Back Stage Passes to Mission Control!

Today was the first day where we finally felt like we could relax a bit more and take in what has happened over this past week. It has been the ride of a life time. We spent part of the day touring JSC (Johnson Space Center). We felt like we had a backstage pass to JSC. We started out touring building 7(MCC) which held mock ups of the ISS, Space Shuttle, and a variety of capsules, robots and vehicles used in the space program. Scientists, engineers, and astronuats would use the life size mock ups to simulate what would happen if there was fire and smoke emergencies, engineers need to find a place to put over 2 million parts on the space shuttle. They used these mock-ups to test whether the solar panels they take to the ISS will fit in the cargo bay.

Mrs. Fortuna is standing in front of a prototype of the new lunar transport vehicle that will take the place of the old lunar space vehicle.


Mrs. Osterhues was shaking the hands of our friendly astronuat suit. We had a great presentation by a space suit design engineer who works in the Space Suit and Crew Survival Systems department. He and others are developing ways to make a space suit suitable for walking on the moon. Flexibilty is the key as well as preventing moon dust damage. We got to see all the parts and pieces that create a living space for astronauts while they complete an eight hour space walk.




Next we went to building 30. This is the nerve center for America's Manned Space Program. This was sooooo cool! We got to sit in the viewing room of Mission Control for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. We also got to see the Apollo Mission Operations Control Room #1. It was used for launching all of the Apollo Missions. It is now preserved as a National Historic Landmark. This is where you heard, "Houston, we have problem." Actual consoles from this room were shipped to California for the movie "Apollo 13" with Tom Hanks.