Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
U.S. SPACE ACADEMY
train to be an astronaut
HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA
We came in peace for all mankind.
—Apollo 11 lunar module plaque
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Houston, we have a vacation. If you've ever suffered from celestial wanderlust or
dreamed of being an astronaut (and what self-respecting kid hasn't?), it's time to get off your
duff and head to Space Camp. Don't even think about trying the “but I'm too old excuse” John
Glenn was 77 when he last ventured into space.
Every fall and winter, the U.S. Space Academy in Huntsville offers space camp for adults.
You'll get to sleep in a simulated space habitat, wear a blue or orange NASA flight suit, and
sample the same freeze-dried ice cream that astronauts munch in space. Of course, the main
reason you're there is to take on two different space shuttle missions, one in which you'll work
in mission control and another where you'll be part of the crew. Working from real-time video
displays and scripts that mimic the sequence of an actual liftoff, you'll launch the shuttle, ex-
ecute a space mission (perhaps deploying or retrieving a satellite), and return safely to Earth.
This is no sci-fi fantasy. You'll actually train for these simulated missions on such equip-
ment as a zero-gravity wall, a multi-axis trainer (think how laundry feels because on this train-
er you'll spin wildly in three directions while strapped to a chair), a microgravity chair (it
hangs from the roof by springs and lets you hop around as if you're on the moon, weighing a
sixth of what you weigh on Earth), and the MMU, the manned maneuvering unit that simulates
work outside the spacecraft.
U.S. Space Camp is located at NASA's Space and Rocket Center, which grew out of the
Marshall Space Flight Center. Directed by famed rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, Mar-
shall launched the tests for man's first flights into outer space. Right after World War II, von
Braun and more than a hundred other German rocket scientists were stationed at Marshall to
convert their bombbuilding expertise into spaceship building.
SPACE HABITAT SPEAK
