The HabForum

I was wondering with the shuttle retiring and that being a big role with space camp.. do they plan on any major "updates" within the next few years? I have not been myself but from the images and videos i have not really seen anything mars related. Maybe I am ahead of myself here i guess lol.. i'd just like to see some stuff like make it a more ISS theme.. or possible "Mars Team" and "Earth Team" as a mock manned mission to Mars. That's something we did at our local Science Museum. Or maybe control or build mars rovers and see how the signal delay plays a vital role on "earth" I know it sounds great when you dont consider cost but this is the only place that does what the astronauts do and i was just wondering what to expect next.

They are currently developing the ISS. The station stuff is actually pretty cool. There is an awesome obervation node that gives you an above view of the whole TCF. An they have an ISS contol room for the missions. As for what happens after the shuttle, they are going to wait to see what happens before doing much. And I would hate to loose all the shuttle sims in future changes. I have so many great memories from in them that it would be weird to have Space Camp without them.

i would like to see Orion and Shuttle sim programs coexist in the Space Camp curriculum. I could see them focusing more on Orion as it becomes closer to being operational, but I think it would be a mistake to completely drop the Shuttle from the program completely.

In a perfect world, there would be a Space Camp: Project Mercury & Gemini where you spent a week as an Alan Shepard or Gus Grissom, a Space Camp: Project Apollo & Skylab where you could do sims with CM's & LM's with lunar EVAs, and a Space Camp: Project Space Shuttle that preserves the current Space Camp curriculum. Think of how many people would come back to Space Camp multiple weeks to get the entire NASA historical experience!

I attended a panel discussion yesterday in which Larry Capps, the CEO of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, was one of the panel members. He noted that there are five orbiters on the training center floor, and that Space Camp is currently in negotiations to turn the Shuttle trainers to Constellation vehicles. He mentioned a new client in Dubai who will assist with the task in Huntsville and create a space training camp in Dubai.

OK, here's my $.02 (and we all know how much $.02 buys these days).

In all likelyhood our next President is going to be a Democrat. Now after the spend -happy congress that we've had for the last few years, do you really think this President is going to approve a brand-new, untested and untried space program? I mean, just look at the "demonstration" flight that has been set for 2009. An SRB topped by a dummy second stage, a dummy capsule, and no escape system. Basically all they're going to do is launch the same SRB that has been launching the shuttle since 1981. This is our NEW space program? Just how impressive is this going to be to a penny-pinching administration?

To make a long story short (too late), I'm worried that we're either going to end up with nothing, or the same "value engineering" that got us the cut rate shuttle program that has killed several astronauts.

bnaivar wrote:OK, here's my $.02 (and we all know how much $.02 buys these days).

In all likelyhood our next President is going to be a Democrat. Now after the spend -happy congress that we've had for the last few years, do you really think this President is going to approve a brand-new, untested and untried space program? I mean, just look at the "demonstration" flight that has been set for 2009. An SRB topped by a dummy second stage, a dummy capsule, and no escape system. Basically all they're going to do is launch the same SRB that has been launching the shuttle since 1981. This is our NEW space program? Just how impressive is this going to be to a penny-pinching administration?

To make a long story short (too late), I'm worried that we're either going to end up with nothing, or the same "value engineering" that got us the cut rate shuttle program that has killed several astronauts.

When you put it like that it does not really seems like the president's fault either way.. i think the hype machine has started rolling and will not stop now. Even if NASA is not given the money it is obvious people are sick of sitting around and waiting for NASA to do this. People like Mars Society and other NASA alternatives seem to have their own goals. Obviously if NASA can't afford to go to Mars it is unreal that they would but unlike NASA I feel that they will already have the vehicles, habs and the entire plan for whoever does or can get enough money to go there some day.

monkeynautt wrote:And I would hate to loose all the shuttle sims in future changes.

If they decide to decommission any of them, we should all pool our resources and buy one! That way, we could all get together and have the experience we've always wanted. Whaddaya think?

Fatal291 wrote:I was wondering with the shuttle retiring and that being a big role with space camp.. do they plan on any major "updates" within the next few years? I have not been myself but from the images and videos i have not really seen anything mars related. Maybe I am ahead of myself here i guess lol.. i'd just like to see some stuff like make it a more ISS theme.. or possible "Mars Team" and "Earth Team" as a mock manned mission to Mars. That's something we did at our local Science Museum. Or maybe control or build mars rovers and see how the signal delay plays a vital role on "earth" I know it sounds great when you dont consider cost but this is the only place that does what the astronauts do and i was just wondering what to expect next.

You're talking about the Science Museum in richmond, right? When was that?

bnaivar wrote:I mean, just look at the "demonstration" flight that has been set for 2009. An SRB topped by a dummy second stage, a dummy capsule, and no escape system. Basically all they're going to do is launch the same SRB that has been launching the shuttle since 1981. This is our NEW space program? Just how impressive is this going to be to a penny-pinching administration?

To make a long story short (too late), I'm worried that we're either going to end up with nothing, or the same "value engineering" that got us the cut rate shuttle program that has killed several astronauts.

Ummm...it may look like the same SRB but there have been some design modifications made to it. And during my last couple of co-op terms at MSFC I've worked with the guys making those changes. I'd also like to know what makes you think the people working on this are "value engineering" it. Clearly we're going to try and keep the costs as low as possible, but not at the cost of safety or quality.

Also, would you prefer them test the full system and in case of a failure risk losing an entire upper stage plus escape system without ever having tested them? Think of the costs involved there. I could keep going but it's 1:45 in the morning and I'd rather be reading Harry Potter than ranting online.

Mercergl wrote:

Fatal291 wrote:I was wondering with the shuttle retiring and that being a big role with space camp.. do they plan on any major "updates" within the next few years? I have not been myself but from the images and videos i have not really seen anything mars related. Maybe I am ahead of myself here i guess lol.. i'd just like to see some stuff like make it a more ISS theme.. or possible "Mars Team" and "Earth Team" as a mock manned mission to Mars. That's something we did at our local Science Museum. Or maybe control or build mars rovers and see how the signal delay plays a vital role on "earth" I know it sounds great when you dont consider cost but this is the only place that does what the astronauts do and i was just wondering what to expect next.

You're talking about the Science Museum in richmond, right? When was that?

No I mean the Math & Science Center, that was a few years ago but i believe they still do that.. im sure they dont have the money to do anything else

Ah thats right! I actually think i went to one of those! Next best thing to Space camp

We used to have a Challenger Learning Center but when the science centre went under renovations it was removed. I don't know why they never brought it back.

We had one of those in Tampa, too. I attended a program there once when I was a kid and I liked it so much that I had my birthday party there!

monkeynautt wrote:We used to have a Challenger Learning Center but when the science centre went under renovations it was removed. I don't know why they never brought it back.

I asked them a few times, never receiving a full answer. They have all the stuff in a storage facility somewhere too... I miss the Challenger Centre. The ESSC had a summer astronaut camp one year when I was 14 - it was the first 'space camp' I ever went to. Acutally, that sumer camp was how I found out about the real Space Camp. In our program folder we all got a brochure to Camp Spatiale Canada but when I called to register I was too old and they told me to try US Space Camp. Ah, memories...

I think I had my 16th birthday there and my brother had a few birthdays there as well. I loved assembling the probe.

They would have to keep the shuttle sim in my opinion. I remember how thrilling it was to ride on the end of the SRMS arm during our mission to do a repair on the Hubble Space Telescope. Well, all except for that dad gum sticking quick connect on the O2 ball you just couldn't operate with your gloves on.

There is a nice Challenger Center here in my town of Chattanooga. They have already started their Orion-based moon missions.

http://www.utc.edu/Outreach/ChallengerC ... ssions.htm