It was a day that was out of this world - literally

Mercury 7 capsule that flew in space

It was another out-of-the-world day in Houston for Joan and me. Sometimes it’s tough being married to a former science teacher as she really likes all things scientific.

(To see more photos of the day scroll down to the next post)

While talking yesterday about our touring plans for the next week, Joan suggested that perhaps we should be purchase the CityPASS for Houston, which is a passport to five high profile tourist destinations at a much reduced rate for buying all five.

If you buy admission at the box office separately, it would cost you $70 each. By purchasing the CityPASS the total cost for both of us for all five places was $79.

Joan touching a moon rock

So while we had planned to skip the Johnson Space Center attraction because we just visited the Kennedy Space Center in Florida last year, because it was part of the CityPASS program we made a last minute decision (based on the decent weather predicted today) to go there.

Normally, it would cost $22 each to get in the place, but as long as we use all of our passes, or even three of them, we will come out ahead.

Tram ride to Johnson Space Center

Some of the exhibits were similar to what we saw at the Kennedy Space Center last year, but many were different and a few we liked even better than Kennedy.

I did my daily 3-mile walk before Joan got up this morning and after we cleaned up we left the trailer about 11 a.m. heading for Space Center Houston.

We saw several interesting films, but probably our favorite part of the day was the Tram tour of the Johnson Space Tour, which included a visit to the Mission Control Center so familiar to us from launches in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

The Mission Control of the 60s, 70s, 80s

The Tram took us to the Mission Control Center and we sat in the same seats that astronaut wives and dignitaries sat in while monitoring ongoing space flights. While we were there an astronaut who had served aboard the International Space Station was getting a special tour behind the glass and on the floor of the old center.

Astronaut training center with ISS mock-ups

To see the current Mission Control Center, the one where the astronauts on the ISS are monitored, takes another tour ticket that costs $90. That ticket also includes a nice lunch in the astronaut cafeteria and a visit to the massive pool where astronauts are trained for weightlessness. Maybe next time we are here.

Next stop on the Tram was to the astronaut training center at the Johnson Space Center and the floor of the huge building is filled with simulators and mock-ups of the various living and scientific quarters of the ISS. Also on the floor is a mock-up of the next era of space vehicles – the Orion space capsule, which is similar, but much more advanced than the previous Apollo capsule.

The Orion capsule- the next generation

The docent told us a story that he heard directly from Gene Kranz, the high-profile Mission Control Director who was made famous from all the launches he handled as well as being one of the main characters in the drama that was Apollo 13.

The story had to do with the frustration of Gus Grissom, who was killed in the Apollo 1 fire. Grissom believed that the capsule was flawed and that engineers were not paying attention to what he and other astronauts were concerned about in the first capsule, even before it flew in space.

So strident was Grissom that contractors would walk in the other direction when they saw him at the center because they didn’t want to listen to his complaints anymore.

New moon/planet rovers

On one trip home to Texas he picked up a lemon and returned to the Cape and hung it in the capsule as a sign of what he thought of the equipment.  A short time later a spark, caused by a short, caused a flash fire in the capsule which became lethal because of the pure oxygen environment they were sitting in.

Lastly, we stopped at “Rocket Park” where there are examples of old rockets, including the massive Saturn V rocket used to send the shuttle into space.

Back at the center, I tried my hand at landing the shuttle on the flight simulator. After crashing the shuttle three times, I gave up. The simulator voice kept telling me “You have gone where no man has gone before….” Meaning I had slammed the Shuttle into the ground.

Rocket Park

The center is full of artifacts, including actual capsules that have flown in space, space suits used by astronauts and even a moon rock that you can touch.

Unfortunately, the moon rocks usually on display have been locked up while the exhibit undergoes remodeling.

At the Northrup Grumman Theater we watched a 30-minute movie on an IMAX-size screen with scenes from the ISS.

One thing I envy the next generation for is the probability that routine space flight will be more likely for them than my age group. I would have loved to have gone into space, but sadly that will not happen.

Then we watched a short live exhibit that showed, with the help of an audience member how astronauts live, exercise, eat and even go to the bathroom (although it was done in a tasteful way, if that is possible.)

Like we have done before, we stayed long enough that we closed the place up. Fortunately, this is the week to tour in Houston as next week all the schools are on spring break and we have been warned that every venue will be packed and difficult to see.

When we returned home Joan fixed a nice steak dinner with salad and rolls.