The Troubadour

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The School District has issued the Following News Release

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Hello Troops,
The Alpine School District released a statement on the Space Center.

News Release

The Christa McAuliffe Space Center, which has been housed in Central Elementary School in Pleasant Grove, has been closed due to safety reasons. The Fire Marshall closed the Space Center in early October because of electrical problems. Alpine School District Officials notified Central Elementary School as well as the Program Director that the Space Center will not be re-opened in its current location. Superintendent Vern Henshaw has directed a committee to explore options for a Space Center, which will then be presented to the ASD Board of Education.

Staff and volunteers, please send me an email list of your private property still at the Space Center. I'll let you know when and where you can come pick it up.

It was suggested we throw a goodbye party for the old Space Center at Central School and let everyone see the ships one more time. What do you think? One final photo in the Voyager's Captain's Chair? I'll let you know.

The Troubadour will continue as an online home for friends of the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center. News of the new science and math center will be posted here ONLY after it has been released by the school district.

Specific questions about the closing of the Space Center should be directed to Rhonda Bromley at the District Office in American Fork.

Mr. Williamson

Space. In the News

Hello Troops, Space News from Mr. Daymont is on the docket for today. Space Center renovation news is always UP TO DATE to the right in the side bar --------->

What you see in the side bar is all I know FOR SURE. There are many rumors out there. Rumors are not news. The only place to go for accurate news is the Space Center's own blog - which is right where you are now.

Mr. W.

Soyuz TMA-06M launches to ISS

Blast-off in Baikonur.

This morning a Soyuz rocket took off from the Russian space center in Baikonur, carrying the second half of the Expedition 33 crew to the ISS. On board were astronaut Kevin Ford, and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin. They will join Expedition 33 commander Suni Williams, astronaut Aki Hoshide and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko who have been on the station since July 17.

Nice ascent to orbit.

As usual, the second part of the current expedition 33 will become the next expedition's primary crew once the current commander and crew depart. When Commander Williams and her crew leave in November, then Kevin Ford will become the Expedition 34 commander and his crew will await their second half in December.

The Soyuz is expected to dock with ISS at 8:35 a.m. Thursday.

Expedition 33 prime crew. L-R: Tarelkin, Novitskiy, Ford. Evgeny Novitskiy commands the Soyuz to the ISS. Picture taken in front of the Soyuz TMA-06M capsule before it was integrated with its launcher. They are expected to remain on ISS for five months.

Recent Satellite Launches from Around the World

Technician works on the Orbcomm satellite. Credit: Sierra Nevada Corp.

The big focus for space enthusiasts lately has been the remarkable mission of SpaceX's Dragon capsule to the ISS. While the station resupply effort went well, the secondary payload on the Falcon 9 rocket ended in failure. Due to a malfunctioning engine, other engines on the Falcon rocket overcompensated and burned longer than planned, resulting in the wrong orbital placement of the OrbComm satellite. Built by the Sierra Nevada Corporation, Orbcomm was an engineering test vehicle to help establish a new network of communication satellites. This example was a prototype, designed to test how the system would react in its orbital environment. There are 18 small satellites planned for the system, all due to be launched on Falcon 9 rockets. Unfortunately, the wrong orbit placement caused the Orbcomm to fail its mission and it de-orbited. NASA and SpaceX engineers are investigating the failure while company executives plan a way to continue this mission.

Meanwhile, there have been other launches around the world.

Delta 4 launch from pad 37 at Cape Canaveral, October 4. On board was the GPS 2F-3 satellite. This was a replacement satellite for an older one in the GPS system we all rely on. The satellite reached its intended orbit just fine. Credit: Pat Corkery/ULA.

A Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off from the European Space Agency's French Guiana launch site on October 12. It carried a pair of satellites for the Galileo navigation system, which affects many drivers, airplanes, and ships around the world. Successful placement of satellites. Credit: ESA.

On Sunday October 14, China launched a Long March 2C rocket from the Taiyuan space facility. It carried two Shijuan-9 engineering test satellites into space to study new satellite test equipment. This photo is of a previous Long March launch. Credit from Chinese News Agency.

A Russian Proton blasted off from the Baikonur site in Kazakhstan on Sunday October 14. It carried an Intelsat telecommunications satellite into orbit. Credit: Krunichev.

By Mark Daymont

Space Center Educator

Monday, October 22, 2012

October is Nearly Gone. Have I Forgotten How to Start A Ship? And the Imaginarium.

Someone asked me what I do in my spare time now that the Space Center

is closed. Well, I've found a new hobby!

I'll be at Lindon's Walmart Friday evening if anyone wants to join in the fun.

Hello Troops,

October is nearly gone. The Space Center has been closed for nearly three months. I can't believe the last time I flew a mission was May 30! I'm worried I may forget how to start and run a simulator. Let's see,

1. Unlock the Voyager
2. Turn on the lights
3. Start my computer, then the sound system and the two sound effect computers
4. Turn on the powered amp.
5. Start the 2FX computer.
6. Start the five DVD players and the Tactical computer.
7. Turn on the lights in Decontamination. Turn on the backlit panels.
8. Load the correct programming on the Flight and 2FX computers.
9. Load the correct flight program on the tactical.
10. Run to the Bridge, start the Records and Science computers.
11. Start the right Security Computer, then slide the plastic away from the
       left Security Computer and start it. Slide the plastic back.
12. Start the four computers on the Left Wing.
13. Start the First Officer's computer.
14. Start the four computers on the Right Wing.
15. Start the Engineering Computer. Turn on the Iso Chip light.
16. Start the Telephone and Long Range Computer.
17. Turn on the Borg Lamp. Turn on the two side lamps
18. Run back to the Control Room and do a Log In. Hit the Log In button one
   million times.
19. Do a Log On at the 2FX station and Tactical Stations.
20. Test the sound effects. Load the correct music. Check the background
   engine sounds.
21. Back to the Bridge to hit the Log On Screens for every computer.
22. Back to the Control Room to do a System Reset, then Flash all the screens.
23. Test the mic and the vocal mixer.
24. Vacuum if necessary.
25. Check the Crew Quarters. Do a quick bathroom clean if necessary.
   Straighten the sheets on the beds if necessary.

AND I'M DONE. There, I think I'm still OK. I'm not as rusty as I thought. I dare any of the Voyager Staff to look over the list and tell me if I've forgotten anything.....wait.

26. Get the Iso Chips in their right configuration.

There. I dare the Voyager staff to find something I've forgotten.

Have a Great Day Troops, and enjoy a quick walk through the today's Imaginarium.

Mr. W.