vintage Space Camp memorabilia!

The place where campers hang out after a long day in the sims.

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des
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Post by des »

That used to be a typical experiment at Space Camp. It is in the book "Your Future in Space". In fact, I was a little worried about this when I went there, but they already stopped doing it.

Another thing, I heard they do not launch insects anymore? They used to do this on the rockets. Is this true.

--des
LB206 wrote:Thanks hotdog. that brought back alot of memories. Man i miss that place sometimes even though the current visitor center is alot bigger and fancier.
I too have an old Life magazing featuring space camp in it from the mid 80s things definately look diffrent. One opictrure i always see and think boy they would never do that again is campers testing blood sugar as part of an expirement in spacelab.
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Post by Boomerang »

From pictures i have seen of camp in recent years they still launch rockets so i don't know if thats true.

Considering that book was published in the mid 80s it suprises me that they were still alowing that experiment when you consider 80s was the decade where AIDS became widely known about and was panicking alot of people.
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Post by b52murph »

LB206 wrote:Thanks hotdog. that brought back alot of memories. Man i miss that place sometimes even though the current visitor center is alot bigger and fancier.
I too have an old Life magazing featuring space camp in it from the mid 80s things definately look diffrent. One opictrure i always see and think boy they would never do that again is campers testing blood sugar as part of an expirement in spacelab.
Ya know...IIRC...we were still doing that in '90 as part of Academy II. I don't recall it being part of the mission for Academy I, but for the 24-hour mission as part of Academy II, I volunteered to 'donate.' I probably thought it was my duty, or somthing, since I was the msn commander, but...really don't remember the reason totally.
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Camp I, April 1986; Camp, April 1987
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Post by des »

I don't recall that AIDs was considered quite the threat it is now when the book was written. (Of course, consider the book was probably written a good two years before published.) Also there are now other blood threats out there like hepatiitis, etc that I just don't recall as being that big a deal.

I am surprised that they did this into the 90s though.

We did this in high school biology (I won't give you the year). IIRC, we did it to figure out blood type. But you can also do blood glucose which is an easier test. It gives you a little real world type biology experience. They now make synthetic blood for schools so they can do some of these same experiments. I would have preferred this, as I dont' think I actually got up the nerve to stick myself.

Estes doesn't make cricketnaut rockets (anymore), so maybe it started wtih them? (I looked for them on the Estes site). The 1983 article has that as an important part of Space Camp that that would be a test of good rocket building (if your payload lived). They launched crickets and even bees. (I think they woudl be terrified of bees and lawsuits now.) Of course, it may have had as much to do with Estes rocket design and luck. Of course, I don't know. If Space Camp wanted a cricketnaut rocket, I think they'd give Estes enough business. :-) In the promotional video I have, they don't mention cricketnauts. They rockets shown had a transparent nose cone, so maybe it was just too hard to put the critter in there and maybe it got suffocated as well.

Estes does make an egg rocket though. I think that would be fun!

Did any one go to Space Camp as a younger kid?


--des
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Post by monkeynautt »

For 8 day ASA in 2004 we launched eggs. You had to design a rocket capable of holding the egg in it and you were given a variety of materials. Ours was the only one to survive, and we don't know how that happened as our parachute didn't deploy.
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Post by Hotdog »

in 1989, 1991, and 1992 we were given free reign over our rockets' mission. The Estes rockets we were given to work with had clear payload bays, but we were given the power to build thr rockets any way we wanted - with or without insect payload bays or cargo
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Post by SpaceCanada »

In my World Book articlel (in HabFiles) they talk about the cricketnauts used in some of the rockets. At adult 8-day in 2004 we had eggstronauts.

They do make blood glucose monitors that are for public use. It changes out the needle after each jab, for about six jabs and then you have to replace the cartridge. They also have single use/disposable jab things. I see both of them used in clinics and blood donor places around here to test blood type and iron levels.

I like hearing about how camp was pre-1998. I wish I found out about Space Camp when I was younger.
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Post by Boomerang »

As for cricketnaughts rgwy were no longer flown by 1993 we used them in 91 but not 93 but still had payload rockets in 93.

As for bkooid testing a clean needle is only poart of the risk exposure to infected blood it it gets into someone elses open wound can be infsctious too though the chances are much lower,
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Post by des »

Aw so much for cricketnauts, but I'm glad they are flying the eggs. I think it is actually harder (Laura, you hard boiled the egg maybe :-)).

It's true that blood testing isn't too safe these days if it ever was. I think some of the risks weren't known back when. Use of a test system like diabetics use would lower it a bit, but the risk wouldn't be zero. The consequences being what they are, I think it is now too dangerous. They could do the synthetic blood but then you "right stuff" guys wouldnt' have any fun. Animal blood is a little gross and then there are vegetarians that go to Space Camp I would gather.

--des
LB206 wrote:As for cricketnaughts rgwy were no longer flown by 1993 we used them in 91 but not 93 but still had payload rockets in 93.

As for bkooid testing a clean needle is only poart of the risk exposure to infected blood it it gets into someone elses open wound can be infsctious too though the chances are much lower,
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Post by Hotdog »

on an ironic note--

even though we didn't launch any kind of prerequisite payload (cricket, egg, or otherwise) while I was at camp in the early 90's, it should be duely noted that later on when I went to college, I used the same rocket-building skills I learned at Camp for an egg drop project in which your egg had to survive a 2-story drop onto concrete. I built a neat little glider which you can see and read all about on my myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/hotdog_da_halla_famer

just click on the blog "Rocketry skills from Camp invaluable later in college".
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des
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Post by des »

Even though MySpace is outside my demographic slightly (heehee), I visited it anyway. You're a talented young man and your illustration (of course, since I don't recall it...) of Hab 1 and 2 are very good, I really liked your neat little glider.

Yes, the famous egg drop project is a well-known (and loved) technology/ engineering/architecture project. And also done at lots of schools and so on. I'm going to do it at camp as well, if I can find a high place to push them from. (NM is not known for high buildings, with everything one story).

I went to school in Industrial Design (I rather bombed at it) but discovered there is a destructive version of this activity that goes on at various architecture schools. I thought you might appreciate, though it is way way off topic. The big project at such places is a 3D house, very elaborate and detailed, and of course perfect in measurement. After final grades the kids (I think this is mostly midwest) take these structures to the highest point on campus, light them on fire, and push them down in a magnificant display of light and fire. The idea is for the most total destruction possible, so you get extra points with your peers if your structure doesn't survive at all. :-)

--des
Hotdog wrote:on an ironic note--

even though we didn't launch any kind of prerequisite payload (cricket, egg, or otherwise) while I was at camp in the early 90's, it should be duely noted that later on when I went to college, I used the same rocket-building skills I learned at Camp for an egg drop project in which your egg had to survive a 2-story drop onto concrete. I built a neat little glider which you can see and read all about on my myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/hotdog_da_halla_famer

just click on the blog "Rocketry skills from Camp invaluable later in college".
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Post by monkeynautt »

des wrote:Aw so much for cricketnauts, but I'm glad they are flying the eggs. I think it is actually harder (Laura, you hard boiled the egg maybe :-)).


--des
The eggs were not hard boiled. I actually have pictures of the eggs that didn't make it b/c we launched the remains.
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Post by des »

I was joking of course. :-)
Hard boiled eggs would likely have shell damage. A raw egg is a strong little capsule but only at the correct angle. I imagine this is why the egg could roll unharmed away from the glider.

--des

[/quote]

The eggs were not hard boiled. I actually have pictures of the eggs that didn't make it b/c we launched the remains.[/quote]
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Post by des »

Hey, I just found my US Space Academy "wings" (actually the certificate-- my wings were really lost). I was, of course, looking for something else.
I graduated Sept. 17, 1889, woops I mean *1989*.

A couple people guessed that number based on some clues-- Pathfinder just finished; etc.

--des
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Post by b52murph »

Vincent wrote:
b52murph wrote:Anybody else remember sleeping in the basement of the bubble? I have to dig out my pics and post 'em. Good stuff!
Yes...you have to dig out your pictures and post them! :D
Finally dug out my stuff during my last weeks' visit to the East Coast homestead--all my certificates, photos, books, etc. Will post photos of the certificates (1986-1990) and registration books as soon as my 'Hab 1 Photo site' account is activated; the photos I took will be harder to post.

As there were no digital cams at the time, all I have is prints and negatives, and no scanner to scan them in (yet). May get one today.
Also--confirmed what I thought I remembered. We slept in the Training Center Dorms in '88 and '89--the Hab was about finished by the end of April '89, but nobody was residing there yet. Regards!
Jordan "b52murph" Murphy
Camp I, April 1986; Camp, April 1987
Academy I, April 1988; Academy I, April 1989
Academy II, Feb 1990; Aviation Challenge, Jun 1990
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Post by CastAway »

Training Center Dorms? Ooh! I want to see photos! Definitely let us know when you have that scanner.
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Post by des »

We did sleep in the Hab. I have some lovely :-) pictures of it.
I read you re: all the stuff on nondigital film. Yes, I have a scanner, but it is work scanning pictures and so on, but hopefully I have some time this summer and get a ROUND TUIT.

(I don't know if anyone can remember this, but they used to have these coasters-- that were round-- and they had TUIT written on them. SO you could literally have a round TUIT. :-))


--des
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Post by b52murph »

b52murph wrote: We slept in the Training Center Dorms in '88 and '89--the Hab was about finished by the end of April '89, but nobody was residing there yet. Regards!
Correction to the statement--I scanned in my negatives from '88 (40+) and some of '89. At the end of my '89 roll were several photos that had NEVER been printed by the photo lab; because my flash was a little bit faulty, they thought they were junk pics. In those pics are my room in the Hab and hamming it up with some buds. Will get them posted on the photo site tommorrow. Great stuff :-)
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Camp I, April 1986; Camp, April 1987
Academy I, April 1988; Academy I, April 1989
Academy II, Feb 1990; Aviation Challenge, Jun 1990
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Post by b52murph »

b52murph wrote:
b52murph wrote: We slept in the Training Center Dorms in '88 and '89--the Hab was about finished by the end of April '89, but nobody was residing there yet. Regards!
Correction to the statement--I scanned in my negatives from '88 (40+) and some of '89. At the end of my '89 roll were several photos that had NEVER been printed by the photo lab; because my flash was a little bit faulty, they thought they were junk pics. In those pics are my room in the Hab and hamming it up with some buds. Will get them posted on the photo site tommorrow. Great stuff :-)
Photos posted @ http://spacecamp.ibnerd.net/main.php?g2_itemId=12666

Enjoy!
Jordan "b52murph" Murphy
Camp I, April 1986; Camp, April 1987
Academy I, April 1988; Academy I, April 1989
Academy II, Feb 1990; Aviation Challenge, Jun 1990
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Post by Hotdog »

Wow! Those pics brought back lots of memories! Especially the '89 pics since that's when I was there, staying in the new Hab. Thanks for sharing!
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