The Troubadour: The IKS Titan Prepares to Launch. Space News. The Imaginarium.

Hello Troops,
Dream Flight Adventures, our sister Space Center organization in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, recently announced the launch date of their first simulator, the IKS Titan. Congratulations to Gary Gardiner, Founder, President, Imagineer, Financier, and all around Good Guy!

Hear Ye, Hear Ye,
It is with great fanfare and jubilation that we announce the Grand Launch Event for the IKS Titan! Come see what all the fuss is about! Come see how we’re revolutionizing education, energizing entertainment, and letting dreams take flight!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013
9:00-11:00am
Shaler Area Elementary School
700 Scott Avenue, Glenshaw, PA 15116

Come one, come all… but don’t forget to RSVP!

The Shaler Area School Board visit the simulator recently. The following is a report on their visit.

It's never a dull moment in Dream Flight land! Last night we had the pleasure of dazzling the Shaler Area School Board with a demonstration flight of the IKS Titan. It was the first time most of them had seen the ship, so they didn't really know what to expect when they stepped into our airlock and were transported onboard.

With no zero-G training whatsoever the School Board took to the controls and navigated the ship through a quick tour of outer space, ocean depths, and even a quick miniaturized jaunt through the heart and lymph nodes. A similar adventure is in store for everyone who attends our Grand Opening next month, so don't miss this chance to see the IKS Titan up close and personal.

The School Board learned about our standards-based curriculum, ongoing missions for Shaler students, and plans to open the center for field trips and private groups. There are so many new adventures waiting to be had!

Visit Dreamflight Adventures blog to read about their missions and curriculum.

Space News
By Mark Daymont

Comings and Goings on the ISS

Current crew of Expedition 34.

While Russia gets walloped by an asteroid, and Congress fights over budgetary woes (which of course will affect NASA as well), the ISS floats serenely over our Earth at a standard orbitally speed of about 17,500 mph. Currently, the ISS is crewed by Expedition 34, which includes Commander Kevin Ford, and Flight Engineers Oleg Novistkiy, Evgeny Tarelkin, Thomas Marshburn, Chris Hadfield, and Roman Romanenko. Wikipedia has a nice page of the crew assignments and links to their biographies here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_34

Chris Hadfield working on some of the EVA suits.

The first part of the expedition began last November. Expedition 35 will begin in March when Canadian Chris Hadfield takes command of the ISS and the current team of Ford, Novitskiy, and Tarelkin depart the station.

View from Progress 48 as it undocks from Russian Module.

There has been a change of robotic cargo spacecraft. Progress 48 undocked from the station on Saturday, Feb. 9 and was deorbited, burning up in the atmosphere. This left room for a new cargo spacecraft, designated Progress 50, to arrive on Monday the 11th. Its flight from Baikonur had only taken 6 hours, using the new "short" trajectory being adopted by Russia for quick transfers to the ISS. You can learn about its cargo and see a great picture of cosmonauts inside the ISS remotely docking the Progress 50 at SpaceRef.com: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=43383

View from ISS of Progress 50 docking at the Pirs module.

Dragon in final preparations room at Cape Canaveral.

NASA has chosen March 1 as its next launch opening for the Dragon resupply spacecraft. SpaceX and NASA will launch from the Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, technically separate from the Kennedy Space Center just to its north. Currently the cargo craft has had its solar panels installed and final preparations are being made for rollout and launch.

Astronaut Tom Marshburn and HAM radio equipment. There was a communications glitch with the ISS main computer on Tuesday.

Inside the ISS, expedition crewmembers maintain equipment, perform science experiments, and go about their daily chores living in space. You can read about their daily routines and adventures at NASA's mission highlights page: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

The Imaginarium

Teaching us to make the ordinary, extraordinary.