Day 5:

Today was the day I had really been looking forward to. It was the day of our behind the scenes guided tour of the Engineering and Astronaut training facilities at the Johnson Space Centre. We were greeted at the gates by two of the centre’s security guards (who were both fully qualified SWAT agents) who escorted us around the premises.

 

We got to some incredible things. The first and perhaps coolest thing that we saw was mission control. Both of them. We were first taken to the original mission control, the one that supported Apollo 11 as they landed on the moon. Everything was authentic, from the panels to the carpets; it was all intact from the famous 1969 mission. We could see all of the mission badges, including the Apollo 1 patch which, due to the astronauts’ deaths, is still considered an active mission. Furthermore, we also got to see the current mission control being used to monitor and communicate with astronauts on the International Space Station. We also found out what all of the toys and models on each console represented. For example, if a toy gremlin is sat on a console, it means that area of the space station is currently experiencing difficulties (it was sat on the station operating the robotic arm when we visited).

 

From there, we were shown the vehicle mock-up assembly area. This is where prototypes of capsules and, back when the programme was still active, shuttles are built. We were even given the chance to sit inside of an original shuttle cockpit (with an astronomical amount of switches in it) and the most recent mock up of the Orion capsule. To be able to sit inside the capsule that your dinner guests have worked on and now get an appreciation for Dustin’s design philosophy was a real treat. They also took us to see the robotics area of the complex where we had a chance to look at the development of the buggies that will transport astronauts along the surface of Mars. Finally we saw the Neutral Buoyancy Lab where astronauts train to complex their designated tasks. They do this under water because it’s to closest thing we have to zero-gravity we have. It was amazing seeing these huge structures sat under water (what astronauts would be lowered down to and told to complete work) and just showed how ingenious people can be when solving problems.

 

Dinner was fantastic as always; but this one in particular was very special. We went to a traditional family run Italian and, once again, got to speak to a plethora of people. On our table was sat Mike (a software engineer currently working on the operating system of the Orion capsule), Daniel (a robotics engineer who worked on the International Space Station’s robotic arm) and one the two aforementioned SWAT men. Not only did I have detailed conversations with them; but we were also visited by David Saint-Jaques, a trainee astronaut. He gave an amazing speech about how he got to where he was today. In addition, he showed that no matter what we decide to do in life, we should follow our dreams and do what makes us happy.

 

This was a great end to our amazing time in Houston.