The HabForum

So the alumni team is back form their week at Space Camp! The votes are in and they LOVED it! Here is what they did:

12-hour shuttle/ISS EDM (which I was leaning towards anyway, over the 24-hour)
Area 51
MSFC tour (they were all American, lucky them)
two dive sessions at the UAT (with a new full face mask, no near-drownings this time)
lunar mission
wine and cheese screening of October Sky
among the other usual camp stuff - lectures, sims, etc.

They are already in talks for planning a week next year as well. Do we want to wait for more reviews to come in? Thoughts? Their cost was pretty high too, so I don't think there is any way around that part other than getting a big team together and splitting the cost as much as possible.

If we can join in the same week as them, maybe we can cut the costs down. Are they willing to include us in their plans?

Conan wrote:If we can join in the same week as them, maybe we can cut the costs down. Are they willing to include us in their plans?

I was wondering the same thing. But still, I can't really see me going nuts with costs for a week-long program. The $500+ cost of the 30-day camp wasn't a tough sell to my wife, but 2 to 4 times that much? No, I wouldn't be able to look her in the eye if it was a lot more.
As for the timeframe, October for me is a much better time of year as it's easier for me to get time off and it's not nearly as hot in Alabama in some years...

The only problem with combining teams is that they usually have 12 people each year... plus my husband, father, and myself... that's just about a full team. So we would have to run two teams if any of you really want to go. But there may be fewer of them in 2013, who knows. I will be kept in the loop for their 2013 planning.

As for dates, the last week of September or first part of October is always a good time for us to get away. Bonus points if it's over Canadian Thanksgiving weekend - one less day to take off work.

SpaceCanada wrote:12-hour shuttle/ISS EDM (which I was leaning towards anyway, over the 24-hour)
Area 51
MSFC tour (they were all American, lucky them)
two dive sessions at the UAT (with a new full face mask, no near-drownings this time)
lunar mission
wine and cheese screening of October Sky
among the other usual camp stuff - lectures, sims, etc.

That sounds PERFECT!

Where do I sign???

There is one Brit in that group. He stayed on campus and explored some areas he'd not been to before. He was quite cheery about it.

If the camp is $1500 per person for 6 days (plus travel), would you commit to attending?

I am only asking because the other alumni team has decided to book again and they have a full team already. I have asked them loads of questions about this. The cost of $1500 per person is pretty much solid and reducing it compromises the fun-ness of the week. I won't lie - I want it to be the most action-packed and eventful week possible and am wiling to pay for it because I know it will be a long time before I can go back. This means we have only a handful of people for the Hab1 team... and I am wondering if this is still feasible. We need to get more people, and there is a lot more to consider than we initially thought, like legal documents and financial accountability.

Here's who all has expressed an interest and I will try to update this as people respond:
Richasi - ?
p51 - ?
Conan - ?
gt0163c - ?
ecchs - ?
Hotdog - ?

Unfortunately, the cost is too high for the other people I thought would join us.

I am only trying to be realistic here before any more work goes into this.

The $1500 is still a tad more than I would like to spend...but maybe if the conditions are right. Could I stay in the Marriott under this plan, or would that cost extra? Could I pay less tuition by having my lodging costs subtracted so I could pursue staying at Marriott on my own?

Is this still the curriculum, or has it changed?

12-hour shuttle/ISS EDM
Area 51
MSFC tour
two dive sessions at the UAT
lunar mission
wine and cheese screening of October Sky
among the other usual camp stuff - lectures, sims, etc.

Would there be any sim time at AC?

And finally, would the timeframe be September or October?

SpaceCanada wrote:If the camp is $1500 per person for 6 days (plus travel), would you commit to attending?
I am only trying to be realistic here before any more work goes into this.

Like Hotdog, I'd like to know what the curriculum is before committing. I also would need to get a better idea of the date. And I need to wait at least a few more weeks until a few other things are more firmly planned for next year. But, if all of that falls into place, I'd be willing to pay $1500.

The accommodations quoted were in the Hab, and I presume everyone would have to be there to keep the price.

The quoted activities were vague but I initially asked for AC sim time as well, so it should be included. The itinerary you posted was what the alumni did this year. No SCUBA was included in my original quote.

Time frame depends on if we get enough people or not and what date everyone agrees on. Being non-American, I cannot be the person who deals with the legal stuff or the financial stuff, so someone else would have to take on responsibility for collecting money from everyone, paying the $24 000 bill at the end, and signing the legal stuff.

As with Hotdog, I'd need to know exact dates before I can commit.
Otherwise, $1500 is nothing to sneeze at, but I'd love to do it.

Yes, I will be willing to commite for $1500, but I too would need to know the dates well in advance or I won't be able to get the time off.

Sadly, with so few people, we do not have enough to make a team. I feel like a selfish traitor: I have accepted an invitation to join the other alumni team for 2013. (It wasn't an easy decision.) However, if more people jump on here and commit for 2013, and can pick a date, I would put in the effort to help plan a corporate camp for everyone - it is a lot of work. I really wish Space Camp would bring back their week-long adult camps, if even one or two per year, so all of us could go. Sorry everyone... I really wished and hoped it would have worked out.

SpaceCanada wrote:Sadly, with so few people, we do not have enough to make a team. I feel like a selfish traitor: I have accepted an invitation to join the other alumni team for 2013. (It wasn't an easy decision.) However, if more people jump on here and commit for 2013, and can pick a date, I would put in the effort to help plan a corporate camp for everyone - it is a lot of work. I really wish Space Camp would bring back their week-long adult camps, if even one or two per year, so all of us could go. Sorry everyone... I really wished and hoped it would have worked out.

Don't beat yourself up. It didn't work out for a group from here but you're able to go with another group. That's great! Have an amazing time! (Which we all know you will.) When you get back, make sure you share stories and pictures and everything else amazing that happened. And, who knows, maybe we can get enough people interested to go in 2014.

SpaceCanada wrote:Sadly, with so few people, we do not have enough to make a team. I feel like a selfish traitor: I have accepted an invitation to join the other alumni team for 2013. (It wasn't an easy decision.)

Don't feel bad. I have gotten offers to join two alumni teams, but both needed commitments around now for next summer. I can't commit to anything that early out, as I can't ask for time off at my office until June for anything that happens after June.
And also, 1500 is a huge chunk of money. I can afford that, but it's bordering on the impossible top justify the cost to myself. I had a blast at the 30-day camp for a third of that in September but paying 3 times as much makes me wonder if I'll get 3-times as much out of it. And I just can't bring myself to really run this by my wife as there's nothing she would do that would cost that much comparably and I'd feel bad about spending all that coin on doing something for myself...

Thanks everyone. I feel bad but I promise to give you the best update with loads of photos. I really hope we can get more people one of these times and make a Hab1 team.

Thanks for trying Jennifer. Is anyone from your alumni group on Hab1? Perhaps we would have better luck getting our group together if some of them were members here. I like the idea of a corporate camp. Perhaps next year we should try to go that route and organize something. Do you guys have a date already picked out for your alumni camp session?

None of the alumni I am going with are on Hab1.com. I should mention it to them - they would have some great experiences to share. I think one of them has been going almost every year since camp had its first adult week!

I will be at Space Camp (or in the vicinity) from 04 to 11 October 2013.

The quote I had was for a corporate camp session. From what the other alumni team has told me, the process of booking a corporate camp for a group of individuals is rather complex, especially when dealing with financial and legal liabilities. However, it's the only option for adults wanting more than a weekend at camp.

SpaceCanada wrote:The quote I had was for a corporate camp session. From what the other alumni team has told me, the process of booking a corporate camp for a group of individuals is rather complex, especially when dealing with financial and legal liabilities.

That was what I was told, as well. The two groups who have invited me both needed payment way in advance, to one of the people putting it together (and not SC directly) as apparently, the group needs to make a bulk payment in advance. I couldn't commit to either timeframes as there's no way I can be assured of having time off that far in advance, so I had to decline both groups and probably won't ever be able to do anything that need a commitment that far out.

I'm sorry to see this idea fall through. Sadly even if it had not there was no way i could have come close to affording that. Right now even a weekend camp would be out of my price range. Ask Hotdog when i went down for the 30th anniversary weekend this summer i was eating peanut butter sandwiches to save money and couldnt afford even the 99 dollars for the alumni stuff they had going on. Sadly i think any kind of full camp experience weekend or week long will be out of my price range for the forseeable future. I'll probably have to be happy with driving down there every couple of years to visit