The Starship Valiant Refit Complete at Canyon Grove Academy. With the Valiant, There are Now 12 Simulators in Utah County Open for Private Missions. Space News from the International Space Station. A Space Center Director Marries. Theater Imaginarium.

The bridge of the USS Valiant looking toward the Control Room side of things.  The turning door "Transporter" takes you
to a short five foot hallway with the ship's exit on the left of the hallway and the Control Room on the right.
The ship's Briefing Room is on the opposite side of the trailer from the bridge.

Hello Troops,
     Last Wednesday wasn't a typical Wednesday in the Space EdVenturing Community. While many of you went about your normal day to day activities, it was sheer panic at Canyon Grove Academy, home of the recently renovated and rejuvenated Starship Valiant.  As seen in the photo above, it was all hands on deck trying to get Thorium up and running on the computers. There was also the slight hiccup of no bridge sound - only a slight inconvenience for mission story telling.   Perhaps the short video I shot will tell the story better than words.

       Part of the problem were the bridge computers, many of which were holdovers from the Valiant's former iteration as a Federation Starship when docked at Thanksgiving Point and Park City High School.  Waiting in the wings at Canyon Grove Academy were new computers waiting for installation into the school's three starships.   

The new computers waiting to be installed into the school's three starship simulators

Monday on the Valiant Bridge getting ready for the ship's first private mission since refit

     Of course life in the Valiant's Control Room was no better.  Dan Kirkpatrick was busy turning knobs and rearranging wires to get sound from the Control Room onto the bridge.  I'm please to say that his efforts were successful. My advice to Maeson Busk is to keep this kid around. He comes in handy from time to time.  

Dan Kirkpatrick in his element

     The Valiant has a long history - a history I won't bore you with. You can read it yourself on several Troubadour Blog posts (do a "Valiant" search in the Blog's search feature found in the right sidebar).  
     Seeing the mobile simulator find its way back to a school makes those of us who created the simulator happy.  Dave Moon had the dream for a mobile simulator and was willing to back that dream with his own money. Shelley Ellington and I were brought on as imagineers to help Dave create the look of the interior (a long afternoon with chalk and chairs in an old semi-trailer).  Only a few of the Valiant's first flight directors currently work in the industry; a fact soon to change as the Valiant will soon have a new set of younger flight directors ready to make their mark in the Space EdVenturing world.  
   

The Valiant's Briefing Room

      The Valiant's Briefing Room isn't ready for customers.  Its current purpose is to store spillage from the control room and bridge.  Now that the ship's is flight worthy the staff will focus on preparing the Briefing Room to act as a Briefing Room; making the Valiant self sufficient except for not having restroom facilities. 

     The ship's projector was the last item checked. It worked perfectly.  Maeson says the project will be the first thing replaced.  Because the ship is housed inside a semi-trailer its floor wobbles when walked across.  The wobbling affects the projection.

     With the Valiant in her finest and made up to look a charm, Maeson met the ship's first crew waiting for their briefing in the school's cafeteria. What a professional, Maeson was the picture of cool, calm, and collected as he spoke to the crew.  His sentences were coherent and rational to purpose even though I knew his brain was in duel purpose mode, half preparing the crew to board the ship and the other half solving the multiple issues waiting on his desk as he prepares to take full control of the Discovery Space Center at Canyon Grove 

Mr. Williamson

The Troubadour is Happy To Announce the Marriage of Nathan and Parriss.  We Have Another Space Center Family 

     Congratulations to Nathan and Parriss on their wedding.  The couple met while working at the Discovery Space Center.  Nathan moved from the Pleasant Grove location to take the directorship at the Lion's Gate Center at Lakeview Academy.  Parriss followed, staring as a volunteer, then an employee.  An admiration soon turned into a relationship, and the rest was written in the stars.  

     I call them a "Space Center Family" because they met at one of the Space Centers. These events make me pause to consider how many lives have been changed because I started that strange space place 27 years ago.  You see, your actions, both small and large, have lasting repercussions.  

     May they live long and prosper!

Mr. W.  

Space News

By Mark Daymont

SpaceRubble.blogspot.com

International Space Station: From 55 to 56

Touchdown! Soyuz capsule MS-07 lands after firing retro-rockets in Kazakhstan.

Expedition 55 prepares to enter Soyuz MS-07 before undocking. (L-R) Anton Shkaplerov, Norishige Kanai, and Scott Tingle.

     Expedition 55 came to an end officially when the crew of Soyuz MS-07 undocked their ship from the ISS on June 3. Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (Roscosmos) commanded the Soyuz and astronauts Norishige Kani (JAX) and Scott Tingle (NASA) occupied the left and right seats.  STaying on board, and commencing Expedition 56, were Commander Drew Feustel (NASA), Ricky Arnold (NASA) and Oleg Artemyev (Roscosmos) acting as Flight Engineers.
     The Soyuz safely landed on the steppes of Kazakhstan later that day. Three more crew members were scheduled to arrive shortly.

The crew of Expedition 56/57 pose before their Soyuz rocket, with its special markings commemorating the 2018 FIFA World Cup. (L-R) Serena Auñon-Chancellor, Sergey Prokopyev, and Alexander Gerst.

Russian Soyuz rocket blasts off from Baikonur with Expedition 56/57.

     On Wednesday, June 6, the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft was sent on a 2-day orbital rendezvous with the ISS. The ship docked on June 8 to the Russian-made Rassvet module. Astronaut Gerst of the ESA is on his 2nd mission to the station, and will assume command for expedition 57.

     Recently, the Dragon cargo ship left the station and returned to Earth. On May 24, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft docked to the station with thousands of pound worth of supplies and science experiment support. 

  

View from the Cuppola on the ISS of the Cygnus cargo spaceship grappled by the CanadArm.

Imaginarium Theater
The Week's Best Gifs from Around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience