Proving Renaissance Academy's USS Voyager II and the Brave People Who Do It. Space News. The Imaginarium

The USS Voyager at Renaissance Academy, Lehi

     Renaissance Academy's new USS Voyager is being proved by the "Get Er Done" team. Proved is the term we use when testing something new for glitches, errors, bugs, bewitchments, spells, enchantments, blemishes, and possession.  We think the new USS Voyager, the actually simulator itself, is ready for center stage and curtain up.  Needing proving was the lighting, the computer programming, the sound system, the sound effects, the Flint tactical system, the voice decoder, and the main viewer.  These items are the backbone of any ship. The rest is story and mission central. I'm referring to things like a full set of tactical cards, appropriately themed copyright free music, a library of coded messages, damage reports, and printable work for the Chief of Ops. Mission specific work for the engineering room and sick bay are also needed.
     Test subjects are used when proving a simulator. It's dangerous work. One wrong mechanical setting. One bug in the software. One failsafe device failing. One short circuit in the warp core. All of these things and many more could fail a test crew.  Six to ten promising young people lost in a flash of such magnitude a new sun would momentarily be seen in the sky.
     We salute our test subjects willing to put life and limb on the line to advance humanity's exploration of space. 

     The test subjects getting their proving instructions from the Get Er Done team's very own Isaac.  They look calm and unconcerned. This was taken before the liability and Next of Kin paperwork was distributed. 

     Alex Debirk and Isaac O. working in the Voyager's Control Room.  Alex was concerned about an unusual reading coming from one of the primary circuits controlling the CO2 scrubbers. It was about to fail. "Typical," he mumbled. "Did we get our scrubbers from the same place the Space Center got there's?"  

     Isaac monitored the Flint mixer system.  One incorrect setting could result in permanent hearing loss.

      The test subjects moved cautiously on the twilighted bridge.  So far things seemed to be working. The ship was proving itself worthy of flight.  

    The pressure got too much for Alex. Nolan stepped in as a substitute (it was more a knock on the Brig's outside door. Alex's wife had his dinner).  Nolan's face was permanently set in cringe mode; too many close calls on the bridge. 
   

Results

    Last Saturday's test mission by Alex, Brent, and Isaac went well. Monday's second proving was also a success.  I'm happy to report the Voyager has so far proven well enough to keep us on schedule. The rest of this week will be spent writing papers and adding content to our tactical library.  

Mr. Williamson   

           

Space News
By Mark Daymont
spacerubble.blogspot.com

SUNDAY, JULY 17, 2016

50 Years Ago: New Apollo Program Logo

Design for the Apollo program insignia.

Fifty years ago on July 16, 1966, NASA held a special news event at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The event celebrated the unveiling of the new logo design that would symbolize the upcoming Apollo moon landing program. Significantly, you can see that North America and its Florida launch site figure dominantly on the Earth and that the A's crossbar includes three stars representing the three-men crews that would fly the missions.

50 Years Ago: Aiming Toward the Space Shuttle

The M2-F2 carefully maneuvers for touchdown. All photos NASA. 

On July 12, 1966, NASA and Northrop successfully dropped the new M2-F2 lifting body from a specially prepared B-52 bomber over a dry lake bed at Edwards AFB. The craft was advanced from the original design first test by Northrop's M2-F1 which flew back in 1963.

M2-F2 attached to a pylon on the B-52 before the flight.

The B-52 was the same one used to drop X-15 aircraft, with a modified carry pylon that allowed it to carry lifting bodies as well as the X-15s. On this first flight, Milton Thompson guided the craft from a drop height of 13, 716 feet at a top speed of 727 km/hr, which is equivalent to a little over Mach .6. The flight lasted 3 and a 1/2 minutes.

Cockpit of the M2-F2.

The NASA lifting body tests were important precursors to helping engineers in the initial designs of a possible re-usable spacecraft which could glide from orbit back to the Earth. Eventually these designs would become the Space Shuttle.

M2-F1 sitting next to the retired M2-F1.

The Imaginarium

Two Former Space Center Volunteers Checking In. Caitlynn is on the High Seas. Dustin is Making Films. Watch His Newest Film "Shadows". Theater Imaginarium.

Hello Space Center Fans!
     We've had hundreds of volunteers and staff come and go over the CMSEC Space Center's 25 year history.  Usually they disappear into the void never to be heard from again. Yes, I know many of you are out there checking in through the blog, afraid to make yourselves known fearing the Reactivation Clause of your volunteering contract. You're thinking, "If I email Mr. Williamson to say hello he'll initiate the Reactivation Clause, send out the Blue Shirts, and put me to work. Been there and done that. Loved it but my life has moved on to other things."  
     Friends, no need to worry. The Blue Shirts no longer take orders from me. They are under the watchful eye of Mr. James Porter, the new CMSEC Director.  I've retired from the school district. However, I'm teaching 6th grade again at Renaissance Academy and opening the new Starship Voyager at Renaissance. We're always looking for experienced help..... but I promise not to twist your arm if you'd like to drop us a line and tell us what you're doing out there is civilian life.  
     Recently I received two email updates; one from a former staff member and another from a volunteer.  Caitlynn Stone was a long distant volunteer, travelling from Salt Lake Valley to put in her volunteer hours. She was a regular on the overnight camp circuit. Some of you old timers will remember her as the girl who sold candy bars for her brother's fund raising efforts. Caitlynn is working on a sailing boat traversing the high seas.  What an experience!       Read on.....  

Caitlynn Stone

Mr. Williamson

Hey! It's been awhile since I've been in contact, but life has been pretty cool lately so I've been sending a bit of a thank you message to some people who helped me grow along the way. You were definitely one of those people with the CMSEC and all the personal growth I experienced there! 

In April, I traveled to the Philippines and joined a sailing expedition vessel (120 ft sailing ketch) that was in a Manila dry-dock. Her name is Infinity and I helped rebuild her along with a crew of 10 other people including the captain, from making a new mast to refinishing the hull. :) It was over two months of hard work, especially as I started to fall into a leadership role at the captain's side. I found myself constantly running around, realigning the engine, drilling the propeller shaft, pushing the mast into place, and so forth.

We managed to get Infinity into great shape and set sail a little over two weeks ago! It was rough going at the start, but we managed to get her sails up and have come to PNG, anchoring just off Kokopo only yesterday. Along the journey, I swam across the equator and in one of the deepest parts of the ocean in the Philippine Trench (7km). I also had some amazing (and sometimes scary) experiences swimming with sharks, jellies, and other curious ocean wildlife.  

We experienced some fantastically terrifying storms of the wet season, sailed past some wrecks, and got to learn all about the people I was stuck on a single ship with for two weeks! The crew is an ever changing cast of people from around the world. The crew I sailed with had people from Germany (we sailed under a German flag as the captain is German), Australia, Italy, America (obviously), France, and Norway.

It was an amazing experience, but I have just left the ship to make my way through PNG and on to Australia and maybe New Zealand. I'm planning to return to her soon though, as next year she is tackling the Northwest Passage! 

I just wanted to say thank you for all your efforts with the Space Center. I really grew a lot during my time there and I think it helped me to be the right person to go on this incredible adventure as a deckhand and now onto my upcoming adventures the winds guide me to!

Greetings from a landlubber turned sailor,

Caitlynn Stone

cait.cutekitty@gmail.com

Dustin Robison

Dustin Robison was an enthusiastic volunteer and staff member. Story telling was in his blood.  I'm happy to report that Dustin has achieved his dream. He's making films.  I recently received the following update from Dustin along with the trailer and first episode of his new work, Shadows.  Read on and be sure to watch the first episode. 

 

Hey Vic!

     A lot has happened over the past few years, so here are some of the highlights:

In 2010 I worked a summer job installing security systems in Philadelphia while my wife went door to door selling security systems for a summer. This allowed us to purchase a small condo in Florida where I attended film school at Full Sail University. Halfway through the course I landed an internship with a local production company called edgefactory. Within a year and half I was promoted to become their in-house Director of Photography.

     This position has given me several opportunities to travel around the world. My favorite place being Berlin, Germany. The history there was so visible even still. The architecture and structure of things was very interesting, a lot of the plumbing is above ground, and it is painted bright colors, which gives an almost Dr. Seuss kind of feeling throughout different parts of the city. Other places I’ve had the opportunity to travel to so far are India, Hawaii, Mexico, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and hopefully Iceland at the end of the year.

     About 2 years ago, Kait and I moved to Las Vegas, where she originally grew up. We made our self employed status a little more official by starting our own company together called Quantum Arc Media. She heads up the Graphic Design side of it and I take lead on all things Production related. We took an exciting step forward about a month ago when we hired our first full time employee.  He has been handling all of our post production, which has allowed us to take on more and bigger projects. Our primary work is commercial and corporate, but our passion lies in story telling. Which is where Shadows comes into the mix.

Also, talks of bringing a human into this crazy world exist, so who knows, I may be a dad sometime in the nearish future.

Shadows

     The concept for our webseries, “Shadows”, started with a simple idea. We wanted to film a starship crashing into an alien planet. It started as a storyboard of several shots before I wrote it into a script, because the visuals were the only thing that mattered to me at its initial conception. However, after posing the project idea to a friend, he seemed enthusiastic about taking it a step further and encouraged me to write a story around the idea so that if we decided we wanted to keep shooting, we would have a direction to continue.

     I pondered about where I wanted to take the story and as the time grew nearer to begin prepping for the shoot, I remembered the Voyager overnight mission “Shadows” (at the CMSEC) that I had participated in so many times. It was my favorite and most memorable story. And with that inspiration, ideas began to flow with ease. I told myself that I wouldn’t put anything down on paper for the 2nd episode until the first episode was completely finished (I have a bad habit of not sharing my projects, and I was determined to share this one.)

     My DP (Lead actress) and I had 4 days of camera tests before our single day of principle photography. I was convinced that we could shoot the full script in one day and complete the edit as quickly as possible.

     Before that day of shooting we had done so many tests we could almost put the entire edit together with all of our test shots. I'd never done so much preparation before a shooting, and I am pleased with the results.  On the day of shooting, we knew exactly what needed to happen and how to assign different roles to move as efficiently as possible. Our crew carried out each of their tasks flawlessly.

     Episode Two is written and in the preparation process. Our crew and actors are anxious to continue filming the series and sharing our story with all of our friends and sci-fi enthusiasts!

Thanks for Everything,

Dustin

dustinj.dp@gmail.com

Shadows Teaser

Shadows. Episode I

Theater Imaginarium

New Set Directors Announced at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center. The Imaginarium.

Disclaimer: The Troubadour brings you news from all the Space Centers inspired by the original USS Voyager. Trust our news to be fair, impartial, at times confusing, and nearly accurate. We like to season our offerings with a spray of imagination to give it just the right flavor for tired eyes.

Mr. James Porter, Director of the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center in Pleasant Grove respectfully begs your attention for an important announcement. The USS Odyssey and USS Phoenix simulators have new Set Directors.  

A Set Director is responsible for his or her simulator. That responsibility includes maintenance (within reason taking into account their competence with tools and trustworthiness with electricity), story writing (within reason, taking into account their competence with the english language and political correctness), staff training (taking into account their social skills and overall general likeability).  

The following outlines Space Center management.  Something goes wrong. Mr. Porter yells at the Set Director. The Set Director yells at the flight director. The Flight Director yells at the staff. The staff yell at the volunteer. The volunteer goes home and kicks the dog. The dog bites back. The volunteer's hand grows septic with infection. Massive amounts of antibiotics are administered through a drip IV. Fifty percent of the time the hand is saved.

Let's meet the new Set Directors.

Odyssey  

Devin Sudwicks is the Grand Master of the Ancient Order of the Odyssarian Brotherhood. Natalie Anderson, a long time member of the Ancient Order, received a parchment scroll informing her that her presence was requested in the Odyssey at midnight. Arriving on time and properly cloaked, as all Odyssarians are, Natalie approached the Grand Master with the Light of Perikoi in hand.  Devin gave the international signal calling all to silence.  As they clutched the Odyssey's microphone - the chanting began. "Micro, Micro, Micro phone," the congregants mumbled audibly with reverence for the solemnity of the occasion.  Thirty chants later the right of passage was complete. Natalie Anderson was official the new Grand Mistress of the Ancient Order of the Odyssarian Brotherhood. Devin retreated into the darkness - away from the light - starting an adventure to find meaning outside a simulated life. 

 Farewell Devin. May you find what you're looking for.

Phoenix

Jordan Smith accepted a call to serve an LDS mission.  Before leaving, he recorded a short video where he passed the Phoenix microphone to his successor Jon Parker.  In the last Honor's Night (actually it was held in the morning; a fact I shouldn't need to mention were it not for a few sticklers to detail who call The Troubadour's office on a regular basis complaining that our news carries extreme exaggerations which have been known to confuse the sarcastically challenged in the community) Jon received the Phoenix microphone from digital Jordan. 

This change of directorship was unusual and unorthodox. It has never been done this way. Mr. Porter may have stepped too far from accepted norms. The Council of Space Center Norms has been notified. We are told they are considering their options and calling a meeting of the Norms to review the passing.  This conclave will pass a ruling on its legality. Until their ruling is announced, we will accept Jon Parker as the acting Phoenix Set Director.

Congratulations!  (I think)

The Imaginarium