Alumni Volunteer Saturdays

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The Alumni Advancement Board is looking for volunteers to help clean and prepare several artifacts around Camp over the course of this summer, and you can help! First on the list, volunteers are going to meet this Saturday morning to work on the F-16 down at Aviation Challenge!

Aviation Challenge F-16 If you’re interested, sign up on the volunteer page! You can sign up for one or several Saturdays. Come prepared to work outside as weather permits. Recommend items:

  • Appropriate clothing for working outside and potentially getting dirty – ex. long pants, closed toed shoes, hat.
  • Work gloves
  • Eye-protection (sunglasses, safety glasses)
  • Sanders (rotary, orbital) or spare sander discs – USSRC has a few sanders to provide, but the more the merrier.
  • Face masks / respirators
  • Sunscreen
  • Water bottle

The planned starting time is 7am so that work can be started and finished before the Alabama summer makes it unbearable to work outdoors.  If a day is cancelled or delayed due to weather, an email will be sent out.  That’s why it’s important you go sign up!

Alumni Association Site Launches

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Space Camp Alumni Association LogoLast month, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center successfully raised $71,340 to bring the Shuttle Training Aircraft to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.  It was a campaign spearheaded by both the Space Center as well as the newly formed Space Camp Alumni Association and its corresponding Alumni Advisory Board.

In the time since, the group has been actively reaching out to Space Camp and Aviation Challenge alumni through their Twitter Feed and Facebook Group, as well as in person at graduations and other events.

Today they reach further with a new website, SpaceCampAlumni.com.

The site offers a very nice overview as to the mission of the organization and its board members.

Most important of all, the site offers a means to help alumni become more active in spreading the wonders of what a Space Camp experience can mean to an individual.  If you’re interested, look to the “Get Involved” section on the site for information on how you can help!

If you simply just wish to stay up-to-date with the goings on of both Space Camp and the Alumni Advisory Board, it’s a simple matter of providing your name and email address, which I wholeheartedly recommend you do!

Onion Mention

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The Onion LogoYou no doubt saw The Onion satirize NASA a few weeks ago by talking about Space Camp’s new more realistic NASA simulation!

Here’s the link, for those who may have missed it.

I think the funniest part is the realization that The Onion actually fact checks their work, given that Deborah Barnhart, Space Camp’s CEO, got a mention!  Someone had to look that up.  They could have made up a name, but they chose to do some research instead!

Kudos

Bold They Rise

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Bold They Rise Book Cover There’s a new book just out about the development of the Space Transportation System and the very early years of the Space Shuttle Program.

The book, Bold They Rise, is the culmination of years of research from authors David Hitt and Heather R. Smith.

The book itself is part of the “Outward Odyssey” series of space books from book publisher, University of Nebraska Press.  A previous installment to the series, Homesteading Space, detailing the development of the Skylab program and its missions, was also written David Hitt, along with Skylab Astronauts Owen Garriott and Joe Kerwin.

To celebrate the launch of their new book, David and Heather were joined this past weekend at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center by husband and wife Astronaut-duo Dr. Rhea Seddon and Robert “Hoot” Gibson to discuss the contents of the book as well as the pair’s time in the Astronaut Corps.

Afterwards, a book singing was held for those in attendance.

The book itself is available from Amazon, amongst other places.  And if you swing by the Space Center to pick one up, you might just find one of the several extra copies the four signed after the presentation.

The entire presentation, including a Q&A session at the end, is available over on the Hab1 YouTube page.

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Bold They Rise, if you are so inclined!

 

Bold They Rise Flyer

Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Summer

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Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending the graduation ceremony for this year’s crop of summer counselors!

In all, 50-some new crew trainers have earned their wings!

And today is the first day they are full-fledged Crew Trainers!

2014 Summer Counselor Grad Wings

This summer’s training session saw crew trainers for nearly all programs.  Here are the new crew trainers for Aviation Challenge and the ropes course.

2014 Summer Counselors - AC and Ropes

And new Space Camp, Advanced Space Academy, and Robotics crew trainers as well:

2014 Summer Counselors - Space Camp, ASA, and Robotics

The Robotics crew trainers will be all the more visible at Space Camp thanks to their spiffy new lab coats.

2014 Summer Counselors - Robotics Grads

Congratulations to everyone!

I hope this summer brings nothing but fantastic new experiences, friends, and adventures!

Tweet-Up, Meet-Up

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Aviation Challenge LogoSpace Camp will once again be hosting a Tweet-Up!

Interested?  Head on over to http://www.spacecamp.com/tweetup and apply!

If chosen, you’ll get to make your way to the Space & Rocket Center for a day of Aviation Challenge activities, guest speakers, and 15 new friends!

Registration is open from now until May 26.

Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to experience a wonderful sampling of what Aviation Challenge has to offer!

King of the (Space) Nerds

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Kayla LaFrance - King of the NerdsIf you watched the conclusion of season two of the TBS show King of the Nerds this past March, you will have seen contestant Kayla LaFrance bestowed the title, “King of the Nerds!”

Kayla has many ties to Space Camp, being both an alumna and former counselor!  She’s even a member of the HabForum!

Besides the title, she also took home the $100,000 prize money!  Not bad for spending six weeks in place called “Nerdvana!”

And you could be next!  They are currently looking to cast a third season, and TBS is very specifically looking to have another passionate space nerd on the show!

And I’m really happy to hear that!  While all nerdly pursuits are excellent in their own right,  space is one of those that has positive real world benefits for the good of all of us, helping turn another great nerdly pursuit–Science Fiction–into Science fact!

To that end, if you’re passionate about space, are between the ages of 18 and 30, and would be available for up to six weeks beginning this July, drop a line to [email protected] with your name, phone number, and a brief summary about why you should be selected.  Be sure to place importance on all the good space-related activities you’ve been up to!  You can also check things out on twitter @KOTNcasting.

Huntsville, We Have a Shuttle Trainer!

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Space Camp Shuttle Training Aircraft Indiegogo Campaign LogoWith 28 hours left, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center has hit its $70,000 funding goal on the STA Indiegogo campaign!

With $69,070 raised, an anonymous contributor made a $1,000 donation to get the campaign across the finish line!

But just because the original goal has been met, don’t believe for one moment that there’s no point in contributing!  Any money above and beyond the $70,000 can be used to help fund further development of the STA display.

There’s still time left to help!

A lot of people have great reason to celebrate!  $70,000 in fewer than 60 days is certainly no small feat!

No doubt Trevor Daniels, the campaign manager, and Charity Stewart, the USSRC’s Social Media Manager, must be feeling particularly gleeful this fine evening!

A great deal of credit certainly belongs to the newly formed Space Camp Alumni Advancement Board.  Without them, this campaign would likely not have happened, and the Shuttle Training Aircraft might possibly be stuck at the Birmingham Airport for several more years!

Additionally, local Huntsville businesses provided support to the campaign and they are certainly due our thanks:

But obviously this couldn’t have happened without the help of the more-than 300 funders!  Well done, all!

STA Campaign: Inches Away

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Space Camp Shuttle Training Aircraft Indiegogo Campaign LogoThe end is so close, in more ways than one.

There are only 3 days left to make a contribution to help land a Shuttle Training Aircraft at the Space & Rocket Center.

The total collected thus far stands at $57,848, a mere $12,152 away from the goal!  We’re almost there, and every little bit helps!

Recently, an exciting new perk was added.

For a $10,000 donation, you can fly with The Man Who’s Flown Everything, Robert “Hoot” Gibson!  That one donation alone, if you have the means, would get the Space Center very nearly to their goal, and provide you the donor with a tremendously exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

AL.com covered the addition of this new perk as well, and the National Business Aviation Association recently featured a story on efforts to raise the funds.

At the $300 perk level, more astronauts have signed on to sign on!  In addition to the previously mentioned trio of Hoot Gibson, Steven Nagel, and Jim Halsell, L. Blaine Hammond and Owen Garriott will be signing the posters as well!

Three days left!  Please consider donating if you haven’t yet and are able to!