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.
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
- 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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
