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| Randy Jepperson and Mark Daymont back in the day working a Falcon mission. (Left) Taylor Herring and Spencer Dauwalder, Falcon volunteers during an overnight camp. (Right) |
The Falcon Simulator. A Fun Ship but What a Pain to Set Up and Take Down. And a Double Pain in the Neck With its Equipment.
Hello Troops!
Just recently James Porter announced that the sixth ship in the new Space Center would be named "Falcon". All you old time Space Center staff, volunteers, and campers remember the original Falcon. It took flight the first time on February 4, 2001 and continued to operated throughout the school year for the Friday night overnight camps. It was also used all summer long for the summer space camps. It was decommissioned in 2005 when the Phoenix opened.
I created the Falcon out of need. The demand for our Friday overnight camps and summer space camps was too much for the Voyager, Odyssey, Magellan, and Galileo to handle. I needed a quick solution that didn't involve construction. I needed a ship we could set up and take down quickly. With a bit of imagineering we solved the problem using the recently discontinued Mars Rover program we used for one of our summer camps. Retasking the cabinets and using both of our Starlab inflatable planetarium domes the Falcon took shape and flight.
Only a small group of people worked the Falcon during its short life. I decided it was too much of a hassle to set up and take down for weekday private missions. Overnight camps were the Falcon's speciality. Late in the afternoons on any given Friday you would find a few of us in the school's cafeteria setting up the Falcon for camp. We'd corrall the Falcon's cabinets into a close circle, connect the computers and audio equipment, stretch the power cables, layout the planetarium Starlab dome, place sleeping pads on top of the cabinets so their sharp edges wouldn't pierce the dome fabric, then inflate the dome and struggle to pull the dome up and over the cabinets.
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| The Falcon's equipment was kept in a large, wheeled cabinets seen on the right. The Control Room was outside the dome |
The second dome would be inflated once the Bridge dome was connected and secure. A prayer circle was held in hopes Fortuna wouldn't interfere with our good intentions and the computers would run properly.
So often I'd be at my desk in the Briefing Room near the start of the Overnighter and be disturbed by someone from the Falcon coming in to tell me something was wrong with the ship's equipment. Mr. Schuler, Mrs. Houston, Mr. Daymont, and Josh Babb all could tell many stories about Falcon technical nightmares. But somehow, thanks to great patience and talent, we'd get through those missions.
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| This is the inside of the Falcon. Computers were stored behind the black plastic. The printer was connected to the computer you see in the picture two photos above. |
Besides set up and take down, sound was the biggest problem for the Falcon. The thin fabric dome walls had zero sound insulation so noise from the Galileo was a constant bother. The Falcon staff also had to keep their discussions to a whisper to keep the Falconites from hearing them scheme and plot against them (as we all do even today in our control rooms).
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| The Falcon, set up and ready to fly. One dome was the bridge of the ship. The other dome was used as a gathering point for discussions and scary away missions. |
The Falcon was originally built to be a Mars Rover simulator funded by Novell for one of our Summer EdVenture camps. The Mars simulation lasted a summer but never really took. I wasn't happy with it. In thinking what to do with the equipment I decided to create another simulator. I sent in a work order for the Falcon's cabinets, ordered new Hypercard software for the ship and imagineered the ship inside a dome. I took the old XCraft simulator from the Space Center's overnight camps in the mid 1990's as my inspiration. The Falcon would be a souped up XCraft. The rest is history.
The Falcon's success (and the extra money it brought in by increasing our overnight camp numbers) convinced me that a small permanent simulator was needed. That ship became the Phoenix. Those who worked the Falcon were supportive of my decision. Some staff didn't support the idea. The Phoenix would occupy the inset wall bunks used by the staff for overnight camps. They loved their bunks.
The Falcon flew last in 2005 at the opening of the Phoenix and such ended the era of the quick set up and take down simulators.
Imagine my surprise and joy when James made the announcement that he was bringing the name back for one of the new simulators. He kept it a secret for many months but the cat is out of the bag and we can celebrate the Falcon's return! Will the X-Craft make a return someday? Only time will tell.
This is the Facebook post James made about the Falcon.
I think it only fitting that the Falcon's first crew be those who once suffered with the old Falcon: Lorraine Houston, Mark Daymont, Bill Schuler, Josh Babb, Randy Jepperson and the others who patiently dealt with the old Falcon's incessant technical issues.
Welcome Back Falcon!
The Falcon Needs a New Logo. From the Christa McAuliffe Space Center's Facebook Page
James Porter's Thoughts on the Space Center's 30th Birthday.
Other News from the Christa McAuliffe Space Center
The Imaginarium Theater
The Best Videos From Around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience
Imaginarium Theater November 29, 2020 from SpaceCampUtah's Imaginarium on Vimeo.
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