Bracken Funk Returns to the Space Centering World as the Full time Assistant Director at the Renaissance Space Academy. Farpoint Gets a New Name: The Renaissance Space Academy. Posts and Pictures from the Past. September 2002. The Imaginarium.

Bracken in his native habitat, a Starship Control Room
He never likes to see me with my camera.

Bracken Funk Hired as Renaissance Space Academy's Full Time Assistant Director and Teacher on Special Assignment

     Mark Ursic, Director of Renaissance Academy in Lehi, wanted his school to have a state of the art simulator with the best experiential simulation curriculum on the market. And if the curriculum wasn't there, he wanted it created. With that goal in mind, he hired me to come in from my rocking chair retirement to direct the school's new Voyager Program. That was back in 2013. I took a sixth grade teaching position while the ship was designed and constructed. 

Bracken has been a Space Center devotee since he was 13.

     Running the starship program was part time. Working part time with me was Alex DeBirk and Isaac Ostler. It became apparent over the last two years that a small team of part timers didn't have the time to create the program envisioned for the school. A talented, driven, enthusiastic, gifted, full timer was needed. I spoke to Mr. Ursic about the need.  Without hesitation he endorsed the proposal of creating a full time simulator position.  

A very young Bracken on the original Starship Voyager

Bracken back in the day with the Red Blemish (Wyatt Lenhart)

     This summer, knowing our sixth grade was going to be inundated with nearly 100 sixth graders and knowing the time it would take to run the Young Astronauts and Voyager Clubs, I considered who we could hire to become my full time assistant. It needed to be someone who could wear many hats and effectively run the day to day operations of the Voyager.  

     I hired Bracken Funk at the start of the summer to work as a part time evening Voyager flight director. From our many conversations, I knew he was open to the idea of making a career change. An idea came to mind. I discussed it with Mr. Ursic. He gave the green light to talk to Bracken.  I spoke to Bracken and the rest is history. 

Bracken hard at work training a new young flight directors at RSA (Renaissance Space Academy)
"People rise to the level of their training"

      Bracken is in his second week at Renaissance.  Remarkable changes are afoot; new furniture for the ship, new lighting, a new server and special effects editing computer, new missions, new animations, an emphasis on Flight Director training, the adoption of Thorium controls along with Isaac Ostler's Interstellar controls, a new website, and new Thorium control features designed by Bracken and Alex Anderson: Rail Guns, Jump Engines. etc. Bracken is in and out of my classroom daily with new ideas, improvements, and best of all - accomplishments.  

Bracken has played basketball his whole life

     To top everything off, Bracken was also hired to be the public address game announcer at the Huntsman Center at the University of Utah for all Utah basketball games.   Life is good for Bracken, for the Renaissance Space Academy, and for the Space Centering world as the full potential of Bracken is unleashed.  Watch for tremendous things coming soon at the Renaissance Space Academy.  

Bracken has been unleashed.  Watch out Space Centering World.....

Mr. Williamson 

Farpoint is Now the Renaissance Space Academy

      Renaissance Academy is pleased to announce the appointment of Bracken Funk as a full time Teacher on Special Assignment in the Starship Voyager.  Bracken will be responsible for the day to day running of the experiential education program with an emphasis on creating an engaging, curriculum driven, school day flight program for the school's 800 students.  Working with the new simulator controls and lessons soon to be released by our sponsors at InfiniD Learning,  our new Space Academy will strive to become a showcase for simulator based learning in Utah.  
     Bracken's first suggestion was to rename the center.  Farpoint is the name of the science fiction universe created by myself and Ryan Anderson at Telos.  Bracken thought it best to separate the name of the center from the universe name.  With the success of the Center's Young Astronaut and Voyager program, and it's emphasis on academics and starship missions, the word "Academy" was more descriptive of our mission - hence the new name Renaissance Space Academy.

     With the Center's new name comes a new website.  Give it a look   SpaceCampUtah.org.  
     

Mr. Williamson

From the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center's Archives.  The Space Center Journal
In Today's Post:
The School Year is Off to a Great Start.  The Worst Times of the Year to be a Space Center Director. Working to Have an Outstanding Curriculum for the Year.  The Lesson is In The Groove. Out Dedicated Field Trip Staff. Lorraine Receives Her 10 Year Pin. James and Stephen Porter Resign.  Alex DeBirk Becomes First 5 Bar Ranger. First Green Shirts Make an Appearance. Rio Downs Becomes a Holder of the Silver Chalice of Zod. The School Year's Overnight Camp Missions.
Josh Webb Retires. Brady Young Promoted.

September 9, 2002

Hello Troops,
     A few weeks have passed since an entry to our Space Center Journal was posted. That, regrettably, was my fault. There are two times a year being the  Director of the Space Center is a 24/7 occupation. The first is April to June and the second falls between August and October. The first "rush" is due to the upcoming summer camp season. Registrations, mission writing, scheduling, etc causes hours of lost sleep. The second is the beginning of 
the school year. Lessons, flights, staffing, are once again the cause.  I'm currently in the second season. The past few weeks have been busy – a word that doesn't adequately define the state the Center has been in. Things are coming together and an end to the "busy" season is drawing nigh. Several people must be thanked for their contribution.

The Galileo Crew
3 Day Overnight Camp
July 6, 2007

     Jennifer Remy has been instrumental in writing the curriculum. The lessons and briefings will be placed on a CD-Rom, a first for the Center. Jennifer's goal is to take our curriculum and create a professional presentation. I'm determined our Center will make a name for itself both in our outstanding missions and in our curriculum. My goal, along with our teachers, is to strengthen our commitment to the sciences without loosing our specialty of  
folding science fiction and the humanities together, drawing on the strengths of both to motivate students to study space and science. 

The Phoenix First Officer.  The First Officer Station had a real telephone.
July 6, 2007

     Lorraine Houston, Fred Olsen, and Aleta Clegg are preparing to teach the curriculum. Lorraine taught the lesson a few times last week and reported "success". Success is defined as the afternoon class giving her 80% of their attention while at the same time being distracted by the sounds from the Odyssey. Aleta starts teaching on Monday. Lorraine gave me the good news on Friday that she has officially "dropped into the groove". That means the Lesson is done, taught to the point that she can do it easily, and flows smoothly. I love to hear that things are "in the groove". 

In the Original Galileo.  July 6, 2007.
Yes, that is an old Mac Clamshell laptop.  Lightweight and reliable

     A special thanks to Matt Long, Soren Seibach, and David Merrell for their Stazi Hypercard stacks. 
     Thank you to our OUTSTANDING interns and employees. Rio Downs joins us this year on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Chris Call is running the Odyssey's version of Stazi. The Galileo will be directed by Matt Long, Alex DeBirk, and Julie Collette. They, as always, will be under the supervision of the Galileo Set Director, Kyle Herring. Our other Interns are: A.J. , Landon, Metta, Josh Babb. 

A second generation IMac.
Galileo. July 6, 2007

     A Thank You to Bill Schuler and Chris Call for the videotapes that accompany the mission stories. And of course, the maintenance of the simulators and technology are covered by Kyle Herring.

The Odyssey Captain Readies for Launch
3 Day Camp. July 2007

     Well Troops, we have opened. The year is off to a good start. We started the flights with our very own Central Elementary School's fifth and sixth graders. They always come first so we can correct any problems in the lesson and missions. This week we continue with Sharon and Sunset View Elementary Schools. 

The Odyssey's lighting Control Panel inside the ship to the left of the Captain's chair.

     Since the last Journal we celebrated our staff during the Honor's Night of September 14. Several volunteers were advanced. Lorraine Houston received her ten-year service pin. James Porter officially retired. Steven Porter was presented a gift from the staff and officially placed on leave for his mission. We also created our first Five Bar Ranger – Alex DeBirk. He has been certified a Flight Director for the Galileo. All first year flight directors are 
automatically promoted to that level. Green Shirts are reserved for Set Directors and Space Center teachers. Rio Downs was awarded the Silver Chalice of Zod for her dedication to our customers and her team building spirit with the staff. 

The Magellan's Admiral
July 2007

     We are finally finished with all summer programs with the completion of this last overnight camp. The first overnight camp of October starts the school year season with the gifted class from Lindon Elementary School. We are running the following missions this season:

      1. Voyager: Mercy Strike, Shadows, Greenpeace, and Canada. (I'll be mixing 
          them up a bit so I don't forget them.
      2. Magellan: Battleship Potempkin.
      3. Odyssey: Masquerade.
      4. Galileo: Mercy Strike and Maximus.
      5. Falcon: The Helix Nebula.

One of the three Magellan crews on the 3 day camp.
July 2007

     Josh Webb completed his last overnight mission on Saturday. Josh is retired from the Space Center. He is preparing to leave for an LDS mission on October 30th. Josh just started his ninth year at the Center. He began as a fifth grader in September 1993. Josh did an outstanding job as my Supervisor in the Voyager for the last couple of years. Brady Young will be taking his place as Supervisor. 

The Odyssey Captain issuing orders from the front section.
July 2007

     Josh will be "officially" retired during Honor's Night on October 24th. Please mark your calendar and plan on attending. Always check the YahooGroup calendar for any changes and updates. I'll have more to say about Josh at Honor's Night. 

The Odyssey in Flight
July 2007

     We are in my favorite time of year. I enjoy the cool temperatures and the fall colors. I enjoy football season and the feel in the air as a new school year starts. I want to wish all of you a good year. Work hard in your studies. Make the right decisions always without regard to whether they are the popular ones or not. 

Best Wishes,
Mr. Williamson

The Odyssey's Engineer Peering Out from the Engineering Pod
July 2007

The Imaginarium

Lindsey Hatch Sem-Retires. Is She the Last Christinite or Will There Be Another? Post from the Past: Magellan Floods. Gym Floods. James and Stephen Porter Retire. Dark Overnight Camp Dreams. Theater Imaginarium.

Lindsey's last mission on the Galileo.
There has never been a more positive, upbeat, and happy person to darken the Space Center's door.
"Mr. Williamson, what's the highlight of your day so far?" was her endearing greeting.

The Christa McAuliffe Space Center's Lindsey Hatch Semi-Retires. Utah State University Calls and She Must Answer

     The Space Center is still the second happiest place on Earth even though one of its finest, and happiest, rays of sunshine has semi-retired.  Lindsey Hatch's last duty as a Space Center employee was to flight director the Galileo's 5 hour mission on September 11.  I stopped by to celebrate the occasion with cupcakes.  "Mr. Williamson, what's the highlight of your day so far?" was her greeting when she saw me poke my head around the Galileo's FD barrier in the cafeteria. 
     "Seeing you of course," was my pre-determined reply.  What else could I say?  
     Lindsey is genetically programmed to be happy. It's in her nature to see the positive in all situations. She can turn any dark day into something bearable if not enjoyable.  She is talented, enthusiastic, energetic and helpful - ready to accept nearly any task.  She is one in a million.  

Christine
A Happy Person

     If I didn't know better, I'd say that Lindsey is a closeted Christinite. Defined as a follower of the happiest person ever in Space Center history - Christine Grosland, now Christine Smith.  I'm thinking Christine secretly accepted Lindsey as her padowan to ensure a constant, steady, and reliable counter force to the mischievous Fortuna and the darkness that spews from her persona when the Space Center is in her crosshairs.  
     The Space Centering community wishes Lindsey the very best as she starts her studies at Utah State University in Logan.  Now, we must hope and pray that Christine has another chosen one to dispel the approaching darkness.

Mr. Williamson

Lindsey's Goodbye Email

Mr. Williamson,

     Six years ago, I don't think I ever would have imagined how much I'd fall in love with ships, the people, the memories, and the Discipline of Wonder. Even just a year ago? I don't think I would have ever imagined that I would be leaving so soon. Thank you for creating something so beautifully wonderful. 

     I've grown a lot as I've lost myself in each of the ships. I have had the ride of my life and I have loved every moment. I'll never forget the wonderful moments I've had. Now, I can't wait to see what adventures life has in store. Keep in touch! And thank you for starting this all. Sometimes I don't think that you get many shoutouts, so here is one more: Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr. Williamson! You truly started something incredible!

-

Lindsey

Finally, This was the volunteer application Lindsey's sent to me back in the day. 

My name is Lindsey Hatch, and I am VERY interested in becoming a volunteer at the Space Center. As a young girl I always dreamed of coming and working there. I am twelve and just got out of the sixth grade. Throughout the year I worked in our school library. I was given the opportunity from the librarian because she saw me as a responsible girl who she knew could get the job done. When I started volunteering I had NO experience whatsoever with the software. By the end of the year I preformed the inventory of the books and worked on changing large portions of the library’s barcodes. With this experience I have learned how to operate large amounts of the Alexandria Librarian program. Although I may not have as much computer experience as other candidates for a position at the Space Center, I have been in the A.L.L. program two years and have made it into the ACAD and the accelerated math programs for junior high. I am a very quick learner and can grasp onto concepts easier than most. This past year I was also on the student council. I always volunteered to do the tasks that I knew that no one else would want to do, whether it was because how much time it took or how “un-fun” the task seemed. This included taking jobs at student run activities that required taking on two different jobs. Or when we went over to a special needs school to help out. I usually worked with one of three of the students there, a boy who used a walker and could only grunt, a boy who liked to chew on his thumb and then kiss whoever was working with him, or a boy that at a certain trigger would get mad and hit hard and then run out of the class room. I grew to love all of the kids I helped out with. My school class could often get tense. I took it on as a goal to try to make those who would get at each other to get along. How I did this was trying to make the environment a more fun place.  

Often I organized weekly activities for everyone to participate in. the most consistent of these were Granny Sweater Wednesdays and Spirit Clothes Fridays. On these days the class was tons more serene. There were less fights and less drama. We were just like one big, happy, non fighting family. We were unified. Even some of those who, at first rolled their eyes at the idea of some of our class holidays became full-fudged enthusiasts. With the help of those activities I planned some of those kids made true friends I LOVE public speaking and other forms of acting. This year our class put on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I played the role of Nick Bottom, the first girl to ever do it. Last year, our class put on Macbeth my original role was one of the witches. However, the boy who played Macduff announced the night before performance that he wasn’t going to be there. Our teacher gave me the lines that night, and I preformed both roles throughout the next day. At that same time I was in the only school play our school has ever had. I played one of three narrators that posed as civilians throughout the play. I have gone on to finals on school wide story telling festivals through grade school, competing against older kids.  

When I tell stories I try to find really obscure characters that really have to get a little creative with to make the story work, my favorite thing to do while getting a story ready is to spend hours to get the voices just right. Since I tell stories a lot, I can quickly make a voice for characters in books while I am reading aloud in school during reading groups, there are times I’m not satisfied with voice, in that case every time I read as that character, I tweak it until satisfied. I can also sustain the voices; there have been days were I was dared to speak a certain way when just talking to my friends and when I wasn’t talking to a teacher.  I have also done several summer productions with the American Fork Youth Theatre, including Honk! Jr. and Cinderella. In these productions we not only worked on those plays, we also went to acting workshops. During school we also play a game where we are given a role and we try to play it out in the most creative way, which is usually all that I would play when I wasn’t working in the school library. If you are interested in having me volunteering, contact me at (801) ******** e-mail me at *************** or, you can mail me at ******** American Fork, Utah 84003.

48 Hour Campers Arrive for their EdVenture at the CMSEC.
July 2007

Space Center Archives:  Posts from the Past
The Downpour: Power outages, Magellan Floods. The Gym Floods. James and Stephen Porter Retire. Alex DeBirk's First Overnight Camp as Flight Director. 
People Mentioned:  Kyle Herring, Josh Webb, Alex Debirk, Matt Long, James Porter, Stephan Porter, Soren Seibach, Rick Cowdell, Rio Downs.
September 8, 2002

Greeting and Salutations from the Front Lines!

     Are We Enjoying this Rain?
     You won't find a happier person in the intermountain west right now than Mr. Williamson. Many of you that know me well understand my appreciation and adoration for the darker side of life. When I say "darker", I don't mean a life of sin and anti-social behavior. I also do not refer to a lifestyle among those who dress in the neo-gothic style. I'm not one that rushes home at night to quickly shed the clothing of a respectable Utah school teacher and replace it with black boots, black pants, black shirt, silver chains, and a black long 
overcoat. No, no, no........ 

Lots of Smiles at the Start of the 3 Day EdVenture Camp
July 2007

     When I say "dark" I refer to weather. I live for the darker side of weather. My description of a great day is rainy and gloom. While others sit inside wrapped in woolen blankets, I'm on my deck with diet coke in hand bathing in the view of mountains draped by layers of gray cloud. I smile thinking the sun will be hidden all day. My mood brightens the darker and stormier it gets. The thick clouds to people like me are layers of blankets covering the sky. To us, the smell of rain is far better than a flowering rose.  Yes, this weekend was a prayed for gift for those of us that proudly call ourselves "Gloomers" . You "Sunners" will never understand. Come on fellow Gloomers. Let your voices be heard.
     There Magellan staff and volunteers didn't appreciate the rain this weekend on the Friday night overnight camp. The Magellan's control room was badly leaking in the downpour. Central's roof doesn't drain very well. The leaks were caused by holes put into the roof to run the air hose for the Magellan's sliding doors separating the Situation Room to the 
Bridge.  Kyle Herring was called at once. His boat arrived a few hours later and the problem was solved - at least so we thought until the next cloud buster came through. The liquid sunshine dripped in just as the overnight was starting. 

A Phoenix Officer ready for his mission.
July 2007

     The rain was accompanied by a brief power loss. The simulators lost their power momentarily. This caused the Magellan's delicate network to crash. The campers were brought into the building early.  What kind of caring camp would we be if we made our campers and parents wait outside in the pouring rain? 
     This weekend's camp was considered jinxed by many of us.  I told everyone to move to their loading stations and started for the gym. Rick came rushing in saying the gym 
roof was leaking. I picked up my pace and found a steady stream of water pouring in from around on of the swamp coolers in the ceiling. "Well," I thought. "We will finally get that Space Center swimming pool I've always dreamt of." 

Starship Voyager Security getting their final instructions on their first mission of the EdVenture Camp
July 2007

     So... there we were, campers needing a place to gather, leaking roof, growing puddles, phasers going off. What else was there to worry about? MY HOUSE! In really heavy downpours sometimes water gets into one of my basement window wells. The water 
builds up and then leaks into the basement through the window. No one was home. I sent Josh Webb off in a hurry to my house to check on the water situation. He called and said the water was building up and was beginning to leak into the house. Good Ole Josh did what any good employee would do sensing his boss was in trouble. He jumped into the window well with bucket in hand and bailed out the water. The leak stopped. The basement was saved. Of course, I also needed him at the Center. I asked him if the pump in the well was working. He said no. He went to check on the circuit breaker and found it had tripped. He reset the breaker and the window well pump came on. The water receded. 
     The overnight mission went ahead without further problems. I want to thank Josh for the extra effort. I also want to thank Kyle Herring for not only working on the school's roof but also for mopping the water up off the gym floor at the beginning of the camp.
     After all of that, I still enjoy this weather and rain.

The Magellan Crew. First Rotation Mission
July 2007

     We had a good group of kids on the overnight mission. The boys went to bed without a problem. The staff was great. Mercy Strike was successful. No complaints from any campers about any of the simulators or stories. We were a bit overcrowded. Instead of 42 campers the 4H sent 45. We also had a few extra staff on hand. I was woken up once by Clint, one of our Pioneer helpers. He was sleep talking. I asked him what he was dreaming after he woke up on Saturday Morning. "I had a dream about owning and driving an Ice Cream Truck and crashing it into everybody," he said.  
       You can get some pretty funky dreams at the Space Center. Some of my weirdest 
have been there. I think it has to do with our method of operation. We are totally involved in running a heavily dramatic interactive experience up to 11:00 P.M. and by midnight we are in bed. There isn't a lot of rest between the drama and bed time so our brains use sleep as a way of decompressing from the missions and storing the information in neat little memory pockets. Does anyone else have weird dreams on the Friday night of an overnighter? 

The Galileo's spiked "kool-aid" for their summer mission
July 2007

     We are getting ready for a very busy Honor's Program next Saturday afternoon. Several Honors will be given. Patches will be awarded along with Ranger Bars, pillow cases, and blankets. We will retire James Porter as he heads north to college. We will bid Bon Voyage  to Stephen Porter who will be leaving on a mission. By the way, this week's overnighter will be Stephen's last before leaving. Everyone please plan on coming Saturday to say goodbye to the Porters. They both were dedicated Space Center volunteers , employees, 
and friends. 
     Some news from the Ships. The Magellan has a new Red Alert light track and the Galileo has new speakers and subwoofer. The sound is pretty good for a little ship. The Galileo's older speakers are being installed in the Situation Room (Discovery Room) to jazz up the sound system from the video projector. 
     The Galileo overnight mission was directed by Alex DeBirk (with Kyle on hand to assist and supervise). Congratulations Alex on your first overnight mission as a Flight Director. 
     The school year program is almost ready. Jennifer Remy is putting the finishing touches on the curriculum. Matt Long is getting the stacks ready. Soren Seibach and Stephen Porter are doing the science stack. I'm ready to start booking kids for overnighters and classes. The school year flyer should reach the schools this week. 

It's the traditional snack before bed time for our 42 overnight campers.
11:10 P.M.
July 2007

     I'm excited to announce that Rio Downs will be joining us on Monday's, Wednesdays, and Fridays at the Space Center for the morning field trip. 
     This week I start training the new crop of 5th and 6th grade junior staff from Central. I'll have the interns help with that. 
     I think that is all from the trenches. Be good troops and remember out 
new grade policy. YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY GRADE BELOW A "C" THIS SCHOOL 
YEAR AND STILL VOLUNTEER. THAT MEANS A "C-" PUTS YOU OUT OF 
COMMISSION, OR AT LEAST ON PROBATION, FOR A SEMESTER. TRACK YOUR 
GRADES AND REPAIR ANY DAMAGE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. 

As always all the best to you and yours.

Mr. Williamson

Imaginarium Theater
The Best Gifs from Around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience

My Classroom Tardis Materialized Between My Room and the Chinese Classroom. What They Say About My Driving Skills is Correct. Where are They Now: Matt Long. See His New Warehouse, Impressive. Space News. Theater Imaginarium.

     The Tardis didn't materialize correctly when I returned to my classroom after a sprint around the solar system one last time before the start of this new school year.  I don't know what went wrong. My coordinates were correct, as far as I could tell. Room 204, Renaissance Academy, Lehi, Utah, United States, Earth.  I'm lucky I wasn't standing near the opening.
      After checking my owners manual and discovering my Tardis warranty expired three years ago, I decided to say goodbye to my classroom police box save for the front door and the roof call light.  Repairs on a Tardis run more than my finances can manage.  The last time I checked, a Police Box Tardis, complete with an Astron Energy PU and an ACME Time Vortox Modulator would run 1.5 galactic credits.  You see my point?
     The upside, look at the extra room I'll have.  The sixth grade at Renaissance Academy adopted a middle school model and schedule this upcoming year. I'll have 90 plus students throughout the day in six periods so the extra room will be welcome.  Mrs. Moss, my outstanding para-educator, will be thrilled.  She sat next to the full scale Tardis for five years with little room to breath. Now she can luxuriate her time away with plenty of leg room.
     The good news, there are three other cardboard Tardis panels from the original Tardis stored in my room wanting a new home. You can do what I did in my classroom - put the panel up against the wall with the Police Box sign above. Contact me if you're a Dr. Who fan with an interest in adopting a panel.     
     
 Where Are they Now:  Matthew Long Opens a New Location for Underfunded Films.

Matt's new office at Underfunded Films

      I stopped by Matt Long's new office and warehouse in American Fork on Friday.  He and his wife Melanie were hosting an open house for his company's new location.  Impressed doesn't sum up what I saw. I knew Matt was a film lover having worked with him at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center over many many years.  He made a few excellent space themed shorts, including a Star Wars tribute film we played for our summer campers on swimming night.  I also knew Matt was the founder of the Underfunded Film Festival which recently merged with FilmQuest and the Utah Film Awards.  The Festival's mantra has been to promote both amateur and professional, independent films to prove that you don't need to have a Hollywood budget to make a great film.  I also knew Matt had a large inventory of film equipment he'd rent out to film productions.  He ran the business out of his garage in American Fork.
     What I didn't know was just how big his garage business had become.  I found out on Friday. 

Matt moving equipment for the open house

     Welcome to the new home of Underfunded Films (UFP) in American Fork just down the street from Carl's Jr. right off the freeway.  

     Now you see what I mean when I say he has one of the largest collections of rentable film equipment in Utah.  If you're making a film and need equipment, UFP is the place to go.

     Just this cart you see Matt sitting on would run you $100,000 to purchase.  That's why film makers rent the large equipment they need.  

Matt working on his new Magellan controls in the Magellan control room. Jon is impressed.

  

     This is how many of you remember Matt.  Matt was our programming master at the Space Center for several years.  He programmed the current controls still used on the Magellan and Voyager simulators.  As a younger high school student, Matt programmed in Hypercard and worked on the original Voyager's controls among others.  
     Space Centering runs in Matt's blood. He build his own starship in his basement as a youngster. 

Matt (second from the right) as a young Blue Shirt outside the Odyssey.

     Today Matt and Melanie are the parents of four delightful children.  Melanie works as a nurse at Utah Valley Hospital and Matt got to quit his programming job to run UFP full time.  Melanie is overjoyed to have her garage back. 

      Matt made sure I didn't leave empty handed.  Free t-shirts for all!

      And one final comment.  I knew Matt was cool, but not this cool.  Look at this piece of original art work hanging behind his desk.  It's a young Dr. Who.  A stop to enjoy this little sprite of a picture is well worth a visit to UFP in American Fork even if you're not renting any equipment.  
     By the way, without even resorting to arm twisting, Matt and Melanie happily consented to host the next Sandwich Club in the Fall.  More news to follow.  Keep reading The Troubadour. 

Space News
By Mark Daymont
SpaceRubble.blogspot.com

 Russian Cosmonauts go for a Walk

Cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev releases a tiny nano-satellite into space. NASA TV.

     On Wednesday August 15, Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Oleg Artemeyev opened the hatch on the Pirs module just after midnight and stayed out for over seven hours. They completed the tasks of installing the German-made Icarus experiment outside the Pirs module, and also hand-launched four nano-satellites that had been built by Russian science students. 

     The Icarus experiment will track the migrations and movements of animals that have been tagged with tiny transmitters. Scientists will study how animal populations have modified their migrations and movements while encountering changes in their environments.

 Artemyev, left, and Prokopyev in a practice for the upcoming spacewalk. Credit: Roscosmos.

   This was Artemyev's third spacewalk, and the first EVA for Prokopyev. The next ISS spacewalk will be in September.  


Imaginarium Theater
The Best Gifs of the Week Edited for a Gentler Audience