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| Me- at spacecamp |
I've been referencing my time at Kennedy Space Center Space Camp for the past two days on facebook that I figured it must be fate. Time to share a picture that rarely sees the light of day. Yours truly, V.L. Jennings at space camp- at the top of the shuttle simulator ladder.
I will always be so thankful to the people who run that place. I was 16 then and about two years outside of the camp age requirement. We were able to call the staff and get them to allow me to attend though. That was such an awesome vacation! I enjoyed it so much that there are numerous nods to KSC in Visionary From The Stars.
Besides the shuttle mission simulator we also had a chance to try various other simulators. We got to try moon walking, simulated climbing in "nearly zero gravity" (Its amazing what some counter weights can simulate!), and I also rode the G force simulator three times. The last time I almost got sick- I kid you not!
Another of my favorite moments was riding the bus beside the launch pad crawler and watching it crush the rocks beneath its HUGE plates as it rolled up the road.
I learned so much, took TONS of notes and I believe I took 5 rolls of film worth of pictures (yes, back before digital cameras were standard). Then that fannie pack you see in the picture... Well I had my last two days of film in there and my notes and left them all behind at a gas station on the way home. EPIC FACEPALM!
We went back to get it but someone had already wandered off with it. No money inside that I remembered... just undeveloped film and a mini notepad. (Really? Who steals film?)
I do still have a copy of the Camp KSC chant that one of the program leaders was said to have written. I love that song so much that I asked them for a copy of it before the camp ended- it STILL hangs in my kitchen (yeah, I am well aware that I am a nerd).
If I can get at least 10 comments on this blog post I will take a picture of it and post it here on my blog for you all to see- 20 comments and I will even sing it for you!
Have you ever been to Kennedy Space Center? What was your favorite part of your visit?
That is pretty cool. I haven't been to the KSC, but I'd love to go - even if I am a little too old for camp. ;)
ReplyDeleteI think they have programs for families ;) At any rate- if you visit the Kennedy space center visitor complex you can also get to ride some of those simulators at the Saturn V Museum center down there ;)
DeleteI've been there twice! Tons of fun. The first time the Saturn V rocket was displayed outdoors, then they'd moved it indoors by the time I got back there. I loved looking at all the actual space craft.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen a shuttle launch, but the rest of my family has. (I was in collage, and then working the years that they went to see that :( )
I've never been to an actual launch either! That would have been Awesome!
DeleteThe thing I liked best about the Saturn V rocket display was that they had the segments pulled apart. There was one giant ring section with black boxes all around the inside that they said was the rocket's computer core- and that it had less processing power than today's calculators! O.o