Flight Day Completed

The teachers have returned from their flight.  They are now debriefing with NASA staff.  Soon the experiment will be offloaded and we will begin our travel home.  I am anxious to hear their flight stories and to hear about out experiment.  What an experience of a lifetime - I am sure!

NASA FLIGHT DAY

The wait is over.  Flight Day is finally here.  Mrs. Lillo, Mrs. Freundlich and Mrs. Heimann boarded the Zero Gravity Plane and are currently heading over the Gulf of Mexico. They donned their flight suits, took their anti-nausea medication, and boarded the plane!  The flying and data collection have begun! 

Day 5 - Flight Grounded due to Weather

It's raining here in Houston.  The number one priority here at NASA is Safety First!  Following the announcement that the flight would be grounded, we had the opportunity to listen to Astronaut Leland Melvin.  Astronaut Melvin has had an exciting career path living out his dreams.  From being drafted to the NFL to being a research assistant in college to actually flying on multiple missions with NASA - he has led an exciting life.  He challenged us all to live our dreams by not allowing any challenges or obstacles to hinder our vision.  "Every problem is an opportunity" is one of his life mottos. 
As teachers, we have decided not to let the obstacle of weather hinder our dreams.  Tomorrow the weather looks all clear and we will be out of here - flying with our experiment in microgravity.

Day 4 - Loading the Experiment

Flexibility is the Word of the Week.  The first zero-gravity flight was scheduled and then delayed and then cancelled again due to weather conditions.  Although emotions of the scheduled flyers have been up and down like the parabolas that they were scheduled to fly, we are SO very thankful that NASA's first concern is for the safety of all involved.  This afternoon has involved preparing the experiment for flight.  The experiment was weighed and secured to the glove box that it will fly in on the plane.  Our NASA mentor, Jeremy Hart, has been with us for a couple of hours guiding us through this process.  Now, we wait....wait to see if the weather will cooperate.  We will keep you posted! 

Thinking of our Students.....

Today we enjoyed a trip to Starbucks in Houston.  We enjoyed this treat thanks to our students who gave us Starbucks Gift Cards for the Holidays.  Know that we are thinking of you each day and are anxious to get back to share all of the wonderful things we have learned with you. (Mrs. Armstrong thanks you, too, from behind the camera.  Can you see me in the window? Is it "reflection" or "refraction?)

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR TESTS!

Day 3 Continued.....Houston, We Do Not Have A Problem!



We were so excited to step into Mission Control on the grounds of Johnson Space Center.  Imagine our excitement when we saw the sun rising over the Earth from the satellite above the International Space Station!  We watched the scientists hard at work keeping the astronauts safe and maintaining the sensitive equiptment on the Space Station. Your Eastern teachers also took a VIP tour of the original mission control center and saw the replica of the American flag that Neil Armstrong placed on the Moon! 

     Here are pictures of  the former Mission Control Center.  You might recognize this room from archival photos from famous NASA missions.

Day 3 - Tour of Johnson Space Center....A Behind the Scenes Look

We had a fantastic VIP Tour of many sights at the Johnson Space Center.  We had the opportunity to visit the Neutral Buoyancy Lab where we saw Astronaut Dr. Jeanette Epps prepare to mimic zero gravity by going in the Netural Buoyancy Lab Pool.  The pool is 202 feet long by 102 feet wide and 40 feet 6 inches deep. The astronaut put on her space suit and practiced moving in her space suit under water in the pool.  This procedure will help Dr. Epps determine how she will move and use space tools on the International Space Station.