Houston, We Have A Problem!!!

Last Saturday Joe and I went to NASA's Visitor Center. I felt that it was something I had to visit to be able to check it off my list. I mean we live 30 minutes from it! I was actually pretty excited about going! I must say that I learned a lot and had a great experience! We watched several informative short films, checked out some rocks and soil that astronauts brought back from the moon, and walked through several exhibits. Towards the end of our visit we went into a little theatre room and a woman talked to us about what's expected to happen in the near future, commercial trips to space that will become available, as well as space hotels! I was unaware of the fact that there is an international space station where 6 astronauts are currently staying! She said the longest they have anyone stay there is 6 months. Among other things, they are testing how the human body handles being weightless for that amount of time. I can't even imagine what that would be like. Another thing that both Joe and I learned was that they have never launched or landed any space shuttle from Houston! They always launch and try to always land in Florida, depending on the weather. They have mission control here in Texas. So that's where "Houston, we have a problem!" comes from! It's a shame because when the woman announced they were launching a shuttle in February, Joe and I were both thinking "SWEET!!! That would be awesome to watch!" but then she told us they launch from Florida, not from Texas!! Bummer! Anyways, we had a lot of fun and I developed a greater appreciation for the space program.

We learned that the tallest astronaut that's been able to go on a flight mission was 6'4". They said that's the max to be able to fit in the shuttle.

They had a flight simulator to land the shuttle. Joe was really good at it! My shuttle blew up when I landed it!=) Whoopsie!

Look! I have magic powers to keep the ball in the air!!! Kidding! ........There was air blowing out of that turquoise tube blowing the ball up! Did I have you fooled?!=)

This was an example of the cockpit of the shuttle. There were SO many controls!

During one of the videos they showed the astronauts doing a "practice run" and having every problem imaginable thrown at them and they had to figure out what they would do. The idea was that most likely what could potentially happen on the real mission wouldn't be as bad as some of the "situations" they were given during practice and it would be easier for them to stay calm and know how to handle things during their actual flight to space. During the film they were given situation after situation and just as they landed safely and all the weight was lifted off their shoulders they were told they would be starting again in 5 minutes!!! I can't even imagine their stress levels!!! Anyways, we enjoyed ourselves and now I can check NASA off of my list of things to do while we live in Houston=)