Mr. Williamson Goes On His First Mission After 31 Years. Space and Science News. The Imaginarium.

The Future of the Federation Was In Our Hands.
Yes, you can sleep soundly knowing we are on the front lines keeping you and yours safe this holiday season from the Borg Grinches  and the Romulan Party Poopers.

Hello Troops,
     I've been running space mission simulations for 31 years and never, not even once, did I ever take the role of captain and go on a mission - the only person in Space Center history to have done so.  My reasons for avoiding the captain's chair are many - most of the pretty lame.
     Last Saturday I ran out of excuses and was pressured to end my missionless streak and go on a mission.  My tormentor, whose initials are BF and whose name rhymes with Slacken Bunk, rudely poo hooed every objection I voiced.  He disregarded every excuses I  concocted by calling me a liar (in a most respectful way mind you).   My defensive shield collapsed late last week leaving me defenseless and vulnerable. And, being a responsible ex Space Center director, I showed up at the Space Center on time last Saturday for the event.
     Slacken Bunk wrote a new mission called Snow Fox, or maybe it was Snow Dagger.  There was a reason for using the word 'Snow' but I can't remember.  The story in a nutshell was:  1. A Federation Senator was the first name on a very short list of people to assassinate.  2. A paramilitary group wrote up the list and therefore were the ones targeting the fine upstanding senator.   3.  The senator was scheduled to make a campaign stop at a planet of less than enthusiastic citizens.  4.  One of the paramilitary's ships was seen near the planet.  5.  The brave crew of the Galileo had to find said missing ship and, by carefully connecting various points of logic, discovery who was going to carry out the assassination and when.  6. And of course it goes without saying, that we would be responsible to stop the assassination so all Federation citizen could sleep safely and soundly in their own beds at night.

     Aleta Clegg, Lorraine Houston and myself enjoyed the mission briefing with Slacken Bunk.  I'm pictured with my doctor prescribed caffeine, formulated to keep me awake during the mission.  I chaperoned the DSC's overnight camp and was feeling the effects of sleep deprivation.

     My crew consisted of myself playing the captain, the easily bored Lorraine Houston (inside crew joke), the highly logical and multitasking Aleta Clegg, and Farpoint Cadet Brayden D., our young engineering brought on to play the part of the expendable Red Shirt in case a mission sacrifice was required.
     I manned the sensor station as well as captained the ship.  I felt it proper to do so to show the younger crews that us old timers still have what it takes to multitask a mission to victory.  The mission started at 1:00 P.M. and ended with a draw at 2:30 P.M.  Slacken Bunk said we made it 1/4 of the way through the mission because I was over thinking everything.  I agreed with his assessment of my command style.  I wasn't about to let him trick me into a trap and then have plenty of ammo to embarrass me with around the Space Center's water cooler for the next year or two.
     We are going to try to find a time to finish the mission before Slacken has to return to school and that sport he plays involving a bouncing ball and two net draped hoops on opposite sides of a gym.
     I enjoyed the mission very much.  Slacken did a great job with the story and putting up with my overly cautious command of his favorite ship - the Galileo.

Mr. W.

Space and Science News      

Link Index

➤ Printed Eye Cells: http://is.gd/uIi4GX
➤ Artificial Heart Transplant: http://is.gd/lAYezn
➤ Anti-Aging Compound: http://is.gd/Pmbx70
➤ Robotic Muscle: http://is.gd/PTX1RP
➤ Gaia Space Telescope: http://is.gd/Ea8om0
➤ Liquid Water on Mars: http://is.gd/LubEb6
➤ Artificial Kidney: http://is.gd/uaZMMj
➤ Pale Blue Dot Video : http://is.gd/UwKQOD

Keeping Their Cool: ISS EVA removes Pump

by Mark Daymont
Farpoint Educator

Astronaut Rick Mastracchio works to remove the Ammonia Pump. Credit NASA TV.

This is not the first time that the ISS has had a problem with the coolant system. And this time, NASA has been prepared. A spare ammonia coolant pump was previously placed in storage outside the station just for this type of situation. On Saturday Dec. 21, astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins donned their american-designed spacewalk suits and exited the station through the Quest airlock. Both astronauts are veterans of the space program, and both have made EVAs before. For Mastracchio this was his 7th spacewalk and the 2nd for Hopkins. The EVA was the 175th spacewalk for ISS maintenance and assembly. 

Astronaut Mastracchio and the ammonia pump are moved at the end of the robotic arm.

The astronauts quickly moved ahead of schedule and after detaching the hoses and wires from the defective unit, reconnected the station coolant system hoses so that the coolant in the system could remain liquid. WIth time to spare, they moved on to the first task scheduled for the next EVA, and while attached to the robotic arm and guided by astronaut Koichi Wakata, Mastrachio attached the defective pump to a storage location on the Truss segment.

Since the recent suit malfunction in which astronaut Parmitano experienced a water leak in his EVA helmet, NASA has been concerned that the same event coould occur again. In preparation for the EVA, astronauts on the station "McGuyvered" an extra breathing tube in the helmet for the two spacewalkers. In this spacewalk, however, both suits remained dry and the astronauts returned to the station on time. Two more EVA's are planned to complete the repair to the station coolant system.

You can read an excellent detailed account of the EEVA at NASA Spaceflight.com: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/12/spacewalkers-first-pump-module-replacement-evas/

The Imaginarium

You want to see extraordinary.  Well I've got Extraordinary.

An honest family Christmas portrait

An Enemy From the Dark. Ch. 14.

Hello Troops,
OK, I had a little time today and decided to rewrite Chapter 13. I didn't really like where the story was going and decided to adjust and make the plot changes necessary to continue the story forward. You all know how much I despise plot holes.

Please overlook writing errors. This is being written directly as it pours out the brain with little time for revisions and corrections.  My goal is just to get the basic story written. It can be polished later.

Also, If you haven't read the first 12 chapters, or need to reread Ch. 12 so you can remember what's happening in the story then here are the links to all the Chapters in the Story.

Thanks Troops,
Mr. Williamson

The Index to "The Enemy From the Dark". A New Space Center Story. The Continuation of "The Children of Perikoi".

Ch. 1  Ch. 2  Ch. 3  Ch. 4  Ch. 5  Ch. 6  Ch. 7  Ch. 8  Ch. 9  Ch. 10  Ch. 11  Ch. 12  Ch. 13

Chapter 14

     "You believe what I told you?"  Carick asked the Perokoi.  He doubted his captive's honesty.
     "You say things that make sense," the PAD translated the teen's common tongue,"things I remember from my home.  I remember the strangers who taught science. I spoke to them many times before the Choosing.  I always wondered where they came from.  What you say seems right which is why I believe you."
      Carick felt it was time to build some trust with his prisoner. "My name is Carick.  What's yours?"
     "My Perikoi name is Oofala.  In the God's service I am 31, a Pathfinder."
     "A Pathfinder?  What does that mean?"
     "I find the pathways for the Gods to travel."
     Carick thought for a moment to try to find a correlation in English. "We call them navigators," he replied.  "So what do you want me to call you?"
     "Call me 31."
     Carick frowned. "I'm not calling you 31, and I'll probably butcher your Perokoi name.  Alright if I just call you Max for now?"
     Max nodded. "If you wish."  There was a pause in the conversation, just long enough for a feeling of trust to plant itself in the room.  "Carick, you say your navigators open the rivers through space."
     Carick nodded. "We do, if you mean they're able to plot a course from star to star."
     "Do you have the gift?"
     "I've had the basic training for navigation.  I can plot a course as long as I've got a computer to help with the calculations."
     Max closed his eyes.  The room went quiet.  The lights dimmed.  Papers rustled on the desk.  Carick jumped up. "What was that?" he said as he drew his weapon.  Max opened his eyes. The room brightened.
     "My Commander will be calling soon." Max changed the subject to divert attention from the test he'd just given to determine Carick's skills.
     "Did you notice that power drop?"  Carick wanted a confirmation that Max had seen it too.
     "Carick, my commander will be calling If I don't check in right now."  
     "Is that thing attached to your ear a communication device?"
     "Yes."        
     Carick took a stop closer to the Peroikoi. His weapon still drawn and set to stun.  He examined the communication device attached to the young man's ear. "I'm going to take it, just as a precaution. I'm not going to let you call your commander until I know for sure I can trust you."
     "Removing the Controller will kill me."  The teen's expression was serious. "It can't be removed without medical devices."
     Carick stopped.  "What do you mean?"
     "All Perikoi have a Controller wired into their brain.  The Gods use them to monitor and control our abilities.  They can use the Controller to talk to us, punish us or kill us. They'll know if someone is tampering with the device."
     Carick was curious. "So this Controller would have to be surgically removed?"
     "The electrodes are wired into the brain.  If someone tampers with it without permission, the electrodes will fire.  I've seen it before.  You drop to the floor shaking - you pass out, and could die."  The teen paused to consider the time.  "I've been in this room too long.  They will call soon and want to know why I've not completed my task.  I'll be punished if they think I'm lying."
     Carick wondered if the Voyager's sick bay was properly equipped to remove something as embedded as a Controller.
     "One shock and I'm disabled for a period of time.  They'll come for me."  Max laid motionless and watched Carick.  "It is your choice.  Let me go and I'll help you."
     Carick considered his options. A wrong choice could cost Carick his ship and crew.  On the other hand, things couldn't get much worse.  He wasn't in control of his ship or crew.  His ship was overrun by aliens and too damaged to escape without repairs. He desperately needed an ally.
     "I'll be back,"  Carick turned to leave the room.  "We have med scanners that will let me see inside your head.  You go free if your story checks out."  Carick knew he was taking a calculated risk by leaving the Perikoi unattended.  Would the teen be there when he got back?  Would he return and find he'd been turned in? Carick decided to take his chances and trust the Perikoi. He walked out of the room.
     The hallway leading to the turbolift and MedKit was on emergency lighting. Carick moved cautiously down one hallway, then a left turn and down another before taking a sharp right to the Turbolift.  Next to the lift was a one foot by one foot wall compartment marked with a bright red cross.  He opened it, reached in and removed a hand held medical scanner.  Carick tested the scanner to see if it worked before turning back.  He cautiously advanced down the hallway, looking and listening for any sign of intruders.  Turning the last corner, he looked down the hallway toward the room where his prisoner was held.  There was nothing but quiet.  As far as he could tell, Max hadn't escaped, or if he had, he hadn't called for back up.  Carick approached the door, crouched down, drew his weapon, and waited for the Perikoi to make a move.  The weapon was set to stun.  Minutes passed.  "He's gotta be free by now," Carick thought. The knot holding the Perokoi wasn't his best and was tied in a hurry. Another minute passed - still no movement.  Carick stood, readied his weapon and reached for the door's control panel.  He pushed 'open'.  The door opened.
     A dark constricting force immediately paralyzed Carick's body, freezing him still in the doorway. Max had escaped his knot and was sitting on the bed in the corner of the room. He had one hand resting in his lap and the other stretched out in Carick's direction.  An electronic device bridged Max's outstretched hand, stretching from the palm to the back of Max's hand near the thumb. The teen's eyes were closed as if he were asleep.
     Carick's fight or flight response strained against the mysterious force holding him in place.  He struggled for a minute, then calmed once he realized his struggling was pointless. "Max, what are you doing?" he thought, unable to move his lips.
     "You were going to kill me," Carick heard him speak.  The Perikoi opened his eyes and moved his hand ever so slightly.  Carick regained control of his mouth and tongue.
     "I went to get a medical scanner to look at the Controller.  I waited outside the door to see if you'd try to escape.  I had to know whether or not I could trust you."
     "Your weapon is pointing at me.  You were going to kill me."  Max's voice was soft and unemotional.
     "Only if you were waiting to kill me." Carick confessed. Something invisible to Carick took his phaser out of his hand.  The weapon moved effortless through the air, coming to rest on the bed beside the teen.
     "How did you do that?" Carick gasped, running short on breath.
     "Captain, I want to help you if you will help me."
     "How can I help you?"
     "Can you removed the Controller?"
     "I don't know, but I'm willing to try if that's what you want, but you've got to let me go."
     "Free me from the Controller and I'll find a way to free your crew and send you home."
     "It's a deal."  Carick felt he could trust this young man with an unusual and frightening power.
     "Then it is so." The teen lowered his hand.  Carick felt the paralysis leave his body.  He rubbed his arms to restore normal circulation.
     "Did you do all of this with that thing on your hand?" Carick asked as he stepped far enough into the room to let the automatic doors slide closed behind him."
     Max jumped to his feet and walked toward the door.  "We don't have time right now. Is that the medical device?" he said pointing to the med scanner.
     "Yes,"
     "Can you remove the Controller?"
     "Let's see it first."  Carick turned the scanner on and held it near the Controller.  The screen captured every detail of Max's brain in false color to highlight foreign objects.  Several very small wire filaments stretched from the Controller, through Max's ear and into his brain. "It'll take surgery to remove this," Carick replied.  "I'm sure our sick bay could do the job, but I'm not a doctor and you're not a human."
     "Is your doctor being held with the rest of your crew?"
     "No, we left without a doctor. I have a medic in the shuttlebay who might be able to help.
     "That may be impossible."
     "Our only other option is to use the medbots and let them do the surgery."
     "Medbots?"
     "Robotic medics."  Carick stopped his explanation. He thought he heard a faint beeping sound coming from the Controller.
     "31," Max responded, stepping away.  Carick watched the teen's face for any sign of betrayal.  "Understood, "Max answered. "I neglected my check in.  I'm prepared for punishment." Max sat down and braced himself. There was fear in his eyes. "Proceed." A second later he grabbed his ear and rolled to his side shaking in pain.  Carick felt a sadness for his new friend.  It was his fault Max was being punished. Carick sat down and put his arm around him.  A tear dripped from Max's chin as they rocked back and forth together.
     "They're coming for me," Max struggled to form the words around the pain.
     "I'm sorry," Carick whispered. Max squeezed his arm tightly before passing out.

     

Winter Has Come. USS Leo Open to the Public. Julius Caesar's Last Breath and You. The Imaginarium.

Happy Winter Solstice, the Shortest Day of 

the Year, and the First Day of Winter.

For the folks in the northern hemisphere, today is the long awaited winter solstice. Though, technically the first day of Winter, the Solstice marks the halfway point  between the seemingly endless darkness that accompanies winter and the arrival of spring.  The winter solstice also marks another occasion; the shortest day of the year (the actual time can vary by a few hours depending on your latitude).

 The Winter Solstice at Stonehenge, England.  The Sun rises perfectly positioned through the upright stone markers telling the ancient locals that the darkest day of the year was upon them and that longer days were coming.

The USS Leo Opens to the Public at 

Lakeview Academy

Hello Troops,

The Troubadour's news wires jumped into action this afternoon with news that Lakeview Academy's Space Education Center is open for public missions in their new USS Leo simulator.   The USS Leo is the newest Space EdVentures simulator built by Lakeview Academy in Saratoga Shores.  Lakeview partnered with DSim Corporation in the design and construction of the USS Leo.  BJ Warner is the director.  Many of you remember BJ from his many years as a flight director at the CMSEC and most recently, the Discovery Space Center in Pleasant Grove.  The email announcement is below:   

Dear Discovery Space Center Fans,
As a thank you to our past guests we want you to be the first to hear about our big announcement. We are thrilled to announce our newest simulator the UCS LEO is now open for booking!!!!
Located at Lakeview Academy (527 W 400 N, Saratoga Springs) the Leo offers new missions and upgraded controls while still focusing on education and entertainment. With a capacity of up to 12 crew members the Leo is perfect for small private groups and birthday parties.
One of the coolest features of the new simulator is the ability to run “Junior Missions”. Ages 3-9 will love exploring the galaxy while learning about shapes and numbers as well as fighting off the occasional bad guy. We encourage parents to attend with their Junior Cadets and participate in this new simulation!
If your child loved their experience at Discovery Space Center then they will not want to miss trying out our newest simulator!! Book their experience today at discoverysimulations.com/ucsleo
See you in the final frontier!
-The Discovery Simulations Team

This is what many of you Space EdVentures fans have been waiting for; you get to fly in another new ship.

Congratulations to Lakeview Academy and welcome to the family of Space EdVentures simulators.

Mr. Williamson

Space and Science News
Scientist to Image a Black Hole's Event Horizon for the First Time.

General relativistic ray tracing simulations of the shadow of the event horizon of a black hole. (Credit: M. Moscibrodzka & H. Falcke, Radboud University, Nijmegen)

Was Einstein right? The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded 14 Million Euros to a team of European astrophysicists to construct the first accurate image of a black hole. The team will test the predictions of current theories of gravity, including Einstein's theory of General Relativity. The funding is provided in the form of a 'Synergy Grant', the largest and most competitive type of grant of the ERC. 
Read More from Science Daily


Teacher Comment on their Experiences onboard DreamFlight Adventures' IKS Titan

The IKS Titan is a simulator located at Shaler Area Elementary School in Glenshaw Pennsylvania.
Recently the PAEYC Unconference held an activity onboard the Titan.  Click HERE to hear their comments.

Julius Caesar was assassinated on the 15th March 44 BC. That was quite some time ago, which means that there has been plenty of time for his last breath to have mixed relatively evenly around the globe (this is the first assumption). The next step is to calculate the number of molecules that are in a single breath. To do this, you need to have a rough figure for the volume of a breath. This will obviously vary considerably depending on the size of the person, their current physical state etc., but a good value is about half a liter (this is the first rounded value).  Read More at Quarks to Quasars

The Imaginarium

Crazy hair day at school