Friends of the Starship Voyager Gather for a Bit of Child's Play. The Spirit of the Voyager Lives On. Thank You Nolan Welch for 5 Years of Service. Good Luck in Chili. The Magellan Pirates in Full Gear Still Terrorizing the Systems. Imaginarium Theater.

Bradyn Lystrup Briefs his Crew on Child's Play
Renaissance Space Academy

     It was like stepping into a time vortex. I sat in the Voyager's Briefing Room / Situation Room last night surrounded by friends who gathered to relive the magic and fun of the original USS Voyager.  The new Voyager at Renaissance Space Academy is a Farpoint simulator. On hand to support the festivities were the directors of Utah County's other Farpoint Centers; Lions Gate Center at Lakeview Academy, the Telos Discovery Space Center at Canyon Grove Academy and Telos University, and of course Renaissance Space Academy.  Supporting Bradyn Lystrup's return to flight directing were good friends from the Christa McAuliffe Space Center, Erin Williams and Connor Larsen, along with he and Jacqueline's weekend warrior buddies - Emily and Skylar Paxman and Todd Rasband.  Absent was BJ Warner - excused due to minor surgery.     
     Returning to occasional flight directing on the Voyager has been Bradyn's goal for several years now.  Bradyn and Jacqueline, his trusty 2FX second chair partner, wife, and mother of his children chose this weekend to make their debut with Bradyn's old mission "Child's Play" - perfect for the Halloween season.

Nathan and Parriss King (Lions Gate Center) Conner Larsen, and Bradyn get the feel of the new Voyager's Control Room.

Bradyn vacated the seat to brief the crew.  Maeson (Discovery Space Center) filled in to work on a few issues
that needed to be resolved. The Voyager recognized his touch from
 last year's LDM season and responded nicely to his commands.

     Preparing for the mission wasn't as bad as I thought it would be when I watched Conner drive up in a towering truck with plastic drainage pipe protruding from the back end.  

Unloading the plastic piping

Installing the tunnels of doom.
Maeson, Connor, Nicole VandenBos, Parriss King, Nathan King, and Todd Rasband.

What better way to terrify a crew than a forced crawl through the gutting tubes of a derelict starship.

The props for Child's Play illustrate the mission perfectly.

With the mission briefing complete, the crew transitioned to the Voyager's Bridge through
the ship's engineering / sick bay section. Parriss manned the first of two transporter
modules.

Bracken welcomed the crew, made up of 10 of my Young Astronauts from the Space Academy's
Young Astronaut / Voyager Clubs.

While the crew trained on the Bridge, a few of the staff conferred in the Briefing Room.
Emily was involved in multiple conversations in true Emily style.

The Captain made the rounds checking on his crew.
He knew the mission would be stressful and wanted his crew ready for the worst.

A few of the crew watched as Adell explained the functions and responsibilities of a Right Wing Officer

     Rarely, if ever, do you have some of the best flight directors both past and present gathered in one ship for one mission.  It was a joy welcoming them all back to the Voyager.  All that was missing was the spiral staircase, bunks, security loft, and the slime devil of course. 

     

Now, An Invitation

     The new Voyager is a beautiful simulator flying with multiple controls (Interstellar, Thorium, and InfiniD).  It is a large starship, the biggest in square feet of all ships built to date.  It is a school based simulator with education and experimentation in the art and science of experiential learning as its primary purpose.  Come learn and fly with us.  Come feel the spirit of the ship's namesake. Visit SpaceCampUtah.org to learn about our private parties, Young Astronauts Clubs for grades 3-6, the Voyager Clubs for grades 7 and 8,  and our Computer Programming Clubs for grades 4-9.  

Mr. Williamson  

Nolan (left) started volunteering in June 2013.  Here he is on one of his first assignments
working a Phoenix mission.

   

Nolan Welch's Last Mission at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center Before Leaving for an LDS Mission in Chili

Nolan on his last mission on the USS Magellan with Mr. Porter, CMSC Director.

Nolan talking to Starfleet Command. Evidently there is a problem with his release papers.
Starfleet says they can't let their best officers just go willy nilly all over the place when so many
credible threats threaten Earth. 

Nolan receiving his 5 Year Volunteer patch from Mr. Porter at Honors Night

     Nolan started Volunteering at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center just over 5 years ago.  He was one of those promising young cadet volunteers you just knew would make a difference in the quality of the Center's programs.  Today Nolan prepares to leave the United States to serve an LDS mission in Chili.  I want to wish Nolan all the best down south, below the equator.  On the bright side, he'll see new stars and constellations he's never seen before.  Say "Hello" to Alpha Centauri for me.

Mr. Williamson

Reports from the Field: Pirates make for a Typical Day on the Starship Magellan at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center

By Audrey Henricksen 

(Lissa E. Mason P. JJ M.) 

     After the Magellan flight of Death Trap, I was able to snap a picture of the pirates that terrorized the Magellan crew. Never has there been this much leather surrounding the bridge crew of 6. Let's not forget their fancy hats as well. 

     The leathered pirates captured the crew and unceremoniously deposited them into what the pirates thought was an airlock, but much to their disbelief, the crew surprise them and fought back. After a 15 minute battle for the bridge, the 6 person Magellan crew retook control of the bridge and captured the pirates. 

     We all know Space Center pirates always find a way to escape - and escape they did. They are out there right now plundering to their heart's content.

     Life is good on board the USS Magellan, a battleship like no other. 

Imaginarium Theater

The Best Gifs from Around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience