Houston, We have a problem!

14.1.09

 

This was the most amazing and wonderful days! Had been told how to get to and from the space centre using public transport, but had forgotten pretty promptly how long to allow to get TO the bus stop I needed, so I erred on the side of caution and rose fairly early. Took off, waited at the bus stop for about 30 minutes, then was the first person on the coach that never quite numbered about 6 passengers! Sat at the front so that I could watch the weird freeways. Something very odd about the off ramps and the way the network works. Makes sense that it's developed the way it has, but it didn't give a nice vibe about the city. After an hour on the bus was at the space centre and checked that the stop we were at is where I'd find the return bus at 5.30. Last bus at 3.00 she said. WHAT!?? Tough, I'd paid for my tour and would work out how to get to the bus stop which was nearby but not quite walking distance where I could get a 6.00pm bus later. So in I went, so excited!

 

Once inside and in possession of my special VIP tag and ticket, I checked out the displays and set ups until it was time to join the tour. A really nice group - only 9 of us, and everyone very friendly but not overbearing. Started talking to one couple, then another. We went straight to the cafeteria for lunch. Were given a ticket and told we had no upper value limit, but could only pay once, so had to get everything we wanted, including dessert, and if we wanted could bring a drink back on the bus, as long as it had a lid. Well, as Mum later said to me - "I can well imagine a backpacker Bermingham in a cafeterria that's FREE!" I went mad! The food all looked pretty decent, and hell, I can eat big, and explain it as being a starving backpacker who has to eat when she can! As I walked back out, another couple invited me to sit with them, then their eyes just bulged when they saw how loaded up I was! I explained why (ok ok, it was just an excuse, I've not been starving at any point!) They were in shock because they were SHARING dessert! hehe. I ate it all, of course, and enjoyed every morsel! We returned to the bus and were joined by the guy who had been late to arrive. Well, word had passed around that the colt from old regret, no no, word had passed around that I was a starving Aussie backpacker travelling the world for 3 months... all in the time I'd gone to the toilet! So the new arrival thought that sounded fascinating because he was young and couldn't conceive of doing such a thing! I couldn't believe how fast word had got around! So we were all off for a good start as we laughed and laughed - mostly them at my accent, and me at them because I can't HEAR my accent. Why we weren't laughing at the Scots I really don't know!

 

First stop was the neutral boyancy lab. A pool umm, about double the length and width of an olympic sized pool, but 12 metres deep. Pretty damned deep! Anyway, it was chock full of equipment and a few astronauts and a heap of divers. The astronauts in there were those that are due to go up on Feb 12th.  They were too deep to see through the windows, but at one point we could, the rest of the time there was a tv with their radios playing through the sound. Awesome. Their suits weighed 300 pounds - can you believe that? They stay under for about 6 hours at a time, a few days a week, prior to going up.

 

After the neutral boyancy lab it was back onto the Johnson Space Centre property. The Johnson Space Centre employs (directly and mostly indirectly) 17000 people. Fully self contained satellite city, except they did lose their power, although they have their own supply/system, when Ike hit. So into the first mission control centre of the day - this one was doing a simulation of docking the shuttle to the space station. We were there to see it "dock". One of the INCA's came in and answered some questions for us - Instrument Control something something. He was great.

 

After that centre into another - the one for the space station. It was an hour before the astronauts were due for sleep, so there wasn't much activity, but it was the most beautiful part of the day, and almost homesick inducing. One of the screens showed us what the space station was looking at. Well, it was seeing a sunrise. 6 a day I think they said they see. It was situated over the Northern Territory/North of WA. I saw the sunrise over Australia. How incredibly beautiful. We'd have moved on earlier, but they were all so excited to see me see the sunrise over home. It's a sight I'll definitely not ever forget.

 

The third mission control centre was good to see, but not as exciting as seeing the sunrise. It was the 1965 control centre that was decomissioned in the early 2000s. As the 1965 control centre it was the one to have seen Apollo 11 and 13, along with a heap of others, but those most notably. The entire room is a museum, containing the mirror brought back from Apollo 13, which was presented to the guys in there with a beautiful thankyou message (for without them, we wouldn't be alive) and a request it was hung above the water fountain so that they could see their reflection often. Once those guys retired it was moved up. The flag that Neil Armstrong put on the moon is also on the wall in there. It's not just a museum but a national heritage site. Was able to sit in the Flight Director's position/not the real seat I'm sure, but it works for me!!

 

From there it was to the Astronaut's Training Lab, where the shuttle mockups etc are. There were a few astronauts training, floating around doing stuff. Saw the prototype of the moon buggy they're building for the return to the moon, and also the spider they're building to be able to do repairs to the space station to limit the need for too many space walks. The shuttle mockups are a replication of the real size, and was shocked to discover they're not actually THAT big! Rocket Park which contains the last Saturn V that was built - and then not sent to space, although planned, and then that was the end of the tour. A bit more of a look around inside the centre until closing time, then one of the lovely couples was happy to take me to the bus.

 

Bus back to the city took so much longer than the grumpy driver said it would. Was happy to get back to the hostel, then sat outside in the cold with some of the guys who were drinking in secrecy because the hostel wouldn't allow it thanks to a few alco's who have taken up residence there... Eventually a lady I was meeting up with from the KT group I belong to arrived and we headed to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Nice dinner, back, more talk for a few hours. A bit of arguing, as one guy was in Houston to give a presentation on public transport but also started talking about solar power and another guy had a bit of argument about THAT, made for a lot of laughs. Great bunch of guys. NASA though, absolutely friggin awesome. Worth every cent and worth the trip to Houston. So damned amazing.