Alpine School District Bond Survey. You Can Help! Space News. The Imaginarium

Utah County's Voyager Club Loves the Space Center!

Friends,

     I spent 24 years raising money, designing, building, and administering the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center. It all started in 1989 when I had this crazy idea to take my space simulations out of my classroom and put them in a simulator at Central School. I guess you can say it has been my life's work. I retired in 2013 proud of the difference the Space Center made in so many people's lives. It has made a difference in yours or you wouldn't be reading this. Thank you for your continued support of this unique experiential educational center.  
     Mr. James Porter is the current Space Center director. I visit with him often and am impressed with his dedication to the program, its principles, and its history. James in on target and doing a fantastic job.

     As supporters of the Space Center, we have an opportunity to speak out on the need for a new Space Center in a new Central Elementary School. I'm asking you to please fill out this ASD survey by Monday and  let the district know you want to make the reconstruction of the Space Center a priority. It takes just a couple of minutes so do it now before you forget.  Make sure to leave a specific comment about the Space Center in the last question.  Your comments will help the Space Center as the District makes plans for a possible new Central Elementary School and Space Center. We'd like to be put at the beginning of the bond projects.  

     The Alpine School District has been fully supportive of continuing the program into a new Central Elementary School. Let's help Mr. Porter build the next Space Center by filling out the survey. It will only take a few minutes. To sum up, make your voice heard. I have!

Mr. Williamson

Founder, Retired Director, and #1 Fan of the 

Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center

Space News
by Mark Daymont

ISS: Dragon Returns, 3 million photos

Returning Dragon cargo capsule about to splash down in Pacific Ocean. Credit: SpaceX

After parking a large number of spacecraft at it's docking ports, the ISS Expedition 47 let one go: Undocking the Dragon unmanned cargo spacecraft took place on Monday in the morning. After a fiery re-entry, the parachutes opened perfectly and slowed the Dragon to a safe landing off the coast of California later in the afternoon.

Dragon spacecraft in orbit near ISS. NASA photo.

When the Dragon originally arrived back in early April, it marked the return of Dragon cargo deliveries after a one-year absence following a failed mission. This Dragon had brought almost 7,000 pounds of supplies and experiments. After 31 days of docking at the US Harmony module, the empty spacecraft was filled with supplies to return to Earth.

A view of the Japanese Kibo module, connected to the Harmony module. Dragon is shown parked underneath the modules at the Harmony docking port.

As Dragon is the only cargo spacecraft which can return safely to the Earth, instead of garbage and waste, it was filled partially with returning experiment samples stored in a couple of refrigeration containers and other time-dependent science experiments. About 3,000 pounds of items were stored carefully in the capsule.

Dragon is moved to release point by the CanadArm robotic arm. NASA TV.

Also this week, ISS astronauts achieved a significant milestone in the course of living and working in space. NASA announced on Tuesday that astronauts had taken the 3,000,000th picture aboard the station. The subject was the combined crew of expeditions 47/48:

Number 3,000,000: Front (L-R): British ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut and Expedition 47 commander Tim Kopra, and Roscosmos (Russia) cosmonaut (Flight Engineer) Yuri Malenchenko. Back row (L-R): Russian cosmonauts (Flight Engineers) Oleg Skripochka, Alexey Ovchinin, and NASA astronaut (Flight Engineer) Jeff Williams. Picture taken on April 30, 2016.

The Imaginarium

Help Build a New Space Center. The Alpine School District 2016 Bond. The Imaginarium.

Help Support a New Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center

Hello Space Center Fans!
Alpine School District has been holding community meetings over the last couple of weeks about an upcoming bond.  If you are within the district I encourage you, along with your family, to participate and / or to look through the materials available online: http://alpineschools.org/bond2016/ 

The last community meeting will be held at Pleasant Grove, Jr High tomorrow, May 12th from 6:30-7:30.  Mr. Porter will be there from the Space Center if you have questions. Just look for the guy wearing the Space Center shirt. I encourage you all to participate. 

Speaking for me personally, I support the bond proposal as a benefit to our community and program. It will mean a new Central School and a new Space Center. Even if you and your family don't support the bond I think it is a good learning opportunity for you to get involved and understand more about taxes, elections, bonds, and other civic responsibilities. 

If you don't have time to attend tomorrow night's meeting you can find more information online with the link provided above.  One of the big involvement opportunities you have is to give feedback.  I personally am going to fill out THIS SURVEY as there are three items that might apply to the Space Center.

• After attending a community meeting or reviewing the presentation, what is the likelihood that you will vote for the bond if it is on the ballot? Very likely
• 2) rebuild or renovate outdated schools Extremely supportive
• Please provide any additional bond feedback below: I am in support of the bond as it supports valuable programs like the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center.

Please provide feedback according to how you feel.  I just mention those because they specifically have the potential to impact our program.  Sometimes the influence and support for our program is overlooked and I just want to make sure you have the chance to show your support.

Thank you,

Mr. Williamson

The Imaginarium

Happy Mother's Day Space Center Moms! David Kyle (The Fish) Herring Recalled to Active Duty. The Cobra Squadron, Will They Survive the LDM? The Magellan Gets a New Camera System. Theater Imaginarium.

The Happy Space Center Volunteers!

A Flock of Happy Space Center Volunteers Wish All the Space Center Moms a Happy Mother's Day!

Look at those happy faces; and why shouldn't they be? They're volunteering at one of the happiest places on Earth - The Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center.  We all know desire plays a role in a happy volunteer. We all understand that dedication and commitment are also essential in a volunteer's success.  But let's not forget the most important factor in a volunteer's experience, a loving mother who is willing to support her child by 1) letting him or her volunteer, and 2) running the shuttle service back and forth, sometimes at the strangest of times.  

Happy Mother's Day Space Center Moms! The following is for you...    

David (Kyle) Herring, Recalled from Retirement to Help Finish the USS Voyager

David Kyle Herring and Alex Anderson Team Up to Finish the Voyager

The new USS Voyager needs a few finishing touches before we can certify the ship space worthy. Alex Anderson has been working on the programming side of things, but what about all the other odds and ends needing done construction and set design wise? Who is going to do that?  

In times past, David Kyle Herring was THAT guy.  He supervised the construction of the CMSEC's Galileo, Phoenix, and Magellan simulators. It was his job to ensure the ships were built and operational. I had enough on my plate just running the Space Center's day to day operations, let alone bird dog and manage every aspect of ship construction and maintenance.  

On April 29th, the searchlight atop Renaissance Academy shot the image of a hammer and tape measure into the sky. And just like the Batman, Kyle responded to the call.  He came by, took stock of the situation, and agreed to take on the job.     

Kyle getting ready to install new lighting on the Voyager's Bridge. The ship was too dark for classroom use. 

Kyle was on the job all week. Weekends? Who needs them.  Kyle was on the job yesterday. He is committed to getting the Voyager open by the end of May. We have several hundred students anxiously awaiting their deep space expeditions.  There isn't a moment to spare. 

In Alex and Kyle, we have a real dynamic duo.  

Welcome to Renaissance Academy Kyle Herring.      

The Voyager Club's Cobra Squadron Brings Round Three in This Year's LDM to an End. 

Yesterday saw the end to the third round of missions in this school year's Voyager Club Long Duration Mission.  The Cobra Squadron, under Tate R's steady and calm command, faced unbelievable odds and..... and.....  Let's let these few pictures tell their story. 

Flight Director and Voyager Club Awesome Volunteer, Connor Larsen, advises and blames (see outstretched finger).

"What, not another Red Alert?"  Strangely enough, the Cobras seem undisturbed by the chaos surrounding them

The Magellan can only take so much. It's strong, but the Cobra's may have pushed the ship well beyond its design limits!

There is something disturbing seeing a bridge crew NOT manning their stations on a Federation Starship
A sure sign something has gone terribly wrong. 

The Voyager Club's Cobra Squadron

I'll let the pictures tell the Cobra's story. Suffice to say, they have one member of the crew still conscious and able to work.  He'd better be quick footed to navigate a body littered deck.  Good luck Cobras. If you thought Round 3 was rough, it will seem like a walk in the park compared to Round 4 coming at ya fast!

The Magellan's New Cameras

Amazing! Wonderful! Breathtaking!  
All words used by the majority of the Magellan's staff and volunteers in describing the Magellan's new camera system recently installed.  "We can actually see the crew," said one flight director, not wanting to be too critical of the ship's old camera system - which basically showed gray shadows moving across a dark screen.  "This'll help us in the missions big time!"

The campers may not be too happy with the cameras. Being able to see where they are all the time makes the staff and volunteer's job of bridge take overs easier.  Some of the staff may not be overjoyed with the new surveillance system either.  The old camera system was so dark it made it difficult for the flight director to tell whether or not his or her bridge supervisor was on top of things or catching a few winks in a off camera corner (an old trick the Voyager supervisors use to pull on me from time to time).    

Theater Imaginarium