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Visiting Cape Canaveral, Florida

2009-06-16 14:07:27 -- By Chase Bains

The first two days of the trip have definitely been exciting to say the least. When we arrived at the Orlando International Airport yesterday, we were surprised to see that our bags had been lost. However, that didn’t damper our spirits. That night, we had an outstanding seafood diner at Florida Seafood. Next, we headed to the hotel and got some sleep hoping that all would go well the next day and that our bags would be delivered. I slept great yesterday and was ready for the day ahead of me when I awoke despite the fact that it appeared that we still would not have our luggage for a couple more hours.

This morning, we headed toward Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. As I arrived at the center, I realized how much hype and expectations there were for the upcoming LCROSS Launch. We met up with Holly Mentillo, a teacher from Ocean Breeze Elementary School (one of GAVRT’s Florida Schools), and her two students, Olivia and Logan. At the Space Center, we prepared for our NASA webcast with Andrew Chaikin. After some rehearsing, we completed the webcast flawlessly. All of those who were interviewed were thrilled with the webcast’s success.  Going outside after the webcast, I realized that I wasn’t in California anymore. One of the biggest adjustments that I have had to make during the trip has been learning to deal with the humidity. Southern California and Florida generally have warmer climates than the rest of the nation. However, on this trip I have realized how humidity combined with sunlight can be almost unbearable at times.

After the webcast, we headed back inside for a presentation by LCROSS’s Deputy Project Manager, Mr. John Marmie. It was great to meet Mr. Marmie who was introduced to us by Mr. Brian Day. Later in the day, we shopped at the awesome NASA Gift Shop before receiving our VIP Passes for tomorrow’s Space Shuttle Endeavor Launch.

Tonight, we will be returning to the Kennedy Space Center for dinner with several different NASA scientists. After that, we plan on returning to the hotel and trying to get a few hours of sleep before getting up bright and early for tomorrow’s Shuttle launch.