Sam had been on three Shuttle missions (STS 38, 48 & 62). He gave us a very informative talk on what it is like to be an astronaut, both good and bad. I am not sure I would like to undergo some of the medical experiments!
Sam had been on three Shuttle missions (STS 38, 48 & 62). He gave us a very
informative talk on what it is like to be an astronaut, both good and bad. I am
not sure I would like to undergo some of the medical experiments!
More like a medieval torture device, the MAT was originally used to test the astronauts ability to gain control of a tumbling space craft. They had two levers in which to control the spinning rings, which are turning you in all axis's at once. The astronauts usually only gained control for a few seconds before loosing control again.
Getting strapped in
The trainer with a wicked grin on his face
A few revolutions of this device and you are totally disorientated.
I came off of this device a lovely shade of green!!!!!!
A lot more fun than the MAT. You are strapped into a harness and counterweighted, so that you are in affect weightless. You can then careen up and down the wall with very little effort. Psychologically though, I found it very difficult to let go wall even though I knew I would not fall.
This was even more fun than the Zero-G Wall. Essentially this is like an overgrown baby bouncer. Counterbalanced so that you only weigh 1/6th your normal weight (as you would on the moon) this was used to give astronauts experience of trying to walk under these conditions (not as easy as it sounds). The slightest movement sends you flying off in random directions. After mastering the basic movements we were given the task of trying to pick our passes off of the floor.
Having been winched up onto tiptoes, my voice became very high pitched.
Learning to walk.
Trying to pick the pass from the floor.
This proved very difficult, as you
bounced up before you had a good
chance to grab the pass.
All of the photos above were taken by Glenn Curtis.
The finale of the day was a simulated shuttle mission to the
International Space Station. We were split into two groups, one to man the
Shuttle simulator, and the other group to act as Mission Control. All positions
were selected using a lottery for fairness, and luckily I was selected a Shuttle
Pilot. The most coveted position was Shuttle Commander, as that person gets to
land the shuttle.
All of the photos below were taken by Jeff Spencer
Shuttle simulator.
Mission Control Centre
Mission Control Consoles
You're not supposed to be having fun, this is a serious mission!!!!
The shuttle cockpit during the mission.
I am busy reading a 40 page manual on how to fly the shuttle.
We successfully docked with the Space Station, and our two mission specialists, had to leave via the air lock for a space walk using the Zero-G Wall, where they had to attempt a simple construction job. Our Commander had a slight altercation with Mission Control when they ordered us to return before our mission specialists were back on board. They told us to return anyway. Luckily they got back before we actually landed. The Commander did a good job of bringing us down, successfully landing us on the runway, but unfortunately collapsing the nose wheel in the process.
This was a brilliant day, which I would thoroughly recommend it, if you are interested in NASA and the Space Programme.
For more details of ATX Experience, please go to the link below
:-
http://www.store.yahoo.com/kennedyspacecenter/atx.html
© Andrew Grasemann
All photos are copyright to Andrew Grasemann (unless otherwise
stated) and are for personal use only.