Virtualfest TODAY!

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The annual Summerfest celebration and corresponding Space Camp Hall of Fame sadly had to be canceled this year due to the coronavirus.

To make up for that, and to raise badly needed funds for Space Camp, the Space Camp Alumni Foundation is hosting the Space Camp Alumni Virtualfest throughout the day today!

The highlight will be the continuation of the annual town hall / state of the union. That streams starting at 5pm Central. Mark your calendars!

Other highlights throughout the day include a live STEM discussion with Shuttle Astronaut, Mike Mullane, and his son, Executive Director of Harvard Business School Online, Patrick Mullane, and a live Space Bowl Trivia game!

To get in on today’s activities, you can head on over to the Space Camp Alumni Facebook page, or their YouTube channel.

While you’re enjoying today’s activities, please consider donating to help strengthen a badly weakened Space Camp!

2020 VirtualFest Logo

Save Space Camp

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Space Camp needs $1.5 million dollars within the next three months or it might cease to exist.

That’s the message that was delivered by Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission chairman John Nerger this past Tuesday in a press conference to kick off the launch of SaveSpaceCamp.com, Space Camp’s GoFundMe campaign.

Like many museums around the world, COVID-19 has devastated the Space & Rocket Center’s finances. Like an estimated one-third of museums in the United States, they might not survive.

But hope is far from lost! In just two days, over a half-million dollars has been raised! That’s an amazing campaign launch!

This still leaves ONE MILLION DOLLARS left to raise though. No easy feat, to be sure. But if every Space Camp, Space Academy, and Aviation Challenge alum donated a dollar, we could get there!

COVID-19 has hit a lot of people on this planet really, really hard. If you are one of the lucky ones to be going through this realtively unscathed, please consider donating. Save Space Camp.

Aviation Challenge Cancelled for 2020

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What was supposed to be a ceremonious 30th anniversary year at Aviation Challenge has instead turned to one of sorrow.

All Aviation Challenge Sessions have been cancelled for 2020.

This will be the first summer since 1989 not to see any Aviation Challenge sessions.

Aviation Challenge Logo - Greyscale
Aviation Challenge cancellation announcement

I Assure You We’re Open!

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The U.S. Space & Rocket Center opened to members this morning for the first time in nearly three months.

Despite the dreary weather and light showers, a number of people were in line at 10am sharp!

There was quite a bit of cleaning going on. Employees were all wearing masks and generally practicing good social distancing amongst themselves. It’s clear the Space & Rocket Center is taking cleanliness seriously.

Though the center is officially open once again, it’s only open in part. In the Davidson Center, The Saturn V Hall is open, but the National Geographic Theater remains closed.

In the main museum area, only the center atrium is open. Every other facility from the Training Center Floor/MCC to the main gift shop and planetarium are currently closed.

There’s still enough to see to justify the currently discounted $13 admission price. Ultimately a slow, conservative approach to reopening is probably the right answer. Having been hit tremendously hard by the shutdown, I doubt the Space Center could afford to stay closed much longer.

It was wonderful to be able to go back to the Space Center and visit for a morning. It’s a nice bit of normalcy returned. Let’s hope it can stay that way and that the Space Center and the rest of the country can safely continue to reopen.

Photos from today’s reopening

1983 Space Camp Application Guide – HabFiles Update!

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It has been some time since I have updated the HabFiles section of this website.

I haven’t stopped collecting artifacts from Space Camp’s past, but I’ve been woefully inept at sharing them!

That is a trend I hope to reverse starting today!

I recently got hold of a 1983 Space Camp Application Guide and I couldn’t wait to share!

Alas, the application itself was cut from the guide, but everything else is in tact, including the week’s schedule, camp dates for 1983, and pricing information–$250 in 1983!

I don’t know if Space Camp ever produced a guide for 1982. That might very well make this Space Camp’s oldest program guide! It’s certainly the oldest thing from Space Camp in my collection!

I hope you enjoy looking at this as much as I have!

1983 Space Camp Program Guide Cover - Thumbnail

USSRC Reopening – More Information

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As The U.S. Space & Rocket Center prepares to open its doors at the end of the week, they have sent out an email and updated their website to provide additional information about the reopening process.

Highlights:

  • Admission has been reduced by 50% to $13
  • The simulators are closed to support social distancing
  • Masks will be required for employees but only ‘strongly recommended’ for visitors
  • Hours will be reduced, with the Space Center staying closed on Mondays for additional cleaning

The Space Center will be open on Friday for members only and will open to the general public beginning on Saturday, May 30th.

Email sent to members on May 27th, 2020

Failure is Not an Option

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COVID-19 has hit every individual, business, and charity hard, and even Space Camp has not been spared. In order to anything and everything possible, The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is launching their “Failure is Not an Option” campaign.

If you are able, please consider donating at https://www.gospaceeducation.org/alumni

Space & Rocket Center Reopens this Week!

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USSRC Rocket LogoThe U.S. Space & Rocket Center has announced that they will open their doors to members this Friday, May 29th and to the general public starting Saturday, May 30th.

Like many businesses, The U.S. Space & Rocket Center will be requesting that its visitors wear masks and practice social distancing.

The reopening will come as a relief by many as the unprecedented 75-day closure of The U.S. Space & Rocket Center has forced the museum to lay off many.

Space Camp programs did shut down as well and will remain cancelled until at least June 28, 2020.

Server Move!

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If you’re reading this, you’ve been delivered this site from the new server!

This server is now the fourth incarnation of the site on its fourth home! Every time I move it, it gets a fresh coat of paint!

I hope you like it.

The server and software hosting Hab1 and the HabForum were woefully out of date. The transition and update have been a year in the making. And what I mean by that is that I’ve been planning it for a year, but have been too busy (*cough* lazy *cough*) to get it done!

I’ve moved the server into the very capable hands of Linode! Though I was by no means upset with the previous host, they never adjusted the price down as computing go less expensive, while Linode does! Since capturing a less expensive price would have necessitated a move of hosts anyway, I decided to move hosting companies as well. So far, I’m very impressed with Linode. The best part: automatic backups! I, uh, wasn’t up on that as well as I should have been, and only by sheer luck did nothing bad ever happen!

Everything is up-to-date and ready to go! There are some tough times ahead for Space Camp as I write this, but I think there’s going to be a lot of great things to cover, and many more years to go!

We will experience those wonderful things together here!

Welcome!

Massive Layoffs at USSRC

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Dark version of the USSRC Rocket LogoHaving been closed since March 14, the Space & Rocket Center has not had any visitors or the revenue they bring for over two months.

As a result, the Center is preparing to lay off more than one-third of its entire staff. Permanently.

AL.com has the story

The only good news in the article is that the Space Center does expect to reopen soon, and Space Camp will continue in late June for a shorter summer with fewer in attendance.

This is a real shame.  Just when everything seemed to be going right for the Space Center, and their financial hardships seemed to finally be behind them.

Hopefully in time the Alabama state government will be able to provide some assistance to the state’s largest tourist attraction.

It’s just awful though.  Hopefully, those affected will be able to find other work quickly.  I’m sure it won’t be as impactful or meaningful though.