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Smithsonian @ Space Academy

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 10:38 am
by majtom7
3 days, $4K 2019 & 2020 (It says 5 days on the website yet day 1 is a reception/dinner while you leave on day 5.) 2 missions: lunar shuttle launch and mission to Mars

https://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/tou ... y/details/

https://public-media.smithsonianjourney ... e_Date.pdf

P.S. Thank you to Melissa Nutt for pointing that out about day 1.

P.P.S. I asked if that included airfare since the terms & conditions mentioned it and I was hoping for a cheaper alternative. Nope! $4,370 single occupancy..PASS! :O=

Re: Smithsonian @ Space Academy

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 4:28 pm
by p51
Just slap the name, "Smithsonian" onto the "train with an astronaut" Adult academy and charge much more.
Heck, my wife and I took a non-space-related trip to Colorado earlier this month through a local tour company and I recommended they do a Space Camp trip almost exactly like the one the brochure describes. one of our guides was very interested in the concept, and I've offered to go do a presentation as I am still a SC ambassador...
This looks exactly like what I'd proposed to that tour company guide on our bus (with Hoot and even the Marriott instead of the HAB). Yeah, people on that group won't get the "meh" experience I got last fall, but for how much they'll pay, I bet there'll be a few folks near the end saying, "Really, this is what I paid all that for?"

Re: Smithsonian @ Space Academy

Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:45 am
by majtom7
At least they let you know what you are getting for your money. Why USSRC chooses not to do something similar regarding their camps is beyond me.

P.S. I wonder if Smithsonian Journeys are part fundraiser.

Re: Smithsonian @ Space Academy

Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 10:39 am
by Hotdog
WOW! Glad to see this happening! I hope they sell out every spot. I like the idea of an "upscale" adult program. This is very close to being the "Adult Space Academy Elite" I've been dreaming about. The market for it may be very small, but it's there. Like the folks who would never drive a Volkswagen, but would go for an Audi, even though it's the same car underneath with a few extras and a prettier package. Perhaps this is the vehicle that's been missing from the Space Camp Dealership showroom floor!

That being said, it's a new model that will have some bugs that will need to be worked out in its first year. It may be Year Two or Year Three until it runs perfectly.

I suppose the dream car/program for most of us here would be a lower trim level of this camp. Perhaps we could start with the Smithsonian Space Academy model, and then modify it something like this:
  • - Strip the Smithsonian name, Mr. Hickman, and the fancy dinners to bring the price down

    - Use the savings to expand the program to 7 days (5 days + arrival day and grad/departure day)?

    - Fill the extra days with sim time with the astros

    - Keep the sims and training serious, nerdy and realistic (no "lunar shuttle")

    - Stargazing session on best weather night + either a movie or show in the new planetarium all other nights
Not sure if we'd come out with a cheaper price with these modifications or not. But I do think that both the Smithsonian Camp and a less ambitious "Adult Elite" Camp could co-exist. I think they would sell each other. Like the guy who goes to the Chevy dealership to see the new Corvette, but drives out with the Camaro, and vice-versa. Maybe the previous "Train With An Astronaut" is already the "Adult Elite" Camp I'm talking about, just an abbreviated version of it.

Re: Smithsonian @ Space Academy

Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 1:13 pm
by majtom7
USSRC used to have an Adult Advanced Space Academy Elite. It was called Adult Advanced Space Academy back in 1993. This deal is a lot closer to what the Adult Space Academy was back in 1991.