A few questions...

Going to camp soon? Have questions about camp? Post them here for those that have gone to answer.

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Emily
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A few questions...

Post by Emily »

Hello! I am going to advanced space academy, mission specialist track on July 13. I'm extremely excited but there are a lot of things that I am unsure about. I've already had a look through the mission briefing kit, but I'd like to get some info from the community :). Is there anything in general that I should know about? What does the daily schedule look like? Are they strict about that dress code? Also, is there anyone else who is going the same week as me? I'd like to make some friends beforehand :), Feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks :)
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Re: A few questions...

Post by Vincent »

Regarding the dress code, the most strict they'll get is with regards to the swimsuit. It's a once piece or you're not wearing it anywhere / getting in the water. Similarly, anything that is expressly forbidden will not be allowed to be worn. Hypothetically, Were you not to pack anything appropriate, they would just make you wear a flight suit everywhere!
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Re: A few questions...

Post by Hotdog »

And you do not want to have to wear a flight suit everywhere in the sweltering July heat :oops:
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Re: A few questions...

Post by p51 »

Hotdog wrote:And you do not want to have to wear a flight suit everywhere in the sweltering July heat :oops:
Darn right. I live just south of Seattle and I can confirm that you'll feel like you're melting in that heat. I grew up in Florida, but have lived in the Pac NW since 1998 and I lost my ability to handle that heat and humidity.
Don't even bother packing jeans or long pants, you'll want to wear shorts, for sure!
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Re: A few questions...

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Emily wrote:Hello! I am going to advanced space academy, mission specialist track on July 13. I'm extremely excited but there are a lot of things that I am unsure about. I've already had a look through the mission briefing kit, but I'd like to get some info from the community :). Is there anything in general that I should know about?
The Hab can get cold at night and the blankets they give you are pretty thin. Be sure to bring warm pyjamas. Ask for another blanket if you are still cold. Bring a camera, notebook, and water bottle with you everywhere. Many fun surprises happen throughout the week, whether it be a guest speaker, funny team moment, the ISS flying overhead at night, etc. and you'll want to capture that. There are also many cases when you'll want to make notes, write down someone's name, write notes to mission control over the video feed (when the audio feed dies due to an anomaly), etc. It is also going to be insanely hot in July, so water is essential. There are plenty of water fountains, but having a water bottle with you is much easier. Nobody wants to get heat sick at camp. You may want to bring a small backpack or shoulder bag to keep these things in.
Emily wrote:What does the daily schedule look like?

Expect to be BUSY! Wake up is early and bed time is late. I think our day was from 7 AM to 10 PM last year. You'll have mission briefings, simulator time, team building exercises, and missions. There is usually a little team time scheduled into the week where your group can decide to do one of a few different fun things: museum time, quiet time in the Hab, games, sports, etc. depending on what your counsellor has available.
Emily wrote:Are they strict about that dress code?

Pretty strict, but their guidelines allow a lot of things my high school or summer camps at home never did. As Vincent said, if your clothes don't meet the dress code you may end up wearing your flight suit everywhere, which can be fun, but not so much in the heat! Bring a one-piece swimsuit, swim shorts, and stick to short sleeve shirts and long shorts.
Emily wrote:Also, is there anyone else who is going the same week as me? I'd like to make some friends beforehand :)

Good question. Most people on this forum are adults, but we have a few youth who pop by closer to summer. Keep checking. Either way, you'll meet many new friends on your first day, some of which may become your best friends for years to come.
Emily wrote:Feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks :)
HAVE FUN!! Take things seriously (but not too seriously, this is just for fun, after all), get to know your team mates (get their email addresses and/or mobile numbers before you leave!), make notes, take photos, and try to take a few moments each day to sit and admire some of your favourite things. Pathfinder is an incredible sight, and I always take a few moments at every meal to admire her. The Saturn V is another impressive and awe inspiring piece of machinery.
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Re: A few questions...

Post by p51 »

Just an FYI, I posted these on my own Space Camp site as my personal opinions on what to do, bring and expect when you're there. I encountered several people in September at Huntsville who saw my website before going and they all said it came in handy:

So, if I had to do it again?
Here's what I'd suggest to people who've never been to Space Camp and are going for the first time.
*Hang with your team. I can't stress that enough. I was lucky to be with great groups where we all seemed to be on the same page from the start, but the other teams I've seen sometimes didn't click together like we seemed to. Some didn't even all eat meals together. Also, try to sit with as many different people on your team as you can. There were a few people I just never got to talking with all that much as there didn't seem to be enough time. I felt bad about that, as they were all great people. Don't misunderstand, we all got along, but some of us just didn't spend as much time with each individual as we'd have liked because 3 days just isn't enough time to do that.
*Avoid buying anything at the gift shop until at least the second day. The first time I went, I bought some stuff the day before camp started that I think I wouldn't have, had I waited. Give yourself time to go through the gift shop right before you leave, too.
*Take photos whenever you can. I took oodles of shots but still didn't think to take shots I now wish I had the first time.
*Make sure you get the names of people on your team and contact info for each, so you can swap photos with them later! Also make sure you can ID people by name from the photos. Someone on your team needs to complie e-mails for each person before you part ways.
*When you get back, tell people what you've done and the fun you had. Be proud of being an astronaut! You'll be surprised how many people will start to think about going, too!
*You might hear about campers being given call signs, but having gone twice now, it's never come up other than a discussion on why we didn't do it. We had a lady on one team that needed a wheelchair from time to time. Someone (I can't recall who) called her, "Payload," and if we had given callsigns, that would have been hers. That's the closest I've ever seen it happen.

What do I wish I'd brought (or am glad I had brought)?
*Shorts with cargo pockets on the side. It's really hot in Huntsville into the late summer. That's all I wore, with the camp (or other NASA) shirt and they came in really handy as a water bottle fit well into one side.
*A shirt you want to be seen in photos wearing at camp. They give you a camp shirt at the start but nobody wanted to wear the same shirt for three days straight in that heat. Most of us wore them the first and last days.
*Water bottle (see above). I had a nice metal one, but a plastic bottled water bottle I bought in Atlanta worked great, which has turned into a tradition for me. There are plenty of places to fill it at Camp. Again, it's very hot, so hydrating is a big thing. And you can toss it when you get back on the plane.
*Small notebook. They gave us a huge office-style notebook but I brought my own small metal-cover organizer which came in really handy, which was a little bigger than a 5X7 picture frame. There are things you need to take notes for.
*Something for 'white noise' at night. It's really quiet in the HAB and neither me nor my roomie slept well for that reason the first time.
*A good camera. I brought my Canon EOS, which isn't small but gets great shots (all the shots on this page were taken with it). Sure, I had to lug it around but it was worth it to get great photos.
*A couple of sharpie markers and small set of colored pencils. This is for the mission patch design. The sharpie really makes a mission patch design pop out.
*A bag to carry everything in. I had the helmet bag in the picture below (all these patches are from NASA facilities I've been to and launches I've personally seen) and it came in really handy. There was always a place to put it aside, even when I piloted/commanded the orbiter. The gift shop sells a neat (and not too expensive) Space Camp backpack, if you want something official for that.
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From: http://www.freewebs.com/willysmb44/spacecamp.htm
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Re: A few questions...

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Be sure to bring a couple of towels, one for the shower and a large beach-type towel if you're doing SCUBA in the UAT.

A couple good flashlights are essential, too.

Take time several times a day to just stop and soak it all in. It goes by quickly and vivid memories will get you through
the year before you can go back.
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Re: A few questions...

Post by street »

The biggest thing to remember is HAVE FUN! Some of your group will be very intense, but most are looking for a new adventure. Your Crew Trainer will keep you busy, engaged and educated! You'll have a lot of fun learning lots of new things and testing yourself physically and mentally.

Your schedule is going to be packed! You'll be getting up and having breakfast around 8 and won't be back to the Hab until bedtime (usually 10 or 10:30). Someone mentioned 'hanging in the Hab'. That's usually not an option for non-Adults. If it is, it's with your entire team, doing an activity. When the weather is hot or rainy (or both!) some activities might take place in the bottom of Hab I. ASA trainees are given a little more lee-way than the younger kids, but you still have to stick with your team. You really won't have any 'free' time, but you won't miss it! :D

Also remember, as SpaceCanada said, most of the folks on here are adults, so their experience is different. A lot of them came for a weekend camp (3 or 4 days), while you'll be there for a week, so things are different.
* P51 mentioned 'hang with your team'. Not doing so is not an option for ASA. You will stay with your team at all times. During mission training you (the mission specialists) will split up with the pilots for separate training, but you'll still be with a Crew Trainer (counselor).
* Gift Shop-Sunday you'll go to the Habitat gift shop to pick up any prepaid purchases (flight suit and/or clothing package). Your team will also choose their mission patch at that time and place that order. That has to happen on Sunday so the patch is ready for your grad pack on Friday. It's an awesome souvenir with everyone's name embroidered on it. Your team will have another 30 minute slot in the schedule for gift shop later in the week.
* Certainly bring your camera, but your Crew Trainers will also have a team camera with which they'll take tons of photos from angles you can't get (you on the simulators, for instance). Those photos will be available for purchase on a DVD.
* Callsigns are given at Aviation Challenge. They are not given at Space Camp.

*Read the clothing guidelines carefully. They were written by a disgruntled ASA trainee after she got in trouble about her clothing. She said we should be more specific so we challenged her to write up the guidelines. She did a great job! They are very accurate. Remember, Space Camp is attended by people from all over the world with different customs and social mores. We urge our trainees to dress fairly modestly. We don't expect anyone to wear a burka, but keep modestly in mind. That said, no spaghetti straps, no exposed underwear, shorts that are about mid thigh in length, and closed toe and heel shoes are all essential! You can wear sandals, but you'll need the closed toe and heel shoes for simulators, Leadership Challenge Course (be sure to have 'Bermuda' length shorts for this!), and the climbing wall. As someone else mentioned, you need a one piece swim suit with a pair of sport shorts and a tee shirt for scuba. This is more for your comfort than modesty! The tank harness is very uncomfortable without a tee! You will be issued a Space Camp tee shirt on Sunday evening. You'll wear it for the team photo on Monday. Other than that, you'll wear your own clothes and your flight suit. ASA trainees are issued a flight suit to wear all week. Obviously in July you won't want to be running around in it all the time, but play it by ear.

* Bring a small 'string' style backpack or tote bag. You'll have your log book to carry (about the size of a full sized spiral notebook), your camera, your flight suit and other odds and ends you'll want with you all the time.

*Spending money. You can load the money you plan on spending at the gift shop on to your account. It's embedded in the data on your ID wristband, so it's safe and secure. I also recommend bringing a little cash in case you want something from the vending machines.

* A phone or phone card. Please remember that if you have your phone for your camera don't let yourself be distracted by texting. You'll miss out on a lot of fun if your nose is buried in your phone...not to mention a manager will strongly suggest you put it away.
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Re: A few questions...

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street wrote:* P51 mentioned 'hang with your team'. Not doing so is not an option for ASA. You will stay with your team at all times.
I had just cut/pasted the text from my site and I was refering to those people who, at meal times, break off into cliques instead of eating with their entire team as one group (and yes, I've seen the kid groups do that, too). Those people are seriously missing out on one of the best parts of camp by not getting to know the other people on the team as you otherwise just don't get much time to do so.
street wrote:* Certainly bring your camera, but your Crew Trainers will also have a team camera with which they'll take tons of photos from angles you can't get (you on the simulators, for instance). Those photos will be available for purchase on a DVD.
I know this has nothing to do with Emily's experience, but I really wish the adult programs had this, too... :?
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Re: A few questions...

Post by Phoenix PK »

They used to have a Team camera in the adult ASA. They still do it for CSC. But you might also be handed a camera and a stack of photos of scenes around USSRC and AC, which you must re-shoot, exactly, with everyone in your Team visible in the scene. Everyone. That tends to require a pretty tight group of people.
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Re: A few questions...

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p51 wrote:I really wish the adult programs had this, too... :?
It's a logistical thing. The team cameras are handled by the Trainee Services office, which isn't necessarily manned on the weekends. Since we're doing more Adult camps through the spring and summer perhaps P&L can revisit the idea. I know it's a great way to get shots the trainee can't take!
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Re: A few questions...

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street wrote:The team cameras are handled by the Trainee Services office, which isn't necessarily manned on the weekends. Since we're doing more Adult camps through the spring and summer perhaps P&L can revisit the idea. I know it's a great way to get shots the trainee can't take!
Good idea, otherwise I'll have to hunt down Saint personally and hand my camera off to him like I did in September to get this shot of me... :mrgreen:
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Thanks again for that, BTW, Saint! Wish I'd had more time to talk with you that day, but I had an orbiter to land...
Last edited by p51 on Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: A few questions...

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I believe if a person has a good digital camera, bring it to camp. They will be great shots that will last a lifetime. Going to Kennedy in the fall & camp really got me thinking of a new camera myself.
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Re: A few questions...

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p51 wrote:
street wrote:The team cameras are handled by the Trainee Services office, which isn't necessarily manned on the weekends. Since we're doing more Adult camps through the spring and summer perhaps P&L can revisit the idea. I know it's a great way to get shots the trainee can't take!
Good idea, otherwise I'll have to hunt you down personally and hand my camera off to you like I did in September to get this shot of me... :mrgreen:
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Thanks again for that, BTW. Wish I'd had more time to talk with you that day, but I had an orbiter to land...
Ha! That was a fun day, I think I ran into you after your mission, but you were off and running to the next activity!
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Re: A few questions...

Post by Steve »

Yes you were there running the mission, I remember the great time had by all!!
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Re: A few questions...

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Sorry, I mixed up Saint and Street on this thread, I've done that a couple of times before... :oops:
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Re: A few questions...

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:lol:
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Re: A few questions...

Post by p51 »

Emily, I hope when you come back from Camp, you'll post your experience here. I think i speak for many of the regulars here when i say I love reading people's first impressions of Space Camp!
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