Alumni Weekend 2015

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

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Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by Hotdog »

Hi guys,

The alumni weekend and hall of fame events this year are going to be pretty big, with an exciting announcement coming soon with all of the details. You will not want to miss it this year!

That being said, now is the time to book your room at the Marriott before prices go up after the announcement. As of today, rooms for the weekend are $84 a night. You will want a minimum stay of Friday and Saturday (July 24 and 25), but you may also want Thursday for the Biergarten as well.

Book now while rooms are still affordable!
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by Phoenix PK »

Just once, I would like to go to one of these. No, scratch that. I would LOVE it.
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by p51 »

I can't make this, but I am wondering if SC had a week-long adult program starting the following day (or ending the Friday before such an alumni weekend program starts), maybe it would boost attendence?
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by Phoenix PK »

I have always wondered the same thing.
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by wxnerdjenn »

Right? There are probably around 60 people going in October so you'd think that would be a better time for alumni weekend. Also just have to say I'm sooo glad the 6 day is in October, because HSV in July...yuck.
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by SpaceCanada »

We are all thinking the same thing... I would love to go but the logistics don't work. It's just too expensive to fly down there for a weekend unless I added it on to another holiday in that general part of the world. You know, like a week-long camp session. Makes sense to me.

Alas, I shall enjoy Vincent's report (if he's attending) and try to catch some of it on live feed if I can.
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by p51 »

wxnerdjenn wrote:Also just have to say I'm sooo glad the 6 day is in October, because HSV in July...yuck.
Oh, a big AMEN from me there! For me to endure a Northern Alabama summer in the middle of July, there'd have to be a phenomenal reason to get me down there. I moved 3000 miles away to escape the Deep South summers for a reason!
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by Hotdog »

If I recall correctly, having an alumni camp session to coincide with the Alumni Weekend activities (as we have had in the past), was discussed and considered. I believe the issue this year lies in the timing. In the past, Alumni Weekend/Hall of Fame would be in late August when Space Camps for kids are winding down for the Fall school season. This year, we have a Late July time slot which is during peak season for Space Camp (including International Space Camp), which is $$$$$$. I believe the mindset is that these primetime slots are best reserved for kids camps while they can still catch them on their summer breaks, and any adult or alumni groups are best left for later when kids are in school.

So why the Late July booking for Alumni Weekend this year? One reason may be that it's easier for families to travel during summer break. Alumni with kids would be less likely to come during school time like our former Late August slot. This makes sense, anyway.
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by Conan »

Last year our adult 4-day camp in August coincided with the Hall of Fame Dinner. There was a lot of confusion as to whether it was included or not. Some of us paid for it in advance, only to find out that most of our team mates did not have to pay. We got refunds eventually, but it wasn't well done. Also, there were events that we could not attend because of the camp schedule, so even though it was nice having them at the same time, we couldn't really enjoy them both equally. We gave all of our thoughts and energy to the camp.
I think that they are sometimes held in July to coincide with the Moon Landing anniversary. Maybe they can arrange the first Mars Landing to be in October to help with this in the future :)
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by p51 »

Conan wrote:Last year our adult 4-day camp in August coincided with the Hall of Fame Dinner. There was a lot of confusion as to whether it was included or not. Some of us paid for it in advance, only to find out that most of our team mates did not have to pay. We got refunds eventually, but it wasn't well done. Also, there were events that we could not attend because of the camp schedule, so even though it was nice having them at the same time, we couldn't really enjoy them both equally. We gave all of our thoughts and energy to the camp.
I remember reading about that, shaking my head most of the way.
What I'd suggest is a camp that doesn't overlap at all, but would end at about 10-11 AM of the day the alumi weekend starts, or the day before. That way, you have just a few hours or less than a day before the alumni weekend starts, or vice-versa. Overlap is pretty crazy, as there's no reason why you can't have the events go in a linear, non-overlapping sequence.
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by Hotdog »

Check your emails, the newsletter announcing this awesome event has been sent!

http://www.spacecamp.com/AlumniFestival/

And we have a logo for this year's event :D :D :D

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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by SpaceCanada »

Ooh, fancy!
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by SpaceCanada »

There is an ever-lengthening roster of amazing people will be attending this event. All the activities make it sound like a pretty incredible weekend! Too bad flights from here to camp are so expensive. Cannot wait to hear all about it.

And with all those alumni in one place, can they use their collective abilities to develop a transporter?
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by Hotdog »

It is going to be epic, I can't wait! There may be a few more surprises too, so stay tuned!

I propose we build a Space Camp Bullet Train shaped like a shuttle orbiter to link Canada with Huntsville!
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by Steve »

T minus 9 days, who's in on attending the Alumni Festival? :lol:
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by p51 »

Steve wrote:T minus 9 days, who's in on attending the Alumni Festival? :lol:
For those of us who can't go, I badly want to see photos and read details when it's over for those of you lucky enough t go.
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by Hotdog »

The excitement is starting to build! I'll be sure to take lots of pics and fill you guys in on all of the events. Wish you all could be there!

I'm not sure what I'm most excited about: getting back in the sims after 20+ years, hanging out with astronauts, seeing alumni and hall of fame friends again, or the concert... I could go on and on!

Meanwhile, I've been busting my butt designing the t-shirts and a few of the signs and banners for the festival. It will be surreal seeing my work plastered all over the place! As a teaser, here's one of the banners:

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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by Hotdog »

Today I returned home from the *epic* 2015 Space Camp Alumni Festival. For those who couldn't make it, I must say, you missed one of the most fantastic celebrations the Rocket Center has ever witnessed. As I write this, I find myself suffering from that old "Post-Space Camp Depression" as I come down from a 3-day high as if I had just left a week at camp.

I will do my best to fill you guys in while the events of the weekend are still fresh in my mind. This will be long-winded and will likely read like a personal blog or journal! Luckily, you will get pics :)

THURSDAY
I couldn't make it down for Thursday's events, but I was told the Biergarten had a great turnout. There was a VIP bus tour of Marshall that came up at the last minute that, had I known about sooner, I might have tried to get down for. Maybe those who were there on Thursday can fill us in.

FRIDAY
I checked into the Marriott, unpacked, and shot over to the Rocket Center to pick up my badge at the concierge table. The badges were just one of the many Festival designs I had worked on the last few months that were now visible all over the grounds, including the welcome sign, light pole banners, and the side of the building.

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I quickly stopped by the Davidson Center to meet Steve since I knew he would be there working the graduation table. We met some new graduates who signed up for the alumni group and we told them about the weekend festivities. I think we may have even helped sell a shirt or two!

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After graduation, Steve and I headed over to Aviation Challenge for the re-dedication of the F-14 Tomcat ceremony. Astronauts Hoot Gibson and Scott Altman gave speeches under the bubble, swapping stories about the aircraft and Top Gun school, and took questions from the audience. It was so awfully hot that we took a break and went inside the barracks to cool off in the "AC" before going out to the Tomcat for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

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There were some simulator, centrifuge, ropes and other AC activities going on after that, but Steve and I headed back over to the Space Center to check out the gift shop. I was happy to see the alumni items prominently displayed in the front-and-center of the gift shop as you enter the building. The Alumni Festival shirts I had designed were there in black, sage, and royal blue colors.

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Steve had to leave for a bit, but I quickly met up with WesL in time for the Pool Party Mixer at the Marriott. I had dinner and brought a cooler filled with my own vivations, not expecting hor d'oeuvres and a cash bar to be available for us. We had a great time making new friends and catching up with old ones from the Hall Of Fame like Vincent.

In a very uncharacteristic move, I called it a night early and was in bed by 11. I would need all of my energy for Saturday!

SATURDAY

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We began the day with a big breakfast at the Mars Grill. John Ramsey and Deborah Barnhart spoke and gave us some very informative updates on the progress of the Alumni Advancement Board and Sprocket's plans for the future. Some items of note:

- Boeing CST-100 and Space X Dragon V2 sims are in production and expected to be running at camp by end of year. The old Discovery sim will eventually be converted into a Dreamchaser space plane sometime in the future when more is known about its final configuration.

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- Advanced Space Academy will start running Mars missions with the Orion sim beginning next week

- Sprocket is working with TVA for future energy exhibits

- The plans for the old Spacewalker ride that used to be in the Rocket Park in the 1980s has been found, and will be rebuilt!

- Spacedome IMAX will be obsolete in 2 years, and plans are in the works to convert it to a Digital IMAX system with a planetarium. This is a $2 million project and we are looking for a donor (spread the word!)

- A-12 Oxcart restoration will begin soon, with new display expected to be ready by fall

- Long-term plans for a "National Technical Space Library" open to the public on Redstone property being given to Sprocket. Library would contain the Von Braun archives, as well as those from Marshall, UAH, Redstone and Huntsville libraries. Barnhart's dream is that this would be the foundation for an eventual "National Space Academy" equivalent to the Air Force and Naval Academies.

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After the updates, awards were given out to deserving members of alumni and staff who have been of tremendous help this year. One of the recipient was our very own Vincent!

Next we headed over to the training center to see the nearly-complete Science On Orbit exhibit. Still under construction was the Payload Operations Integration Center portion, so there wasn't much to see there, but Hall Of Famer Penny Pettigrew gave us the low-down with what was going on. From there, we went inside ADA-compliant replicas of ISS modules, where astronauts Dottie Metcalf Lindenburger, Bob Springer, Frank Culbertson, Wendy Lawrence, Hoot Gibson, and Hall of Famer Liz Warren were waiting to show us the different systems of the ISS. The pictures below tell the story.

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Also, a new, state-of-the-art mission control center has been put in by the cafeteria!

Speaking of cafeteria, I grabbed a quick bite before heading back over to the training center for my simulated mission. This would be my first time flying a shuttle sim since 1994! I could have chose Orion or Enterprise, but I went with Discovery since she was my first command (and since she would soon be a Dreamchaser). The mission was very abbreviated (first two minutes of launch, fast forward to opening payload bay doors, solve a couple of anomalies, close the doors, then final approach and landing) but the nostalgia alone was more than enough, plus I got to fly with astronaut Dottie!

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Next I got to go into mission control and help the group behind me fly their Discovery mission with Hoot on board. The girl flying the shuttle as Commander did such a great job on landing that I got on the mic and congratulated her with "If I didn't know better I'd think Hoot was doing the flying."

After all that excitement was some much-needed downtime. I recharged with a nap and a shower before heading over to the Davidson Center for the Hall Of Fame dinner. I missed Rhea Seddon's book signing due to my extended nap! I caught back up with Steve and sat at a table with him and his wife. For dinner we had baked chicken, which was OK but not as good as the filet mignon of last year. It was buffet-style so no service to the tables other than to clear plates.

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We had several speakers open the ceremony, all of whom were brief. The ceremony was shorter than last year since the Alumni already had given out their awards earlier in the day. Todd May from NASA's SLS Program gave us an update on the progress of SLS development before the Hall of Fame new inductees were presented. Videos were shown for Kate Rubens and Susanna Phillips, who could not be in attendance. I didn't get to talk to Elizabeth Bierman (she was quite the popular lady), but I did get to meet Bobak Ferdowski and hang out with him a bit. He's very down to earth and already wants to come back next year. All of the inductees have GREAT stories and I think they are all awesome additions to the Hall Of Fame. Vincent took some video so hopefully you'll all be able to watch their bios soon.

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Last but not least was the Concert In Shuttle Park right after the Hall of Fame ceremony. I raced back over to the Marriott to change out of my shirt and tie and get into some more comfortable shorts and t-shirt concert attire. I entered the concert by going back over to the Davidson Center, just to have the chance to walk through the Rocket Park at night. The turnout for the concert was excellent. People brought their own chairs and set them up under the Pathfinder, viewing the stage on Pathfinder's starboard side, opposite of Astrotrek. Cash bars for drinks and band merch were to the left of the stage, and food trucks were set up in the parking lot next to the staff entrance. Yacht Rock Review put on a great show of 70s and 80s rock, and by the end of the evening, even my two-left-feet were in front of the stage dancing.

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The first concert under Pathfinder was a big success that had everyone saying "why haven't we done this before?" I would like to see Pathfinder concerts become a normal thing, at least once a year! I certainly wouldn't mind helping with the promotion again.

The party didn't end with the concert. After the show, we headed back over to the Marriott to meet up at the pool with the Hall of Famers and other alumni. We stopped by the bar (which I still refer to as Otters) and got drinks just as they were calling last call. Luckily, two very gracious alumni were willing to throw down the $200 necessary to keep the bar open a couple more hours! This allowed us to consume a few more drinks and order some contraband pizzas from Papa Johns. It was 2am before we all split and called it a night.

Morning came without a whiskey or beer hangover. Instead was a hangover from knowing all of the fun had come to an end. I drove back home thinking of the new friends I had met, the fun I had with the old alumni, and looking ahead to when I get to come back and do it again. I'm thinking October 16 for the graduation of the Adult Alumni camps!
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by SpaceCanada »

Thank you for the great update, Hotdog. Sounds like an incredible weekend, one that will be remembered by many for years to come. Flying left seat with Dottie (or Hoot) - priceless!
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Re: Alumni Weekend 2015

Post by majtom7 »

Hey Braids,

Did you note this comment?

"Advanced Space Academy will start running Mars missions with the Orion sim beginning next week."

Maybe we should offer our services as testers. ;)

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