We’re just north of a week now since the 2nd annual Space Camp Hall of Fame happened. Whew! Time moves fast!

Before we get too far away from that momentous evening, I want to make sure I cover a few things:

First, thanks again to everyone at the Space & Rocket Center that did such a wonderful job putting on a fantastic show. I some of you worked on almost nothing else for months straight and it showed. My family, who would have been quick to criticize, thought it was an absolutely first-class operation and they had a great time!

I want to thank Al Whitaker and his media guys as the introduction videos they put together were very well done. The scripts were well written and the materials well utilized. I was very impressed with all of them.

Holley Gautney was my primary point of contact for all Hall-of-Fame related questions, comments, and issues. She was always prompt with responses and very helpful. Thanks for all of the help!

My fellow inductees...you’re all class acts and I’m truly proud to have been part of that evening with you all.

Again, I think it was great that they broadcast it on the internet. But given the short notice with which they did it, a lot of people probably didn’t get to see it that otherwise would have loved to have watched!

Given that, I hope the whole think will be made available shortly. Even more importantly, since not everyone will want to sit and watch the while thing from start to finish, I hope that Space Camp cuts it up and puts all of the clips on YouTube for quick and easy browsing.

Like I said above, the introduction videos were all so well done, and everyone gave great speeches (well, the others did, anyway). But I can’t say I remember a great deal of them at this point. Between the lack of sleep that weekend and the general anxiety of the evening, I really only remember bits and pieces. I don’t even remember what I said (though that might be a good thing)! It would be nice to be able to pull the clips up.

...From last year too.

Not too long ago, the question was brought up on the HabForum, what ever happened to that poster?

First, a brief history.

Five years ago, I ran a little contest for visitors to the site.

Benji ended up winning a shiny new copy of SpaceCamp the movie and an STS-107 Memorial Lapel Pin. Yes, Hab1 is a generous place!

At any rate, Benji took it upon himself to collect funding from HabForum members to have a rather large poster printed up.

This is the result after a few early signatures:



Not bad at all!

The poster stayed at Space Camp, safe and sound, passing between a few counselors for safe keeping. Those on this site knew about it and usually knew how to find it. And so, during their week at camp, they would seek it out and sign it.

When I arrived in the Summer of 2004, I was able to take possession of this poster, and it has been with me ever since!

Back to present day, a number of signatures have collected upon it from many, many campers!

Here it is in its present day incarnation:



Quite a difference!

And so if you’re coming to Camp, be sure to let me know. I’ll get the poster there for you to sign.

And that’s what happened to the poster!

Thanks to Matthew Danner, the HabFiles section has received an update!

A book was produced and given out to international Space Camp licensees. It's a very nice artifact. It has some rarely seen photos of now defunct Space Camps as well as listings of some that were not meant to be. Quite a find!

Also, pay particular attention to Page 20. Recognize the former First Kid?

Check it out! And enjoy!

I know it's been a little while since the HabFiles section has seen an update, but it's my hope that this one will make it seem like the wait was worth it.

Present now in the HabFiles section is a article from Space World magazine that was published in February of 1983. Space Camp only had one year of campers under its belt!

Head on over and check it out.

From the article:

The 1983 camp will take the program another step further. Last year, much of the in-house activities took place in a renovated refreshment stand. This year as many as 150 campers and four on-site camp instructors will be housed in the basement of a12,500 square-foot pavilion brought from the Knoxville World's Fair.

The article then goes on to break out day-by-day activities during Space Camp circa 1983!

Enjoy!

Welcome to the third revision of Hab1.com! With such a momentous occasion as the 25th Anniversary of Space Camp, I thought the site could do to have a few more pretties on it!

This is (more-or-less) the third revision of the site! I hope everyone enjoys the new look and feel!

For a quick history lesson, version one of the site ran from 2001 to 2005 (going through a few minor changes along the way) while version two lasted from May 2005 until now.

I think this is the best version yet! And yet, I hope this is only a temporary release to get through the next few years as I work on revision four. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

As you can no doubt see, things look a bit different around here.

There are all kinds of new, shiny things around here.

It is my hope that you enjoy this version of the site very much!

Thank you for visiting.

--Vincent Vazzo

After a three year absence from Huntsville, and nearly seven years after attending my last Space Camp, I shall be attending the alumni Adult Space Academy session this June!

...And then I'll do it again seven weeks later!

That's right! I'm going to get to attend both alumni sessions!

And I hope many of you will be able to attend one of the dates as well!

...More to come! I just had to share my joy!

Thanks to SpaceCanada, the HabFiles section of the site has a new Space Camp article!

From the book, Science Year 1991, we have here a pretty lengthly and in-depth article with quite a few nice photos!

The shot of how the TCF looked circa 1990 is especially nice, as is the mention of a conversation between Wernher von Braun and Ed Buckbee, von Braun conveying his idea for Space Camp to Buckbee.

Wow, it's amazing how fast time flies when you're at work for 5-7 days per week!

Things have finally settled down and boy have I missed some things!

First, I've made links in the Programs section to the write-ups that SpaceCanada has been so kinds to do thus far! I think they provide great overviews of the programs for those that haven't yet had the privilege of going to Space Camp!

I thank her very much for these fine contributions to this site!

Also, the rumors were true: Space Camp has redesigned their website. Personally, I think the old version was a bit shinier, but this one is nice too.

Hab1.com will be unavailable on January 16, 2006 between the hours of 2am and 8am EST.

Just a heads up. If you're trying to get a Space Camp fix well into the wee hours of the 16th, don't panic if you can't reach this site!

If you're here, that must mean that hab1.com is now pointing to its new home!

Either that, or you just got here (for the time being) by going to hab1.vazzo.com

Either way, welcome! I even think I got all of the bugs worked out! How about that?!

Enjoy!

I've updated the HabFiles Section with another issue of Starlog Magazine. This issue is from July of 1986 and features not one but two Space Camp articles! The first article is an account of a trip to Space Camp. It even has some (bad) photos of the old TCF!. The second article is about the movie, SpaceCamp. Enjoy!

Though the weather where I'm at may currently be wonderful for November, it is indeed Spring. And because it's Spring, I thought I should do a little cleaning.

Specifically, I'm going to remove any HabForum accounts which have not been activated on May 1. I understand that occasionally activation emails do not make it to their destination, so if you want to activate your account but have deleted or never got your activation email, send me an email with your username and I'll activate your account.

Additionally, I am considering removing accounts which have never posted, so if you've registered for and activated your account, but have yet to post anything, why not stop in and say hello?

Finally, if your email address has changed since you registered, why not update it?

April Fool's day has come and gone. You can once again believe what I post!

..But I was amused (and touched) at all of the people who responded thinking I was serious!

Four years ago, I founded this website as a place for Space Campers--past, present, and future ones--to have a place to call their own on the internet.

And while running this site and meeting so many of its visitors over the years has been an incredibly rewarding experience, having attended five sessions of U.S. Space Camp programs, as well worked as a counselor over an entire summer, I feel I have nothing left to accomplish with what has been such a wonderful experience.

Though truly a great thing in this world, Space Camp has, over the years, gone from one of my interests to a true obsession. Reflecting upon this and my achievements at/for Space Camp, I have decided to bring Hab1.com to its end.

This is a decision I have not come to lightly, but the time and financial obligations have steadily risen recent years, and I no longer have the energy to put into this site what it takes to make a site great enough to properly reflect how incredible Space Camp is.

So while my server bills are paid up until the end of this month, afterwards, it will be time to say goodbye.

Thank you all again! Your frequent visits and posts in the HabForum have meant a great deal to me these past four years.

Sincerely,

Vincent J. Vazzo

Hello, one and all! There are a few loose ends that have been tied up recently regarding Space Camp, so I thought I'd post here to share them!

First, the drive to reach 1,000 orders for the Saturn V license plates has been successful! They sold well over the 1,000 plates needed to start production before the January 31, 2005 deadline was reached! Awesome! To learn a little more about the efforts, the Chicago Tribune recently had an article worth reading.

The longstanding litigation efforts between the Space Center, State of Alabama, and former CEO, Mike Wing, have reached a settlement. Though some may or may not be pleased with the settlement amount, it's nice that everyone involved can finally put this behind them.

Also, The U.S. Space & Rocket Center has decided to partner with Kensington Entertainment to launch a study as to how to successfully expand the Space Center and attractions. Exciting times are still to come!

Finally, Space Camp Turkey is still looking for counselors. If you want to have an international Space Camp adventure as a Space Camp counselor this summer, this is a terrific opportunity!

I've updated the HabFiles section of the site with an article from the June/July 1992 issue of Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine!

It's a pretty good article, rife with pictures and mentions of early 1990s Space Camp.

All campers in the eight-day version, "U.S. Space Academy Level II," cap off their experience with a 12-hour simulated shuttle mission..."

And yet, other things seem not quite so early 1990s Space Camp:

As I was leaving the training center, I ran into Tony Vitelli and congratulated him on completing the mission. Vitelli nodded his head once and stuck up his thumb.

Do enjoy this one!

I thought it would be a good idea to add a special rank to easily identify members of the HabForum who are currently or have in the past had the delightful distinction and honor of being counselors at Space Camp and Aviation Challenge.

This will make it easy for anyone with questions for counselors find someone to talk to, as well as distinguish their comments on the board as coming from the perspective of having worked at Space Camp.

They'll be easy to spot, because instead of the usual ranks like Junior Camper, Camper, etc., they'll have "Counselor" with a pair of gold counselor wings which look like

To this end, when you register in the HabForum and you have worked at Space Camp before, please let me know so that I can apply this special rank to you here. If you have been a counselor and already have an account and you see that the change has not been made to your account, please let me know. If you see that someone's account who you know was a counselor has not been updated, please also let me know.

I do hope this addition is a welcome one.

Twice in one week?!

Well, what can I say, I've made some recent additions to my collection of Space Camp memorabilia and I wanted to share. I'm nice like that!

This is another Space Camp News from Spring of 1988. It's almost solely dedicated to the opening of the now defunct Space Camp Florida.

It's a neat read, even if it is sad given that the Florida Space Camp is no more.

When Space Camp was just a little over one year old, People Magazine ran, in their August 8, 1983 edition, a small article on Space Camp!

I've posted it here for all to enjoy! Pictures of rocket launch and the 5DF chair, as well as the old "Zero 'G' Machine" are in the article as is a description of Space Camp from a camper's perspective.

I do hope you enjoy it!

I've made an update to the HabFiles section.

I do believe it's the oldest thing I've ever seen from Space Camp! Be sure to savor every page!

And this one's a special one. It has Christa McAuliffe at Space Camp as well as an article announcing the Space Camp movie. Those were surely much more innocent times.

Thanks to Who, this little site has gotten two new graphical face-lifts.

As you can see, the main logo has been updated, as has the forum's logo.

And for those of you impressed by Who's work, you may just want to hire him! You can see more great art & design here!

Well, I can't believe it, but Hab1.com has just surpassed 20,000 hits to the homepage!

And it was only this past November that Hab1 reached 10,000 hits!

So, that's the first 10,000 hits in 1 year, 9 months, and the second 10,000 hits in 9 months!

Whew!

The HabForum has reached a very impressive milestone! 100 Users!

And, what's even more impressive, the person registered while attending this week's session of Advanced Space Academy!

It's quite fitting, I think, that the 100th user should register from camp! Very cool!

WOW!

That's the only word to describe the fact that the HabForum now has over 10,000 posts!

Simply amazing!

Just a reminder to all you budding artists/designers:

Two days left to submit your logo(s) for the contest (see below for details).

So my web hosting provider was having some major issues yesterday and part of today. If you tried to visit the site or post in the HabForum, chances are you had a heck of a time!

Things should pretty much be back to normal now. At the very least, things are actually loading.

Sorry about that! It shouldn't happen again, but if it does, I'll fix it next time (i.e. change providers)!

Thanks for your understanding!

So I said it'd be April 1 - April 30 that I would be accepting submissions. Whoops!

Still, everyone's known about the current contest, so you've had time to work on them...and still do!

To submit your logo(s) (up to two, remember), email them to [contest AT this domain, hab1.com].

As for official rules (this is a contest, afterall, and what contest would be complete without official rules?!), just go look at one of the old Space Camp contest rules I guess. Basically, standard contest rules apply (Open only to residents of the United States and Canada, must be 13 or older to enter, etc.).

The winner will be announced on or around May 5, 2003.

Good luck!

Updated 03/11/2003, Please Reread

Some campers over in the HabForum decided they want to create some sort of logo or emblem to signify not only their proud status as a Space Camp alumni but also as memebers of this Space Camp community site.

Ideas as to what ends this will serve vary, but the general consensus is that it would at least be great to display around Camp when members return.

I think it's a pretty good idea, so I thought I'd take the ideas people have been throwing around and make a contest out of it!

So, while some sort of more official rules list will be posted at a later date, there are a few guidelines one can consider now:

When going about making the design, imagine as if you were to create a team mission patch for Hab1.com! Include whatever you think would look good and appropriate, and remember that mission patches come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, so feel free to let your imagination run wild!

1) Up to two submissions per person will be accepted: one incorporating whatever Space Camp logos you like best into a design and another one without any camp logos. You may submit one or both, but they will all be judged together. As a good rule of thumb, think if it would make a good poster or "mission patch."

2) Submissions will begin April 1st, 2003 and stop at the end of April...so get designing!

3) As a matter of preference, if you do this entirely on the computer (which I always encourage), please begin with a source file large enough such that it could scale to poster-size, if necessary. If you don't do this, at the very least, please make sure you would be able to recreate a larger version. If you create it on paper, submit a reasonably high resolution scan of the logo but be prepared to send a higher resolution scan if necessary.

PRIZES:

Whomever's logo is chosen as the winner will receive the following:


One copy of Space Camp on DVD (Region I) & An STS-107 Memorial Lapel Pin.

Any questions, comments, or suggestions regarding this contest can be discussed here in the HabForum and prior discussion of this can be found here.

So start thinking about designs!

I've moved the HabForum. It can now be found here.

Please update your bookmarks accordingly.

Thanks!

I'm curious as to what everyone thinks of the current changes going on at Space Camp (program modifications, Training Center Floor changes, etc.) so I've started a new poll that asks just that.

I've finally updated the USSRC Press section with another USSRC/Space Camp document.

This one points out various facts about the Pathfinder.

Enjoy the knowledge!

Some time ago, I started keeping track of hits received to the main page here at Hab1.com.

In far less time than I might ever have expected, Hab1.com has received 10,000 hits to the homepage!

This is the second milestone in just a few days, as the HabForum very recently reached 5,000 posts!

I would like to thank everyone for visiting, and hope you come back often!

I've updated the recently added press section with another USSRC/Space Camp document.

This one was put out near the beginning of the year to highlight various things that would be going on through the coming 2002 year, such as the 20th Anniversary of Space Camp.

I've added a new section to the HabFiles. A new "Press" section of sorts is now in place with a new document. While more will follow, I've posted a document that was produced by Space Camp breaking down Space Camp attendees by state. Go check it out and see how many come from your state!

A little less than two weeks ago, I finally bought and received A Smile as Big as the Moon... and read it quite quickly. I'm sure not every Space Camp fan has gotten around to it yet, so I wrote a review, citing some very good reasons why you should go buy and read this book. Now.

Enjoy the review, then go enjoy the book!

I've updated the HabFiles again, but with something I think is particular great...I mentioned an article in my previous post about the USSRC's Save the Saturn V campaign that would provide great reading on the process of restoring such a vehicle. Well, as I'm sure many would be interested in reading it but can't readily get their hands on a 5 year old copy of Air & Space magazine (though they do sell back issues), here's the article! Enjoy it!

And remember to DONATE if you are able to and haven't already! Thanks!

I've updated the HabFiles again, this time with another brochure of the Alabama Space & Rocket Center! This one is, I am quite sure, from the 1970's! Be sure not to miss the large (4-pane) photo of the Space & Rocket Center...it has certainly changed over the past few decades!

My hosting provider, in their infinite wisdom, is in the process of switching email servers.

So, if you've sent me a message in the past day or so, wait another day or two and resend it. If you are waiting for a response to an email you've already sent, please give me a little time, and I'll post back here when everything is running well again.

Thanks!

Update: Okay, everything seems to be working just fine now! Feel free to send any email you were planning to. Further, if you're waiting to hear from me, you'll receive a reply very soon.

I've added to the HabFiles section of the site!

Added are a few AIM Buddy Icon-sized images of various Space Camp logos.

Download them and display your pride for Space Camp everytime you talk to your friends!

Enjoy!

In record time, the HabForum has reached 1,000 posts! If you haven't taken a look at it, go see it!

It's truly amazing the enthusiasm shown towards Space Camp (though I suppose I shouldn't be)!

In the past week, the HabForum has just exploded with dedicated Space Campers sharing their enthusiasm for Space Camp/Aviation Challenge with one another!

If you haven't yet seen the new HabForum, go take a look...It might even make you want to register to share your own experiences!

In honor of this new forum system (and the amazing flexibility it offers), I've created the special rank, "An Original Seven" that will be given to the first seven people to post seven legitimate posts to the new forum. If you've posted in the old forum, great...but those posts will not factor in to the count to seven.

Only seven people will ever have this rank and rank image ()

Update: They're all gone!

Don't worry if you don't make the first seven...several other custom ranks will almost certainly be created in the future, and the best way to qualify for those is to register and start posting!

I've updated the HabFiles again, this time with scans of the covers from the years I have of Space Camp's application book. I have more than half of them, but I still need a significant number before I'll have the whole set (If you have ones I don't, please let me know!)! Eventually, I plan to scan the books cover-to-cover (there're a lot of interesting details in them), but this will take some time. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the covers.

A brand new HabForum has emerged from the ashes of the old one!

It looks better, it works better, it IS better.

use it and enjoy it!

...Of course, seeing as it is brand new, certain glitches could possibly arise. While I have made every effort to test it, there always exists the chance for something to go wrong.

If you run into any problems, please send an email. Thanks!

Okay...I know I just posted a similar message a few days ago, and it hasn't been that long since I took it down, but I'm in the process of setting up a new forum system to house the HabForum. In my opinion, it's better in every way than the present version of ikonBoard I had been using.

This is actually a different board then the one I mentioned in the previous post. That one turned out to be full of bugs and very slow. After installing and trying out three other boards, I've settled on the one I'm working on.

I've already imported users and posts from the current HabForum, so I would like to keep a freeze on the posts until I bring the new board online. Thanks for your patience!

...And I think it'll be worth it...it's a much nicer board!

HabFiles again, this time with a copy of a brochure from theAlabama Space & Rocket Center. As far as I can tell, this brochure is from sometime in the1970's. Among the cool photos in it is one of Baker while she was still alive and living at the space center (Page 12) and the fact that you used to be able to actuallytouch the Apollo 16 capsule (Page 13)!

Enjoy!

I've updated the

I've added to the HabFiles section of the site!

Added are scans of a newsletter that Space Camp used to send to its alumni called "Space Camp News."

I received two such copies. Though I don't know for sure if they produced any more, I don't believe they did...at least, not after the spring of 1995.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy them!

I have made an update to the Archives. You can now upload any file (3 MB or less) directly from your web browser! Have a photo or movie clip? How about a document you wrote? upload it! It might just show up in the Archives!

Head on over to the Archives and see!

A new album has been added to the HabPhotos!

Joining photos of the Pathfinder, Rocket Park, and Marshall Space Flight Center are photos of the Training Center Floor!

Go check all of the photos out in the HabPhotos section!

I hope you like them!

After a very long time of looking for a suitable program to display images en masse, I finally found the right one! With gallery, one can look at photos in various resolutions and post comments about photos!

With great pleasure, I invite you to go take a look at some of the photos now available! I will be adding more as time goes one, and very soon I'll have a very easy way for anyone to upload photos of their own that they'd like to see in the photo gallery!

Hope you like 'em!

Once apon a time, Space Camp had some great QuickTimeVR files of various locals throughout camp on their webiste. It seems as if they have been removed from the site (probably some time ago) as I have been unable to find them on the site.

Since Space Camp no longer seems to want to post them, I've posted them here in the HabFiles for all to see!

Enjoy!

After not being accessable for a day or so, Hab1.com is back!

Sorry about the downtime...there was a little problem with the domain. Namely, the problem was that it had expired!

Nevertheless, it was for the best, as I finally have hab1.com registered with a decent registrar!

Yep! I was just looking at the server logs, and it seems that Hab1.com has received 1000 visitors since I started keeping track in mid-March!

That's a milestone I am proud to have reached, and I thank all of you who have visited this site since it opened a few months ago!

Thanks!

Just thought I'd let you know that I've finished with the slight recoding of the site's code I was doing...last night had me panicked a little bit, and if anyone loaded up the homepage around 9:00pm EDT last night, you know exactly what I mean by panicked!

A new, interactive polling script has been added to Hab1.com!

Visible in the navigaion menu on the left, you can now vote on a given topic.

The first topic is, quite simply, asking how many times you've been to a Space Camp, Aviation Challenge, or Space Academy program.

Vote now!

I've also posted a new topic in the Questions/Comments forum of the HabForum (it seems everything here starts with the word Hab, doesn't it?! so you can leave ideas in that topic, if you'd like!

I'm currently trying to improve some of the code on the site, optimizing it if you will...

...So, for the next couple of days, if you click on a link and get any sort of error, or see an error listed with only part of a page displayed, wait a few minutes and press reload on your browser...by then, it should be fixed.

Thanks!

I've updated the HabFiles with a little anecdote I posted in the news section several months ago.

It's quite interesting, and certainly worth a read, as it explains why certain things are the way they are on the Space Shuttle.

enjoy!

The Archives section has been updated to include an article on Space Camp from December 1995.

So get to the updated Archives section and check it out!

Yes, yes...I know I haven't updated this site for some time...school just got the better of my time, and I was stressed out for quite some time!

But school's over now!!! Well, until fall, at least...but I promise to make updates more frequently than I have been...

The latest update was made to the HabForum...it has received an incremental upgrade...Hopefully, this will ensure smooth operation as more and more people join and post (*hint* *hint*)

Additionally, all of the old news (including where to go for some contests) can be accessed in the Archives...click at the bottom right corner of the news to get the the Archives.

enjoy!

First, I know I haven't updated the site in two weeks. For that, I must apologize!

Between increased schoolwork, and having to visit several colleges (with another trip scheduled soon), I have been too busy and stressed out to devote my energies to this site.

On the upside, I have just updated the HabForum with a brand new forum!

In Counseling Sessions (please email me if you have a better name...it's the best I could think of), campers can discuss things such as their favorite counselors at Space Camp, ask questions about becoming a counselor, etc.

I think the forums have been under utilized lately, and I urge everyone to go post a question or comment or two, and see what others have to say!

I have reorganized the HabLinks section such that instead of throwing every single site together on one page, it's now organized by type. There's a page for Official Space Camp web sites as well as sites created by campers.

In the future, I also plan to include links to other sites, such as official NASA sites and such...this reorganization will make that much easier.

No, your intrepid webmaster isn't dead!

I know this site hasn't been updated for some time, but let me assure you that that's true in appearance only...sort of...

I'm currently spending most of the time I have to work on this site working on the CamperFinder project.

It's coming along alright, but it's probably going to be a few weeks before it gets even close to done (if all goes well, at least).

YAAU (Yet Another Archive Update)!

To the files archives, I have added a copy of the Advanced Space Academy Cadence.

The ASA Cadence was modified from an army cadence by a former ASA counselor. It's really funny, and quite appropriate to march to while at ASA!

This time, the files section has been updated, and you can now download an article on Space Camp from a 1986 edition of Boys' Life Magazine!

The Archives page itself, however, continues to look really ugly, but I will eventually get around to creating the graphics for it...

In the meantime, enjoy the article!

The Archives section has received a second update for the day!

You can now access links to various annoucements that have been made concerning Space Camp.

I have updated the archives section.

The archives section now provides links to the few other Space Camp sites I have been able to find on the Internet.

Well, it's official! I am now officially launching Hab1.com for all out there to see!

Now, because I'm launching it now, one might assume that the site is finished...unfortunately, this couldn't be further from the truth. I still have much work to do to shore this site up, and much content needs to be added.

However, because I have not worked as hard as I should have been while I was building/testing this site, I have decided to make this site public, in an effort to get myself moving on the development of this site.

So, despite all of this, I happily bid you welcome to Hab1.com!!!