Space Camp - Day 5 - EDM and other things

Thursday (yesterday as I type this from the airplane) was the day of the big extended duration mission. In many ways, this is the culmination of every part of the week at Space Camp. It's a chance to apply what we've learned in our lectures and other missions, a chance to work as a team to solve problems and a chance to have a lot of fun.

The day started a bit later than most. Breakfast was pushed back an hour, so we got to sleep in a little. I got up around 6:30 and headed out for a longer than usual run. I ran out towards the front of the museum, past the SR-71 (one of my favorite airplanes) and along the construction fence in front of the Saturn V center. When I reached the end of that area, I turned around and headed back past the Hab and the Mariott and down towards Area 51 and Aviation Challenge. I wondered if I would be stopped at the AC gate, but there was no one there, so I ran in, did a loop around the Cobra helicopter that sits in the "driveway" area and headed back towards Space Camp proper. I admit that I didn't run the entire way back, as by this point I had been going about 30 minutes. So I took a few stretches at a walk before arriving back under Pathfinder at the entrance of Rocket Park for some stretching, crunches, pushups and a bit of shadow boxing (it was Thursday after all and while classes at the gym are on a break week, I still felt like doing a little kick boxing work.) As I headed back to the hab, I encountered the group of Brits who were there for, I think, advanced academy (the high school equivalent of the program we were finishing up). I got some slightly odd looks (not a lot of joggers out early mornings at camp), but they made way for me to run through. I got a shower and got ready for the day.

Breakfast was the traditional astronaut preflight meal of steak and eggs. Not a prime cut, but they served it to us on gold rimmed china with real silverware and linen napkins. I took the chance and asked for salsa for the eggs. After confirming with the slightly confused kitchen staff that I really did want salsa in the morning and for my eggs, they got some out of the refrigerator for me. It wasn't great stuff, but it made my meal that much more enjoyable. After we all finished up, we were presented with a cake, decorated with our team designed mission patch. This was the first time I had seen the finished product and Bruno and the rest of the guys who worked on it did a great job. We took our mission picture with Valerie and Casey (our day and night counselors, respectively, if you don't have your program handy) and then had a bit of free time before EDM started. I went out to rocket park with a few others to throw a frisbee around a bit. It was a good way to pass the time and calm any last minute nerves. And then it was time.

As I mentioned, I was assigned to mission control for the duration. I filled the ACO role (assembly and construction officer...or something like that.) It's a role that involves helping out with the EVAs in real life. At camp, this person doesn't have a lot of responsibilities. This actually suited me just fine as it allowed me the freedom to help out as needed working problems (and there would be many) and left me free for my scuba EVA.

The mission got off to a reasonable start. We had a couple of comm issues, but those were quickly resolved and away we went. The pilot and commander got a little behind on their checklists (not unusual) and the flight director called for hold at around T-4 minutes (we started at T-9 minutes). Misson Control Space Ghost (the counselors who run the sims are called ghosts or space ghosts. They're there, but they're not really there.) was reluctant to grant the hold, but ended up, by a special dispensation directly from whatever space God rules over EDMs, we were granted about two minutes of extra time. It would not be the last special dispensations of time we would be granted over the course of the next few hours and it was greatly appreciated. When we resumed the count, we were in good shape. The ascent to orbit went well...until the commander had a heart attack. Well, not literally. Every position has a specific medical history that includes various allergies and conditions. The flight director is lactose intolerant. Oribiter pilot is allergic to bee stings (that got me when I went to Level II the second time and I was the pilot for the EDM. Turns out we had a bee experiment on board that was less than secure.) Capcom is allergic to pollen and has mild narcolepsy. Mission Scientist is allergic to chocolate. Prop is prone to tension headaches. As ACO, I only had a history of low blood pressure. But I figured this evened out EVA's high blood pressure, as she was in the seat next to me. All of these conditions as well as the treatments for various medical issues and all of the medications that are available are listed in the medical handbook in the mission control room. I spent a lot of time flipping through that book throughout the day. So, when Jennifer, our commander, had a heart attack, Cori, Mission Specialist 2, jumped up to help her. Unfortunately, she forgot about the g forces the crew was experiencing, as we were still in the ascent phase of the flight. The result was two broken legs and about 3 minutes of her having to lie on the floor (Jennifer just had to slump over in her seat) until main engine cutoff was achieved and the crew was weightless. By that time, I had found the procedures for treating the emergencies and had passed the corresponding pages off to Capcom (Jason) to relay up to the orbiter. Not long after we got the crew taken care of, Jason's narcolepsy kicked in and we had to figure out how to treat him. He was not easily roused, so I rolled him away from his station so that someone else (I think it was Bill who was Prop) could take over his position. I have a friend from college who has narcolepsy and I remember that he took ridaline (yes, the drug given to hyperactive children) for it. Apparently the effects of the drug are the opposite for a narcoleptic person as they are for one not afflicted with that condition. However, the med book had nothing on the treatment of narcolepsy and our med kit had no ridalin. While I was searching for some sort of solution and trying to convince Space Ghost that not only was the correct treatment not available (when it should have been) but that we also didn't have any other stimulants (and I was hesitant to give Jason anything with caffeine in it, as that also has the opposite effect on those with narcolpsy), Jason fell out of his chair (I thought I had him well propped up against the back table, using Reagan's pack as a pillow) and was happily snoozing away on the floor. It was about this time that Flight's lactose intolerance kicked in (I told him not to have milk for breakfast) and he had to go use the restroom. He found some "Crystal Pepsi" while he was out and between that and the discovery a mislabeled compartment in the med kit, we were able to get Jason the ridaline that he needed and get him back into action. The medical anomalies definitely made the time in mission control more interesting, despite being less than completely true to life. They also provided for a good bit of entertainment over the course of the flight.
Much of the rest of the first half of the flight blends together. I know we had trouble opening the payload bay doors. It is important to get the doors open, as the radiators in the payload bay provide the cooling for the orbiter. Without being able to activate vent the heat (mostly produced by the fuel cells and other electronic equipment), the shuttle must abort the mission and return to earth. Fortunately, the cabin temperature remained stable, so the crew was not in any danger. I remembered that there was a manual hand crank somewhere in the payload bay that would allow the doors to be opened in just such emergency case, but I could find nothing in the technical books that provided the location of that crank. The ghosts were unhelpful as they thought it was an issue with the way the checklist for the procedure was accomplished. We finally decided to run through the procedure for closing the doors and then rerun through the procedure for opening the doors and that worked. I still believe this was a computer glitch rather than an anomaly that was given to us by the ghosts, as the cabin temperature remained steady at this time. We had various other medical anomalies on station including more lactose issues for flight, Capcom's pollen allergies acting up due to some flowers that were sent to flight by his Aunt Ethel (or maybe it was Myrtle) earlier in the mission. Unfortunately, when benadryl was given to the Capcom, he became sleepy agravating his narcolepsy. But we figured out most of these issues fairly quickly and gave Jason a lot of meds (mostly smarties candy, which turned out to be a nice rewards for his great acting abilities). During this time, the mission specialists accomplished their EVA (another satelite repair). After about 90 minutes, it was time to dock with the station. That meant that the crew in mission control became ISS (International Space Station) mission control, which necessitated a move to the ISS control room (on the second floor, adjacent to the wall of the UAT (underwater astronaut trainer) tank. And it was also time for Lucy and I to head out to accomplish our scuba eva.

We both got pre-dive physicals (temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate and a quick confirmation with the nurse that we're feeling okay as well as a nice conversation with a lovely woman who's been one of the nurses there for over 15 years) just in case something happened and I wasn't able to dive or in case Lucy was some how able to take part in a way other than just reading me the procedures. Then we headed up to the tank. Dana and her daughter....I want to say Stephanie but I'm pretty sure that's wrong, got me suited up and ready for the dive. This involved putting on a "space suit" which included a set of white coveralls, white boots (which were huge, a little floppy and kinda funky inside), gloves (fortunately fairly thin and with non-slip rubber dot type things on them) and the dive rig. Unlike when we dove on Tuesday evening, for this dive, I did not use a regulator to breath but rather had a bubble helmet (okay it had a regulator hooked up to it, but it wasn't in my mouth) that allowed me to not only breath, but see without using a mask and be able to communicate via a headset. The dive rig was cumbersome and kinda uncomfortable. The helmet had a metal collar with a rubber ting that fit tightly around my neck. The bubble helmet hooked into the ring. The collar was attached to a cord that wrapped around my back, between my legs and reattached to the front of the collar. Dana said that it was supposed to feel like a pretty big wedgie, which it did. Also, the collar pressed down pretty hard on my shoulder blades. The air tank was in a backpack that strapped tightly onto my back with another strap that wrapped around my hips. No padded back on this pack either. I don't know how much the entire system weighed, but it was a pretty good bit, even to me who is used to carrying a fairly heavy pack around many places. To say that the whole system was uncomfortable was a bit of an understatement. But, once I got into the water none of that really mattered. While I was definitely negatively bouyant (meaning, I sank), it wasn't impossible to move around. I think it was a combination that all the pieces of equipment had a bit of bouyancy to them and the fact that I just didn't really care because I was too busy with the entire experience, but once I got underwater (and got used to the sounds that my breathing made as well as the feel of the bubbles floating under the collar) I wasn't nearly as uncomfortable. Dana and I worked our way over to the ladder and I began a slow descent to the bottom of the pool. Clearing my ears was a bit easier this time, as it's much simplier to swallow when you don't have a regulator in your mouth. I didn't have to use the little nose pad (basically for sealing your nostrils shut) at all. It seemed like it took less time to descend than on my previous dive and before I knew it, my feet were firmly on the bottom of the tank. Dana had warned me that staying upright was the best course of action, as that would help to keep water out of my helmet (there was a way to blow it out, if it became an issue, but it sounded like it was better just to not let it get in there in the first place). So, I had to hop and jump my way across the pool to the far side of the structure so that I could begin my task of erecting a "solar array". As I moved around, it was neat to be able to talk with Lucy and share the experience at least verbally. The feeling was amazing. I knew I was underwater, but being able to breath and talk normally made it almost an unreal experience. That compared to the struggle of moving around in the bulky equipment and pushing against the water made the whole experience unlike anything I had ever done before. It really felt like I was on another world. But, I had work to do so I wasn't able to pause too long to contemplate the experience. Lucy talked me through the solar array erection. It wasn't difficult after I figured out how the connectors worked. But it would have been much easier had I seen a picture or at least the parts prior to the dive (I had no idea of the task before I got to the bottom of the tank). The hard part was trying to find a way to hold myself in place while I put the parts together. The part that the array was connected to was probably about eight feet off the bottom of the tank, so I had to swim/jump/climb/crawl up with each piece and then find somewhere to stand and somewhere to hold onto while I also needed a couple of hands to hold the pieces in place and work the connectors. I think I got a taste for why working in space is so difficult. If there's nothing to hold onto it's impossible to do much of anything. You can't use your own weight or leverage to do much (which I rely on a lot when I'm doing much of anything) because, thanks to Newton's law about actions and reactions, you just got off in the opposite direction. So, not only do you have to figure out a way to apply the required force, but you also have to figure out a way to counteract that force and keep yourself where you need to be. The erection of the solar array didn't take very long, but we still had a bit more time. There were some people at the windows of the tank, so I asked Dana if I could go over and wave to them. She said yes, so I bounced along and swam up the wall to reach the first set of windows. Holding onto what little of the rim I could reach, I waved at some camp kids in one window and then moved to the next. At this window there was a family with a small daughter. The girl was probably around 3 or 4 and seemed kinda confused to see this big bubble headed person (I'm told that the bubble made my head look really small) waving from the inside of this big fishbowl looking thing. Bill was out and about (apparently taking a break from mission control) and found me and took a couple of pictures with his camera. Dana helped me ascend some more and we made it to the second story windows where I got to look in on the ISS mission control crew. It took a bit of knocking on the window to get there attention, but finally someone looked up and noticed me in the glass. So we got to wave to each other and take some pictures. Then it was time for me to continue ascending and end my dive. Afterwards, Lucy said I was only down about 15 minutes. I had lost all track of time, but I knew it wasn't very long. Certainly it wasn't near long enough. We got all of my gear off and I got cleaned up and went for my post dive physical (although I forgot and drank a bunch of water on the way over to sick bay, so the nurse didn't even bother to take my temperature. Which was probably a good thing. I was at 99.4 degrees before the dive. And I'm sure my temp would have been up higher than that afterwards. Mostly that was all due to the walk over from the training center over to sick bay in the warm, September early afternoon.) I then headed back to ISS mission control in time to help gather up our gear and head down for lunch.

I was a bit bummed that we broke the simulation and all ate lunch in the cafeteria. In the past, we've been able to eat "on orbit", each group eating in the location where they are currently working. But it was neat to get to sit with everyone and chat and take a bit of a break from the mission. After lunch, it was back to work for the second half of the EDM.

The crew on the orbiter swapped positions, as did some in mission control. That took me a couple of seconds to figure out, especially as I kept turning to my right to look for Bill when he spoke(who had been filling the roll of prop) and not seeing him. He was now on my left, filling the INCO role. We also had to remember that with the changes in position, everyone's medical issues changed (the medical issues stay with the position). The biggest thing we had to deal with was that the lights were off in the orbiter. Some on the crew had flashlights with them and they broke those out so they were able to work the checklists and procedures while mission control tried to sort out the problem. I immediately went for the reference books, looking up the fuel cells. We noticed that Fuel Cell two was producing no power and had no flow of oxygen or hydrogen. We tried a few procedures to shut the cell down and restart it while I continued skimming and reading. I found a couple of schematics and started tracing systems. I don't remember exactly how we finally solved the issue, but I do know that I'm now pretty familiar with how the fuel cells work and how they are plumbed and wired. Meanwhile, we had some more medical anomalies. Capcom's narcolepsy kicked in. Adam, who had trained me on the station a few days prior wandered in, having noticed that someone had tossed some flowers outside the door and wondered if anyone wanted those. That set of Capcom's sneezing again (which meant more benadryl and another little nap for him) before we could kick Adam and the flowers out. We had a gas leak that took a bit of time to diagnose. Half the team collapsed while the others had no message that they were having any ill effects. I kicked into House mode (yes, the tv show) and surmised that it could not be an environmental effect since not all of us were affected. I dug through the medical book, looking for anything the affected team members had in common and even asked if they had all had the fish for lunch (no one either heard me or caught the Airplane reference, but I thought it was funny). Soon the rest of us started to feel bad and a sign with the number for the United Gas Supply mysteriously floated around the room (well, mysteriously if you were pretending that you couldn't see the Space Ghost). Jet, who had been the ghost when I was in station for Charlie mission, who is just back from maternity leave and has a beautiful baby girl, showed up as our gas worker. Somehow she passed out before fixing the leak. We were getting a bit fed up with things and decided to just leave her there. Meanwhile, Dennis fixed the leak, the crew recovered and we went back to the mission, leaving Jet lying on the floor. Not the nicest thing to do, but as I said, we were a bit frustrated with the medical anomalies (especially the ones that we weren't given quite enough information, especially information that would have been available in the real world, to be able to solve quickly). But it was still fun.

As we got on towards landing, we noticed that the temperature in the orbiter was rising (we'd fixed the lights by this time) and that Cori and Martin were acting oddly, dancing about and such. We surmised that it was possibly due to the heat and worked that problem (trying to turn off the heaters, turn on the air cooling, etc). Turns out, they were, originally just goofing off. At least until the Ghost decided that things were getting decidely too silly and made the decision that they both had space demensia. Cori's demensia manifested itself by extreme mood swings (apparently she's one you don't want to cross) while Martin became delusional. I think he decided himself that he was a pretty princess. That got Lucy (still the EVA position and the only one in communication with the mid-deck area) laughing and after she advised the flight director of this development over the mission control main loop, the rest of us joined in. I asked for clairification of he was a pretty princess or a pretty, pretty princess and by that time, the crew was wrestling Martin into an impromptu straight jacket. I don't think they quite got to duct taping him to a seat, but I don't think he got out of the jacket until after the orbiter landed. Meanwhile, we continued to work the heat problem until about 5 minutes from landing. At that point, we gave up, figuring that the crew could just sweat it out and pop the hatch upon landing. After a beautiful (although just barely on the runway, in the short direction) landing, Enterprise was home safely with the crew and our EDM was complete. The biggest challenge for our team for the week was over and it was all downhill from there.

We had a brief debrief as a team and then had some free time to spend in the museum or whatever. I headed outside with some others to see if Space Shot was open. When we found that it wasn't, some of the team rode G-Force (and centerfuge) while Jeremy and I tossed a frisbee around, trying to avoid space center paying guests and a team of academy kids from Costa Rica (Jeremy and I both have centerfuge issues. I knew about mine before starting camp. Jeremy learned at the AC centerfuge.) Then it was time for our second NASA speaker.

I don't remember the names of our speakers, but they were both not only incredibly smart physics geeks (at least five degrees between the two of them) but also sci-fi geeks. They showed some Star Trek clips and we talked about the technology and how it was used and such. It wasn't terribly interesting, but as some of us commented later, it was nice not to have to think for a while after the EDM. After about an hour, it was time to launch our rockets.

Rocket launch was a lot of fun. Everyone had at least one rocket to send off. We had a few engine issues, some complete failures, some spectacular successes and a few that were lost to the wooded areas around the launch site. My rocket had a beautiful first stage ascent but something went wrong with the second stage and the engine burned through the wall of the rocket and melted the parachute. I was able to recover all of the pieces, but the rocket would never fly again.

We had all agreed the previous day that we would change up our evening schedule slightly, moving Space Bowl to before dinner so that we could enjoy a meal not cooked by the cafeteria for our final dinner together. Space Bowl was fun and provided a chance to test our space trivia, joke around with each other and have some friendly competition. The results were not revealed until graduation, with the mission specialists barely eeking out the win to take home the extra t-shirt.

We took a few minutes to clean up before heading over to Landry's for seafood for supper. Both Ray and Reagan had vehicles, so they shuttled us all over to the restaurant and back. On the back to pick up the second crew, Jason thought he spotted what was left of Bruno's rocket on the road. As we headed back to the restaurant with the final crew, we found the spot and Jason jumped out and sure enough, it was Bruno's rocket. When we got to the restaurant, Jason swapped the rocket out for Bruno's silverware (which was wrapped in a napkin). Bruno was surprised and excited to see his rocket again. It was neat to get away from camp and relax and hangout as a team. Valerie, Jason, Casey and Lisa (another counselor who had been around during the week and helped train us on some of the sims) all joined us. The meal was excellent and the conversation wonderful. I collected some more pictures from people. And we ended the evening by enjoying our mission cake for dessert.

After the very large meal and very long day, we were all tired, so we headed back to the hab to start packing up our gear and heading to bed for our last night in the hab at the end of our last full day at camp as a team.