|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Living like Nomads has sometimes had its benefits. Migrating with the seasons has landed us in the right place at the right time more than once. Our latest southward move brought us to Florida just in time for a Space Shuttle launch! Unfortunately, after driving the 70 miles (for the third time in a week), waiting in the bumper-to-bumper traffic, then standing in the cold rain for hours, the launch was scrubbed. But setbacks are just par for the course; this mission has been experiencing delays for nearly four months. A few days earlier we had an inspiring tour around Kennedy Space Center. It is incredible what people, working together, have accomplished in this fascinating area. To see up close the incredibly complex machines that take earthlings into space is overwhelming. You can't imagine how big a Saturn V rocket is until you see it in person! We also spent a day at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, where we learned more about the brave people who have served in the space program and did some hands-on exploring of our own. Rob got up the nerve to try the centrifuge and experienced 4Gs, while the rest of us braved the Mission on Mars simulator ride.
|
What
takes off like a rocket, flies like a spacecraft and lands like a
plane? The Space Shuttle!)
|
Amanda learned the names of all the space shuttles: "Columbia, Discovery, Atlantis, Challenger and Endeavor. The one on the launch pad while we were there is Endeavor. Its mission is to gather information to make a 3-D map of the earth. Six people will be going on the mission to do this. They have been ready since September, but there have been some problems to fix." |
From the Dover coloring book History of Flight by A.G. Smith |
|
This engine once boosted the first American woman into space--Sally Ride. The three main engines of the space shuttle at takeoff produce as much energy at 23 times the output of Hoover Dam."What an engine! This big thing helps the shuttle go 17,500 mph (or 10 x faster than a bullet or Mach 25). The fuel pumps could empty a swimming pool in 25 seconds! It uses liquid hydrogen, the 2nd coldest liquid in the world. It weighs only 1/7 of a train but gives the power of 39 locomotives. There are also many other engines."--Harrison |
The
New York Public Library Amazing Space : A Book of Answers for Kids |
|
"This is one of the biggest buildings in the world. It is where they work on the space ships and rockets, getting them ready to take off. The Statue of Liberty could easily fit through one of the doors!"--Amanda The VAB was originally built for assembly of the giant Saturn V rockets of the the Apollo missions, but was remodeled for the Shuttle program. |
|
|
After you've learned a bit about the history of the space program, a walk or guided tour through the Rocket Garden is quite interesting. The US made dozens of different rockets and even launched two chimpanzees, Ham and Enos, to test all the complex systems needed to put people into space. And it is awe-inspiring to think of the courage and skill of the people who made it happen. |
From the Dover coloring book History of Space Exploration by Bruce LaFontaine |
|
The next major advance in space exploration is the construction of a space station in Earth orbit where scientists of many nations can study long-term life in space and conduct zero-gravity experiments and research. As of January 2000, two pieces of this station are already in place, orbiting around the earth.
|
How
Do You Go to the Bathroom in Space? |
|
Dad rode in this 4 G flight simulator. Shuttle Astronauts experience about 4 Gs at liftoff. This cool "Gravball" Virtual Reality game on the right might be the kind of game you could play if you lived on a space station. |
The
US Space Camp Book of Astronauts |
)
)
COLOR
ME)
)
)
)
COLOR
ME)
)
)
)
)
 Faces
(Click
Here for more faces) |
|||
|
|||
)
)
)
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
For Younger Readers |
For Older Readers |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
Do
Your Ears Pop in Space? : And 500 Other Surprising Questions About
Space Travel
Spaceflight
: A Smithsonian Guide (Smithsonian Guides)
Living
in Space
|
|
|||
PLEASE DONATE GENEROUSLY TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA
|
|||
2000 Faces of America has been viewed at least