.

The Voyager's new summer story introduces us to Horace, the crown prince of Paklidia and his bodyguard Dweeb.  Horace and Dweeb are on Earth with the Paklid Minister of Commerce.  Starfleet Command is wanting to sign a multiyear contract with Paklidia.  This contract will, once again, give Earth access to Paklid dilithium crystals.  Horace and Dweeb used their time on Earth to tour, meet humans, and study the finest Federation technology offered to the Paklids in exchange for their dilithium.

Now it is time for Horace and Dweeb to return to Paklidia.  The Paklid government has arranged for an escort ship to accompany the Royal Starbug (Starbug - the name given to Paklid starships) back to Paklidia.  The USS Voyager has been given that task.  The journey to Paklids is fraught with danger.  Remember, the Federation has lost control of much of its territory.  There are whole sections of space once held by the Federation that are now in the control of lawless gangs of space pirates and mercenaries.

The Orion Pirates, led by the infamous Mad Dog, control the several light years of space separating the last functioning Federation Starbase and Paklid space.  Ths area, called 'The West', is named after the American Wild West of the 1800's.    The Voyager will rendezvous with the Royal Spacebug at Starbase 101.  Prince Horace has expressed an interest in touring the Voyager and meeting her crew.

Horace is an avid admirer of Space ships.  His favorite is the Romulan Warbird.  "A fine ship," Horace says.  Horace's love for the Romulan Warbird led him into an admiration of the Romulan people and their former Empire.  His admiration has made Horace a vocal supporter of the Romulans. He has urged his father to give the Romulan Empire the dilitium contract instead of the Federation.  Horace's father,  not taken in by the clever design of the Warbird and false Romulan promises of eternal peace and friendship,  refused his son's request.  He knows Romulan history and their preoccupation of colonizing worlds with resources they deem of strategic value to their Empire.  Over Horace's objections,  the King sent his Commerce Minister to sign the trade agreement with the Federation.  To placate his son, the Paklid King agreed to sell limited amounts of crystals to the Romulans.  The Romulans are not happy they lost the contract, but are powerless to force a Paklid change of mind.  The Paklids are the current power in the galaxy, having been ignored by the Borg.  Of course, with the death of the Paklid King, Horace will take the throne.  A scenario the Romulans hope will come sooner, rather than later.

How Do Astronomer's Know the Distances to Far Away Objects in Space?

This post ends with a short video explaining how astronomers tell the distances to far away stars and galaxies.  Please take a minute and learn something about astronomy.  I promise you'll find it fascinating.



Mr. W.        

Midnight Thoughts at the Space Center

Hello Troops,
I'm sitting here befuddled.  Before me is a blank white screen waiting for words to form in my tired brain and find their way down my arms, through my fingers and onto this electronic void.  What could I possibly write at 11:56 P.M. on a Friday night that you would find interesting?

I feel a few thoughts taking shape but nothing is congealing.  They are just vague ideas popping back and forth between the rational and irrational parts of my consciousness like electrons transitioning between dimensions of space time.

Wait, something is taking shape......I'm thinking of the awesome campers we're hosting from Ridgeline Elementary.  Great kids with positive attitudes and intelligence beyond their years......

... and there the thought goes - disappearing into the Aether like a vapor from a boiling pot.

I'm seeing something else through the fog of a midnight's delirium.   It's a young volunteer stretched out on one of our ancient cots procured from the War Department after the Spanish American War (well, not really but you'd think so if you ever tried to find a comfortable sleeping position on one of them).  He's giving me a thumbs up.  Yes, perhaps I could write about the new job I've created for our young Connor J.  He is our newly appointed Chief of Cot Quality and Comfort (CCQC).  The CCQC was created in a response to years of complaints from our campers regarding the Overnight Camp's sleeping cots.  Connor tolerably completed his assignment this evening.  He stretched out on each of our older cots, rolled about a bit to simulate a night's unconscious motion, and sat up, putting all his weight on the center of the cot where the unforgiving support bar is found.

"These cots pass," he said with a pride only found in someone who knows he has put in a days work for a day's pay.  "The campers should have no problem with them.  They aren't comfortable in the classical sense of the word but not so uncomfortable a camper couldn't find at least a few hours sleep."

I told him his job rested entirely on the comments made by the campers on the post camp survey.  If the cots aren't mentioned at all, then he keeps his title and position.  If there are complaints, then its back to where I found him in the Center's boiler room shoveling coal into the massive boilers which provide the power to drive our ship's powerful Warp Drive Engines.  Connor gulped down a powerful urge to sob uncontrollably while nervously rubbing his calloused hands together.

I could write about Connor and the cots, but the thought is disappearing as quickly as it appeared.  Besides, I doubt anyone out there would find our troubles with cots an interesting read when compared with the problems Greece is having with the Euro.

Wait, there is something else in the mist.  And its gone before I could make out a shape.

I think I'll put up the white flag and call this post a complete failure.  I'm relieved to a certain extent.  I can stop typing.  I can turn off the light and try to get some sleep on the pad in front of my desk.  I'll tell the staff to stop talking in the Odyssey before going to bed .  I'll also have to ignore the sleeping dock's creaking in the Voyager's Captain's Quarter's .  Every time the boys turn or move, the boards in the sleeping dock squeak.  I'll talk to our builder about fixing that when he comes in next.

It's 12:23 A.M.  Time for bed.

Goodnight from the Space Center.

Mr. W.

50 Years Ago: Aurora 7 in Space!

 

Mercury-Atlas 7 blasts off!

Fifty years ago, on May 24, 1962, NASA launched mission MA-7 with astronaut Scott Carpenter from Launch Complex LC-14 at Cape Canaveral. The capsule, named "Aurora 7" by the astronaut, entered Earth orbit five and a half minutes later. Like John Glenn's MA-6 flight, the mission lasted for 3 orbits and completed its primary mission objectives.

 

Mercury Mission Control.

Some of the mission objectives were scientific. One objective was to observe liquid in a weightless environment. Another involved investigating things that John Glenn had reported during his flight, such as the airglow in the atmosphere layer, and identification of the "fireflies" Glenn had reported, which turned out to be frozen ice particles from the spacecraft exterior. Photographs were taken of the Earth and the colors in the atmospheric layer.

 

Photo taken from Aurora 7.

 

Most importantly, the spacecraft was checked out for engineering tolerances, and deemed ready for continued missions with longer orbits. Unfortunately, the Automated Control System suffered a malfunction. Astronaut Carpenter was able to manually take control and operate the spacecraft so that no mission objectives were affected, except one.

Carpenter inside the Mercury spacecraft before launch.

 

After a flight time of 4 hours 30 minutes, Carpenter began re-entry operations. The retro rockets fired, slowing the spacecraft so that it began to lower its altitude. Carpenter lowered and secured the periscopic viewer used for outside observations, and a minute and a half after firing the retros, the retro pack was jettisoned, exposing the heatshield for re-entry. During re-entry and the blazing fire of heated plasma around the craft, Carpenter used the spacecraft controls to orient the spacecraft position. At some point during the process, enough error entered the flightpath to cause it to go slightly off course. The main parachutes were deployed perfectly, and splashdown occurred at mission time T+4 hours, 57 minutes, 10 seconds. The only problem was, there was no one there to fetch him!

 

Aurora 7 in the water, with Navy frogmen assisting.

 

The spacecraft had overshot the expected landing area, and Carpenter found himself 402 kilometers away from where they were looking. Eventually though, he was found and Navy divers were dispatched to place a flotation collar around the capsule to prevent it sinking like what happened to Gus Grissom's capsule. Carpenter egressed from the upper hatch and entered one of the liferafts provided. The rescue ship, carrier Intrepid, arrived and the capsule was recovered and Carpenter brought on board for a successful end to the MA-7 mission.

 

Carpenter on the deck of USS Intrepid.

 

By Mark Daymont

Space Center Educator

Spacerubble.blogspot.com

Dragon Blasts Off to ISS!

 

Falcon 9 rocket blasts off with Dragon spacecraft from pad LC-40.

In a remarkable first for space exploration, a private corporation has sent a spacecraft carrying supplies to the International Space Station. After the launch abort on May 19th, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) engineers replaced a faulty check valve on engine number 5 (dubbed "Merlin") and prepared for a new countdown. Early this morning at 3:44 am EDT, the engines ignited perfectly and the Falcon 9 rocket made a smooth and flawless flight into space. The Dragon capsule separated without error and entered low Earth orbit. On schedule, the Dragon deployed its twin solar panels, a first for SpaceX and the Dragon design. The next step was to "open the pod bay door"(a reference to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, if you haven't seen it, you're not a space fan...). The navigation bay pod door has to open in order to deploy several experiments and reveal the docking latch, that will be used by the ISS robotic arm to grapple the Dragon prior to docking. Engineers breathed a sigh of relief as the door successfully opened (SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted that it was a better result than that on 2001).

Dragon is on course to pass by the ISS on DAY 4 of its mission, should all orbital tests be completed. After that, the Dragon will approach the station again for a rendezvous with the CanadArm for docking. A lot of hope rides on this mission, and should it be completed successfully, it will end the test phase of the COTS2 program for SpaceX and the company will begin regular supply missions to the ISS, a great leap for commercial space applications.

SpaceX, NASA prepare for Dragon launch

Liftoff! No- Wait- Guess not...

Wonderful thing, that technology. I have this amazing device called an alarm clock that woke me a half hour before SpaceX's expected flight of the Dragon spacecraft in the wee hours of May 19. I switched to NASA TV, and there it was, SpaceX's Falcon rocket with Dragon spacecraft ready to launch. Everything seemed ready to go, until the actual launch. Then as the engine began ignition, the system automatically shut down (as it was designed to do) at T- 0.5 seconds. The cause: higher pressures than allowed in the center engine of the Falcon rocket.

Well, better an abort than a mission failure! There is an awful lot of space business riding on this mission. It will be the first commercial cargo delivery to the ISS and the start of a new way of doing space business for our country. Unfortunately, there are some people in congress who do not want space business out of the hands of the government.  For my part, I'm hoping this mission will be a tremendous success. Within seconds, SpaceX engineers were working to resolve the problem and set the mission back on the timetable. And they have done so. A faulty check valve on the "Merlin" engine - no. 5- on the first stage is the guilty party, and currently engineers are switching out the valve. SpaceX and NASA will try agian on Tuesday, May 22, at 1:44 a.m. MDT. Time to set that alarm again.

Soyuz TMA-04M docked at ISS. Part of ISS blocks the front module of the Soyuz capsule.

Meanwhile, up in space... The second part of the Expedition 31 crew arrived at the ISS on Thursday, May 17 bringing the crew to its full complement of six space explorers.  The Soyuz TMA-04M docked to the Russian Poisk Module. Cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin, and astronaut Joe Acaba joined Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko (Russian), Andre Kuipers (From the Eurpean Space Agency) and flight engineer Donald Petite (NASA). 

Astronauts Petite and Kuipers will be operating the CanadArm robotic arm should the Dragon spacecraft reach the ISS. The arm will grapple the spacecraft, and maneuver it to dock at the ISS. The docking will be at the US Harmony module.

 

By Mark Daymont

Space Center Educator

Spacerubble.blogspot.com

Things to Know and Things to Consider at the Start of the Week.

Hello Troops,
Yikes, do I dare leave the "those who can teach" pin at the top of this post?  Some might declare it questionable and order its immediate removal on pain of death.  Others may see if offensive to our illustrious law makers who gather yearly to find ways to make teaching more difficult than it was the year before.  I wonder if there isn't a secret office somewhere in Salt Lake City and Washington staffed by people who have one purpose in life - to find ways to burden overworked and underpaid teachers with more curriculum than there are days to teach, more students than they can reach, and more parental responsibilities they shouldn't be burdened with.

The fact that the photo is still crowning this post means I made the right decision.

Moving along.....

We have something to celebrate today (a good excuse for a post, wouldn't you say?).

This is James Smith.  James is pictured above receiving his navy blue Flight Director's shirt from Her Graciousness, Odyssey Set Director, Christine.  This honor makes James the Odyssey's newest ordained Flight Director.

Her Graciousness, Christine, The First of Her Name, proclaimed last Saturday James Smith day here in Wonderland.  Everyone at the Space Center had to bow as he passed and, upon pain of banishment, refer to him as Sir James.   

Sir James is shown in the photograph above receiving enthusiastic praise and applause from collared nobles and black shirted peasants.  I'm standing in the background surveying the staff and volunteers, looking for anyone showing disrespect.  Occasionally we have a volunteer unaware of the reverence required toward a newly collared Knight of the Realm.  These poor unfortunates are taken from the room, flogged and returned very repentant - never to make such a mistake again.

I found one, his name was Jordan, the younger brother of revered James.  He was in the back snickering at the accolades showered upon his older brother.  I snapped my fingers and pointed him out.  Two Collared Knights responded, pushing chairs and tables out of their way to apprehend him.  The solemn assembly was briefly interrupted by his weeping and wailing for forgiveness.  I was moved by his sincerity and called for silence and his temporary release.

I turned to Sir James.  "Sir James, this kinsman of yours has shown you disrespect.  I leave his fate to you.  Shall he go free and return to his chair yonder or shall he be taken at once to the tower for flogging?

James thought for a moment, then spoke slowly and deliberately.
"Off with his head!" 
The room went deathly quiet.  Jordan fainted.  Even I was astonished at the severity of the sentence.  A moment or two passed before James spoke again.
"Just kidding.  Flog him and leave him in the cell.  I'll pick him up on my way home."

The room erupted in cheers at Jordan's reprieve.  Jordan regained consciousness.

"Your brother has saved your neck from a fatal meeting with the executioner's blade. 'Tis a flogging only!" someone shouted from the crowd.

"A flogging only?" Jordan whimpered toward his brother. Sir James nodded.

"Thank you Sir.  Oh, Thank you for the flogging I'm about to receive."  Jordan's face brightened and continued to beam as he was escorted from the room.  James held out his arms signalling his desire for another round of applause.

It was another wonderful day here at the Space Center.     

And now, The Troubadour is pleased to present the following pictures demonstrating your indebtedness to the Engineers of this world (told in picture form for many of our younger volunteers who suffer from a condition that makes them fearful of too many words and letters on a printed page or screen).   

And Now,
What the World would be like without Engineers

And how about another reason to take the extra time to master math.....

Don't know exactly how to describe this, but I'll have a go....
The picture below is the alter at the Cathedral of Gaming.  Services held daily after school and all weekend long.

I know this is how Emily feels when she locks horns with Kyle and Casey :)

The world's most accurate watch

Memorize this so you can use it then next time your parents get all over you for doing something ridiculously stupid.

Once again, I give this sign respect for creativity and imagination.

I'd buy my gas here to encourage this kind of thinking (up to a point, as long as its price was within two cents of its local competitors and its fountain drink section had pebble ice and a dizzying assortment of flavors).

Have a Great Week!

Mr. W.

The Space Center by Flight Director, Bracken Funk

Hello Troops,  

Bracken gave me permission to repost this essay on the Space Center written for his personal blog.  I enjoyed the read, except for the disparaging remarks about my state of mind and the extremely unflattering photo of me taken during one of my restorative sessions at my desk - necessary to maintain my calm and unflustered demeanor ; 
Mr. W.

And Now Bracken's Post

Last night, and into this morning, I worked an overnighter at the Space Center. These are my favorite of camps. I like the ability to establish the feel of being in an actual vessel, and crewing it. There is character development, and there is time to strike fear into the hearts of the crew. These overnighters are the best of our product, and I enjoy them so.

Crew of the Voyager during an Overnight Mission

The Space Center has given me tons of opportunities that I would never have had otherwise. I love to work with the kids, and watch them grow over the course of one of our missions. Just by way of information, here at the space center we do simulations in the universe of Star Trek. What you're looking at here is the bridge of the starship Voyager. She was built in 1990 by Victor Williamson, and if you want to hear me tell you why he's awesome, click here. He wanted to incorporate simulation into educational experiences. He was and is an educator, and he started doing this "simulational education" idea with his 6th grade class using paper and poster board controls. He would sit behind his desk on the floor, and play the voices of the computer, his engineer, and the alien characters the crew would encounter. His class loved it, and he wanted to evolve the idea to an actual starship set. Voyager was born, and since 1990, the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center has grown through 7 simulators, thousands of campers, and bulls forward today.

Today, the Center has 5 simulators, each with their own set of stories, controls, and ideas. We host nearly 1,200 kids a week, and teach them different problem solving, situational skills and social studies. It really is a joy to work with them, and even learn from them.

I found the Space Center in Elementary School. I had done missions in 5th grade, and came back multiple times with my friends. I was already in love with the place. When I was in 6th grade we came to do an overnighter, and I realized that I wanted to be here a lot. Back in those days, the volunteer pool wasn't overfilled, so I applied to volunteer a couple of weeks later. I remember that day well. It was a Saturday morning, about 11. My sister had a soccer game. I was in my cleats, and shorts and a t-shirt. Her game was at Central Elementary's field. I had a soccer ball, and I was kicking it around. I accidentally kicked it down the hill in the back, and when I looked over as I chased it, I saw Mr. Williamson outside taking out the trash. I ran over to my mother, and begged her to let me go talk to him (she had to give me permission to breathe as a child, which I appreciated then. It kept me from being kidnapped, or worse). She was against it at first, but I continued to beg. She allowed me to go, and I sprinted over to the door. Out of breath, I begged this powerful looking man to let me work at the center.

I can only imagine what it looked like from Mr. Williamson's point of view. This lanky kid runs up to you, in soccer gear, cleats, and panting asks "hey, Mr. Williamson, can I volunteer, here?" Knowing what I know of him now, I would say that his hesitation was annoyance, but he doesn't have it in him to say "no" to kids that have a desire to work here. He just doesn't have the heart for it. 

Victor Williamson in his natural habitat. Looking Distinguished

He stared at me blankly for a moment. I said, "please!". He said, "I'm sure we could find a place for you." And we entered through the door in which the brig is located, and came into the office to receive his schpeel on becoming a volunteer.

Once again, knowing what I know now, I doubt that he thought I would actually return these documents. Who could blame him- I was dressed in soccer gear, and didn't look all that responsible. However, within 4 days, it was back in his hands at the very same desk you see above.

Me, today, holding my original volunteer submission from 10 years ago.

I thought it would be fun to retype my original submission so that you can see how much evolution has occurred in my head:

Dear Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center,

My name is Bracken Funk, I love the Space Center; a very creative idea!!!

I love Star Trek, Star Trek The Next Generation and Star Trek Voyager, I know a great deal about each which helps because that is what you based the Space Center on!! I want to work at the Space Center because I enjoy learning about different things about space!!

I also am a great leader, for example, any time we play German Spy Dodgeball; my team always asms ME who the spy is going to be. I accomplish my work and get good grades!

I have also worked in the Student Council at Barratt!! (I wish I were at Central!!!)

I really want to work at the Space Center!

Sincerely,

Bracken Funk

I laugh when I read this now. That describes me pretty well. I'm a little less in your face with everything, and I feel a little more mellow, but there you go. That was me. 

I asked Vic what he thought about this particular day in Space Center history, these were his words about it: 

I had no thoughts. You were just a kid, and you just asked to be a volunteer. 

What do you want from me?

So apparently he doesn't care about such things. However, that isn't the most concerning of things to me, he's become senile over the last few years, and his memory is failing him. That's ok. He has earned such rights.

Yes. Senility.

At least he doesn't show up for work late. Anyways, I have now worked here for about 10 years. I have enjoyed every minute of it. There have been rough spots, and tough people, but even that has been a learning and growing experience. There is no better place to work than the Space Center.

So here is to 10 years of volunteering/working/playing at the space center. Thanks to all of those who have stood behind me when I was obnoxious, worked with me when I was bossy, and helped me when I was beaten.

Bracken Funk