Back in June, I went to the Kennedy Space Center’s Astronaut Training Experience. We started by getting to take a look inside a replica of the orbiter, seeing the lower level, climbing up to the upper level where the Commander and Pilot sit, then come back down and out the hatch.
After the tour, we went to a room with simulators set up. We split into groups of two to work together on landing the shuttle. One person would do the landing while the other person would punch in commands into a green-screen application, such as turning off auto-pilot, dropping the landing gear, and deploying the parachute. After taking turns, the teams could also try the docking simulation. The person who got the best stats in four categories on the landing simulation got to be the Commander for their mission (there were two larger groups, each doing a mission).
While one team did their mission, the other would be able to train on a zero-G ladder and multi-axis chair. The zero-G ladder had you strapped into a harness and they counter-balanced your weight perfectly do that if you did nothing, you would not go up or down. You could use your arms to pull yourself up a series of ‘rungs’ and then pull yourself back down. We had some fun propelling off the ground and grabbing the bars to stop ourselves.
The multi-axis chair was a 60-second spin on three axes, while they asked you a couple simple questions to test your mental functionality while spinning. My questions were to spell ‘chocolate’ backwards and what year it was 39 years ago. I nailed both. *brushes off shoulders*
Then the teams switched places and our team started our mission. The Commander and Pilot made their way to the orbiter while the rest of us took our seats in the control room. My job was the Flight Dynamics Officer – or FIDO. We simulated take-off, deployment of a satellite from the payload bay, and return to Earth.
The two teams recombined after this and we got a quick tour of some space items – space food, items that we wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for NASA research, etc. And then we got to meet with an astronaut – Robert Springer. He gave us information on the space program and left time for us to ask questions before we all headed back out to the main room (with the orbiter) and took pictures with Mr. Springer.
Anyone who is interested in space, space technology, or anything similar would enjoy this 4-hour training experience. The price is reasonable for the amount of time and amount of knowledge and entertainment you get out of it.
ren3gade 