Space Camp - DAY SIX

Today we heard from Story Musgrave, payload commander on the Hubble Space Telescope rescue mission and NASA aerospace engineer and author of Rocket Boys, Homer Hickam. They took pictures with us and autographed their books. I have become so sad to know that space travel could be over in America. It is so disheartening to hear these men speak about the demise of our space program. We were treated to the Omni movie about the history of the Hubble telescope. The pictures are so incredible. I am awestruck by the scientific knowledge it took to create it and what we have learned as a result of the mission. Tonight was our graduation. It was very emotional. We each received our diploma and wings. I am thankful to the folks at the Space Camp for giving us this

unique opportunity and for a very special gift, one free campership. Next year I will be able to send a student to space camp! We have grown individually and as a group - this experience has changed us all.

Space Camp - DAY FIVE

Oh boy - today is THE day... The helicopter rescue and the parachute zip line. There is a lot of electricity in the air this morning. After breakfast we were off to the lake. We could see the towers from afar and my stomach was in knots. As we walked closer to the lake and the "dunker/lifter" I was beginning to have doubts about the whole thing but when would I ever get this chance again? Team Kibo they called. I donned the life jacket and climbed into the helicopter fuselage. It fell into the lake, the water filled up over my head, I pushed myself out the window madly swimming to the meeting spot in the lake where we awaited the rescue helicopter. Swimming to the basket lowered in the water was no

easy task, it is hard to keep going with the jacket weighing you down and blocking some vision, Approaching the basket water was spraying in my face from the propeller and I had to hoist myself in. It was hard and scary but I eventually managed to get in. We were so proud of ourselves. Armed with some new found confidence we climbed the tower to the parachute zipline. Here you don a harness under your arms high above the lake. The counselor pushes you off and you fly backwards towards the water as if you jumped from a helicopter.  It was awesome!

 I am so proud to have gone way out of my comfort zone and accomplished this. I ask my students to take risks and I cannot wait to share this experience with them. Today I modeled what I teach - BIG TIME! Later in the day we had a lovely luncheon sponsored by our new sponsor, Target and welaunched our rockets.  My rocket took off like lightning!  Our Endeavor mission was successful to spite a fire in the cockpit which we in mission control handled like pros. Tonight we had a lovely reception with some well needed relaxation time to reconnect with each other and catch up. 

Space Camp - DAY FOUR

Today our team, Kibo, was charged with creating a mission patch. Each NASA mission designs their own patch. They are often symbolic of the participating astronauts and mission purpose. Thanks to the artistic talents of team member Franklin from Costa Rica, our patch looks great! We worked in teams to experiment with thermal protection and learned about the history of early space flight with Ed Buckbee before we were off to train for our second mission on Endeavor. This time I am in mission control - one stressful place! We toured the Davidson Center Museum filled with many artifacts including space capsules,rockets and even the vehicle that the astronauts lived in while they were quarantined after returning to Earth from the moon. It looked suspiciously like the bookmobile that used to come to my neighborhood when I was a child. Today we made and launched bottle rockets. I cannot believe how high they went - it was great fun! Later in the day we played with some toys in space and after dinner we began working on our rockets which we will launch tomorrow. Again a very exhilarating but tiring day. My plastic mattress is calling my name...

Space Camp - DAY THREE!

Tater tots, again? Oh boy, I am having major college deja vu! Our balloon launched beautifully. It was terrific to see it soaring gracefully into the hot, steamy Alabama sky. It was a great start to the day! We were off to our Mission aboard Discovery. The launch was perfect, the docking well timed. I climbed through the docking hatch and entered the Space Station to perform my experiments. To spite my constant checking of the time, I almost missed my ride back to Earth! The commander opened the hatch and bellowed my name and I crawled through just in the nick of time. After another southern lunch where I discovered that I do not like okra but quite enjoy banana pudding, it was a treat to meet Ed Buckbee, the first director of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and author of The Real Space Cowboys. He shared stories of early space travel.  Then we learned a bit of what it is like to live and travel in space. I modeled the sleeping bag astronauts wear that is velcroed to the wall so they can sleep. We learned that coke floats out of a cup and looks like bubbles in space. It separates into a fizzy half and a syrupy half so astronauts use a straw in the middle part to get a drink! Freeze dried food does not look at all appealing and using a toilet is quite an adventure. Think bulls eye! Tonight we left Space Camp for a home cooked meal at the homes of a local woman's

group - Ladies of Dumidi. I enjoyed a delicious dinner at the home of Gertrude and Max Nein.  Max , an original Rocketeer, was one of the engineers recruited by the US government from Germany after World War II. He worked on the Hubble Telescope. It was quite interesting to see some of Huntsville and to learn that the town really grew up around the NASA Marshall Space and Rocket Center.

Space Camp - DAY TWO!

One small step for Jae Goodwin... When Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon  in 1969 every child (including me) yearned to know what that really felt like. Today I had my chance to don a contraption that replicated how hard it really was. It was great fun but quite challenging. We were treated to our second guest speaker, my Framingham neighbor, Grace Corrigan. Grace shared Christa's dream for education and I must say it was humbling to listen to her. Many of us remembered exactly where we were on the day the Challenger was lost. Today we began to practice for the first of two space missions which will happen later in the week. I am a payload specialist on the Discovery. I will travel in the space shuttle and once we dock with the space station I will go there to conduct some experiments. Today we had some hands on training about flight when we created hot air balloons in teams. It was great fun. Our balloon is quite beautiful and colorful. I am hopeful that it will launch successfully tomorrow morning. Tonight after yet another meal which was designed for growing, carbohydrate loving children, we were off to see the Star Wars exhibit. How fun to see the models that were used for filming as well as the costumes. 3CPO is MUCH bigger than I thought! I am having a great time but I am exhausted. Long full days, fried food, late nights and those plastic mattresses do not result in a rested camper.

Space Camp - DAY ONE!

Yesterday I arrived in steamy Huntsville, Alabama to reunited with all my fellow TOYs. The highlight was receiving my official flight suit. It is traditional to wear your wings upside down until graduation! It was a great reunion and this morning we traveled by bus to Space Camp. I am on team Kibo! We spent most of the day in teambuilding activities and we were treated to our first guest speaker, astronaut "Hoot" Gibson. In the evening we donned our state costumes and participated in the Opening Ceremony and parade of states. Thanks to Ocean Spray, I was dolled up in a pair of waders typically used by the cranberry growers in Cape Cod. I have a new respect for those people after experiencing the weight and heat they generated. Our dinner celebration in the Galaxy Room gave this "yankee" the opportunity to taste such southern delicacies as hush puppies and collard greens. Later we gathered back at our dorms to exchange gifts with each other. Each TOY brought pins and gifts representing their state for each other. Fellow TOYS enjoyed my Craisins and Cranberry juice that Ocean Spray was kind enough to supply for me. It was great fun! One highlight was the salmon smoked in teriyaki by my friend Jackie Johnson from Alaska. Not only did she and her husband smoke it, but they caught it too!

10,9,8,7,6,5 Days to Space Camp!

Steamy Alabama days, dorm rooms with plastic twin sized mattresses?  What could make this attractive?  Space Camp!  I am getting so excited to blast off on Friday.  Stay tuned for the details of my mission...