Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space

Life continues at its incredibly hectic pace. I was at work for the launch last night, but I was quite bored. It was my trainee’s first flight as ARD Support, and “the way things have always been done” dictates that an experienced ARD Support be there for a new person’s first flight. The main reason for this is that a lot of our work is done off-console and there aren’t many chances to practice it if we’re not actually launching a real space shuttle. It’s the kind of stuff that’s hard to sim. So I was there to answer any questions and help with any major issues. Of course there were none, and thus I was bored. My trainee handled everything beautifully, as I expected, and she can now say she is an experienced ARD Support! Hooray!
It was a beautiful launch. Night launches are awesome. I really need to go see another launch in person before the shuttle program ends.
The rest of my time over the past few workdays has been occupied by a team of high school physics teachers from New Hampshire. They are here to fly an experiment that they helped their students design on the Vomit Comet, and I’m acting as their “technical mentor.” This means that I have to help make sure their experiment is fit and safe to fly, and I had to help them write the technical document that covers every aspect of their experiment, its procedures and construction. But the reward is worth it — I get to fly on the Vomit Comet with them! I fly with the team leader, Steve, on Thursday. The whole team stems from Steve, who was one of the few hundred finalists for the most recent educator astronaut selection process. The teachers who weren’t selected to become astronauts still became part of the Network of Educator Astronaut Teachers (NEAT) program, and they maintain a close relationship with the space agency. I think it’s a great move on NASA’s part to keep in touch with them and give them opportunities like this.
They are a great team and I am really enjoying working with them now that they’re finally in Houston. On Friday afternoon I took them through the control center for a grand tour and I think they really enjoyed it. That’s the main reason I look forward to doing outreach and tours — I love telling people about NASA and seeing them get excited about the space program.
Their team was featured in an article in the Boston Globe over the weekend. If you’re interested, here’s the link.