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Published: July 23rd 2010
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Space Walking
building that structure. notice my foot hooked on the structure to keep myself grounded I finally added some pictures to yesterday's blog, so take a look if you have a chance.
This morning we got to "sleep in" and had breakfast at 8AM instead of 730. It was a much needed extra 30 minutes of sleep. After breakfast we headed to the auditorium for a presentation on the future of NASA. As the shuttle program is being shutdown after only 2 or 3 more flights, NASA will begin to focus more on robotics. NASA is still hoping for a consideration to continue the shuttle program, but with budgets the way they are, that remains to be seen. It was very interesting to learn about the robotics programs that will begin to take place on the moon starting in the next few years. After that we attended a class called "Toys In Space" where we watched some astronaut videos on how toys actually respond in micro-gravity. It was pretty neat & they we got to make some of the toys ourselves.
After the toys we headed outside to launch the air rockets we made back on the 1st day. It was super exciting & our rockets soared. It was crazy hot though, as the
Space Walk
chris and i putting working to build the structure heat index went over 100. After lunch, we had the amazing opportunity to meet astronaut, Hoot Gibson. You may actually know Hoot from a very famous photo he took. Hoot was the commander that flew the Russian cosmonauts out to the Mir space station and shook hands with the commander in charge up there. That was the moment when el presidente officially announced the "end of the cold war." Hoot had some great stories, took pics with us & even signed some postcards. (The postcard he signed for me is actually a picture that HE TOOK in space. He's not in it, but he snapped the picture.)
After Hoot's great talk we had to race back to the main building for our Atlantis Mission. WOOHOO! We had a great time during "launch" and once in the air, Chris (the other mission specialist) and I had some tricks up our sleeves. First, there is a video camera in the orbiter so that our team members playing roles in mission control can see what's happening (you can see pics of that in the day 2 post). Well, Chris and I planned ahead and brought some fishing line with us so that
easy up
it was super easy to get up but not so easy to get down. took a lot of upper body strength to "climb" down we could string random objects up to look like they were floating in the orbiter. We hung a pen, a small notebook and a piece of twizzler. At one point we hung and key and joked around that they commander had lost the key to the ship. Silly, I know, but we entertained ourselves and (as we heard lots of laughter in our headsets) it appears we entertained mission control, too.
Once we were in simulated orbit, Chris and I got to leave the ship and do a "Space Walk." You'll see lots of pics of us in a buoyancy seat which simulates micro-gravity. Basically, there is water on the other side that equals our weight, making it feel like a micro-gravity environment. We then had to build a structure using nodes and struts. It was so difficulty to stay down and still as my body wanted to continually float up. It was SUPER FUN. This is exactly why kids want to go to space camp. It was so hot in the suits even though we were wearing ice packs underneath. Wow, what an experience. After returning to the orbiter, our commander, Stacy safely landed us on the ground
micro gravity race
chris and i racing to the top and the simulation was over. It was FANTASTIC!!!
After our dinner tonight we were supposed to return to the dorms for some rest, then go back outside at 9PM for some telescope time. Well, the woman that brings the high powered telescopes and does the presentation was ill, so that was canceled. I was disappointed, but happy for the rest time. So, instead of cafeteria dinner, a bunch of us went out to dinner together instead. In total, we had about 15 people. It was a nice time to hangout with all our new friends.
Tomorrow is the last day of space camp. I just can't believe it. It has gone by so quickly. I do look forward to sleeping in my own bed at home, but will miss all of the amazing new experiences I've had here & people I've met. I'll post more tomorrow night after graduation.
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Mom
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All I can say is WOW Kim! So exciting and impressive and I'm so happy for you it brings tears to my eyes......xoxoxo