NASA's Johnson Space Centre

Thursday, Nov 1 was a laundry and grocery day but Friday we headed to NASA's Johnson Space Centre.  Spent about 5 hours going through various exhibits, listening to a former astronaut tell us about his trip to space and then took a shuttle tour of the grounds.  

Lots of pics so lets get started with our day.

At the entrance we were greeted with a replica
of the Space Shuttle piggybacked on top of the
actual plane used to transport the Shuttle.

The crew quarters about the size of a small closet.
Toiletries velcroed to the wall.
Sleeping bag is tied to the wall so you don't float around the room

Dr John-David Bartoe, Astronaut, Astrophysicist.  His list of
accomplishments and senior positions at NASA to lengthy to list.
Was on Space Shuttle Challenger in July, 1985
In January 1986 Challenger blew-up 73 seconds after launch.  Eerie.
He provided a very informative talk and some of the pics below are from his mission

This is the heel of the boot of Italy.

Here is a shot of Houston from space

Unique Coke and Pepsi cans custom made for use in space.
Press the button and it sprays the drink into your mouth. 

Space balls of Pepsi

Lights of New York and Long Island at the middle right.
Philadelphia and Washington, DC next light clusters to the left.
Further north are the great lakes and one of those clusters is Toronto.

A shot of the Space Station.  The Red, White and Blue line is the horizon at sunrise.

I took this shot of one of the displays.
Check out the dude with the guitar.
Wonder if he was singing Bowie's "Ground Control to Major Tom"

Astronaut training centre.
Each of the modules simulates part of the space station
and is used for training. 

Space Suit

Orion capsule used for training for the next Moon and Mars missions.
Dates to be determined. 

These guys were getting a much more hands on tour than us.
We took the wrong shuttle tour. 

MRV - Modular Robotic Vehicle

Space Robot.
To be used for routine and dangerous maintenance tasks.

Above description applies to rocket below.

Above description applies to pic below.

One really big rocket with 5 F-1 engines described below.

The top of the same rocket

Lori looks sooo small next to this beast.

Above description applies to the red topped rocket below

A Space Shuttle replica perched atop its ride

Cockpit of the Space Shuttle

Another shot of the piggyback

Another display had an example of summersaults in a weightless environment.
Thought he was real at first.  A very lifelike mannequin. 

Having a shower in space

Here is our setup in League City, Tx.  Mark & Jan's motorhome to the left.
Our sites are ok although no wifi.
Very few RV sites.  Mostly rundown mobile homes.  Not the best part of town.  

Thats it for today.  Tomorrow we are off to Galveston.  Currently Galveston has been invaded by a few thousand bikers.  Going to be very busy.  Hope we can find a parking spot for the truck.