Saturday we were trying to figure out what to do, so I started looking and realized after almost five years in Houston, J and I have never been to NASA - Johsnson Space Center. That's what we decided to do and I'm glad we did. I'm pretty sure we all were.
Inside the main building (the museum part) we were able to see different models, old space suits, and numerous interactive displays. The overall history and items on display is amazing. We even were able to "play" with flight simulators trying to land a shuttle and dock one with the ISS (International Space Station). Neither was easy.
We really enjoyed the full scale mock up of the shuttle. Actually it was the front "cabin" compartment and an area below it that we could walk through.
Inside the main building (the museum part) we were able to see different models, old space suits, and numerous interactive displays. The overall history and items on display is amazing. We even were able to "play" with flight simulators trying to land a shuttle and dock one with the ISS (International Space Station). Neither was easy.
We really enjoyed the full scale mock up of the shuttle. Actually it was the front "cabin" compartment and an area below it that we could walk through.
A little bit later, we took a tour by tram to visit the old Mission Control Center. It was chilly outside, but thankfully we were able to go inside for a while.
Here is the new Mission Control Center.
It was just beyond the back wall of the old Mission Control Center.
It was just beyond the back wall of the old Mission Control Center.
Our tour also took us to see the spectacular Saturn V at Rocket Park. We all agreed this was probably one of our favorite parts of the tour. Mission Control was very interesting and neat to see, but the sheer size of the Saturn V was amazing! The pictures we took can't really do it justice, but you still might be able to get a feel of it's size.
Here is a diagram I found that shows the Saturn V's size compared to the current shuttles, and even to the new Ares-I and Ares-V rockets (with the Orion crew capsule) to be in use by 2020.
There were about 4 sections that made up the whole rocket/shuttle.
The sections work similarly like NASA's current shuttles do. The fuel chambers/tanks deplete themselves of fuel and then drop off, firing to the next one(s) and then they too fall off once empty. From there the remaining shuttle moves about space without the bulky booster rockets.
Here is the front. You can see the capsule/pod part that took a
beating when reentering the Earth's atmosphere after its flight in space.
beating when reentering the Earth's atmosphere after its flight in space.
One of the final things we went to at NASA was the Blast Off Theater. It had video playing along with sensory speakers where we were able to feel the vibrations and force from a shuttle taking off. From there we entered another room and listened to a very knowledgeable woman talk about the current mission that was going on and how they were going to try and land shuttle Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday. Because of cloud cover and weather conditions, the shuttle landed in California instead of Florida.
We even saw some video footage from Friday, so it was pretty neat getting to see things just a day later. I only wish we had more time to see all of the exhibits. I guess this means J and I will need to go back again.
After the presentation was complete, Endeavour had relocated over the northwest part of Africa. That wasn't really difficult, since the shuttle travels about 17,580 miles per hour, or five miles per second.
That evening we took Dad and Mom out to Cafe Red Onion for some "Latin fusion" food. Good as always, and we've only been there about 4 times in the past 4 or 5 years. Mom really enjoyed the fried plantains with her Chicken Tikal. Dad's Hawaiian style Chicken had coconut in the rice, with a spicy coconut sauce. I had Chicken Belize, which also came with fried plantains, sour cream, and black beans. J had the Red Snapper, covered in a coleslaw type of cabbage with crisp tortilla strips on top. Yum!
4 thoughtful comments:
Yummm, I love Red Onion.
If it makes you feel any better about just now going to NASA, I've lived in Houston for 30 years and have only been there once. I think it was a field trip in 3rd grade.
Thanks for the tour! I went to the old space museum in 1974 or so--or was it a museum then? It is an incredible place! Glad you and your parents had a great time!
Looks like you had a fun trip to NASA, I also love the rock pictures!
WOW! How very cool. Matt would be so in love with that place!!!
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