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18/11/2011 18:01

Final Postscript to Houston 2011

I’m back in Scotland, and it’s raining outside, which is just a little bit different to Houston. It was over a year that I was talking to my physics teacher about applying the Scottish Space School, and I didn’t really understand how big it was. The week at Strathclyde was really good fun, and I enjoyed every minute of it. When I was put forward to the selection day, I was really surprised and excited, and when I found out that I was going to Houston, I was ecstatic!

The week was an amazing experience, and we did so many things: met astronauts, visited mission control, watched an American football game, went to a birthday party, and the list goes on. My personal highlights were meeting Gene Kranz and seeing the Orion project at the Lockheed Martin development lab. Both were inspiring events, representing the exciting future and heroic past of space exploration.

I would definitely recommend applying to Space School to anyone in S5. It is brilliant; you will make lots of new friends and have a great time.

I would like to thank my physics teacher for telling me to apply, and especially thanks to Gordon, Marianne, Gayle and Hyang for organising the week. To the Houston 2011 team: thank you for such an unforgettable week, good luck, and I’ll still think of “assuming the position” when I see a camera.

Posted at 18/11/2011 18:01 by Calum Ashcroft

17/11/2011 8:16

Dreams do come true!

I have the programme for the Learning Journey sitting right next to me and looking at all the things we had done, seen and experienced in Houston still amazes me. The week was so exciting that the early wake-ups were never a problem, the amount of activities were never tiring and overall everything that we were involved with was inspirational.

My initial thought when arriving at the hotel was “Wow!!” when we were welcomed into the Hilton hotel but we barely had time to get a good look at our rooms as we were straight off to Hyang’s daughter, Nikki’s, birthday party. This was the start of our event filled week where we visited Space Centers, had presentations from successful engineers, casually ‘chilled’ with astronauts, went to a state park, entered the VIP area of the Wings over Houston air show and level 9 NASA tour, and, of course, attended an American football game!

The Learning Journey has effectively built a path for me in the sense that I now know what to apply for at university. I now have a definite career choice and it is clear how much work and effort is required from me to be successful like all of the amazing and encouraging people that we met throughout the week.

This trip has made me realise that many things are possible and that the best thing to do is have a vision of where you want to go and be determined to get there, beautifully summed up by Gene Kranz’ words of “dream, aim high, never surrender”.

I cannot thank everyone involved in this trip enough for their hard input. Especially Gordon, Marianne, Gayle and Hyang. Y’all made this journey..this dream come true.

Posted at 17/11/2011 8:16 by Paulo Ercolino

16/11/2011 19:01

Words Fail Me.........well almost!

There isn't much you can say about a trip to Houston that can explain what it was like. In fact, I don't expect that this blog will convey even a tiny part of what I felt throughout my week at NASA. I think the best way to explain how I felt was, if you have ever been so happy that your muscles start twitching and you can't surpress a cheeky grin? It was like that. Constantly. For a week.

Surprisingly, waking up every morning was never a problem (and I usually have to drag myself out of bed) even though my bed was like a cloud! I was just so excited to start another day. I have to admit, Texan food helped a little and I think I definitely took advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffets, needless to say some took more advantage than others. I don't blame them though, it tasted amazing. It didn't matter where we went, whether it was the Johnson Space Center, or a nature reserve, or an air show, everyone was so happy, friendly and generally upbeat.

Although I really believe I have never had a happier week in my previous life, I'd say that the best bit was seeing through the telescope at the George Observatory. It is the closest I have come to space so far, and I will never forget the sensation when a small, blurry light slowly came into focus as the most beauiful nebula I have seen in real time. That moment was truly aweinspiring.

I've been given exactly what I really wanted from the Scottish Space School, and more. I've realsised that I want to be a part of human space exploration more than anything. I've realised it is possible by talking to engineers and scientists from Europe who live in texas, and I got amazing experience after amazing experience in Houston. The hardest part; returning to normal. Although my life back home hasn't really been all that normal. I've been reliving the whole experience everytime I get asked about being in America and I love it.

I hope I never forget what has been given to me by Strathclyde University and the Scottish Space School, and I can't wait to get into university and start making my dreams of space exploration become a reality. A reality I never truly believed I could be a part of untill I went to Houston. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

Posted at 16/11/2011 19:01 by Calum de Sainte Croix

11/11/2011 8:27

Houston 2011-The Trip Of A Lifetime

Having now been home for two weeks since returning from the Learning Journey to Houston, I still have trouble describing just how mind-blowingly amazing and inspirational the week was-there really are no words that can do the trip justice. When talking to my teacher in physics after school this time last year, he told me of a programme run by Strathclyde University for 5th year pupils interested in a career path linked to science or engineering called the Scottish Space School. He also mentioned that a pupil at his last school had been one of the lucky 10% to be picked for a once in a lifetime trip to Houston! I was fascinated as soon as he talked about the programme and when he mentioned it in class again the next day, I knew it was a chance I just couldn’t miss out on.

Now, amazingly a whole year on, there is nothing to describe how much the Space School means to me. The week in Houston has completely changed my outlook on the world and has made me question everything about my future. I still find it difficult to believe that Space School itself is over and that I’ve actually been to Houston, but thinking over the week, it’s also hard to imagine just how we fitted so much in! With the Wings Over Houston Air show on the first day, we certainly started the trip with a bang! From then on, the pace of the week only increased as we managed to cram in more and more every day! Never once during the week did we feel tired though as we remained as excited as always and interested to learn as much as possible.

The week went by in a blur as we did everything you could possibly think of on a trip to Houston-visiting Johnson Space Center, holding baby alligators and snakes, a Mission Challenge where we perform tasks carried out by astronauts exploring space, star gazing in the George Observatory (Jupiter also happened to be out that night as an extra bonus!), a talk from Heather Paul about designing and engineering Space Suits-I never realised just how much planning has to go into this, there were 4 different layers of gloves alone!-then we headed for our Level 9 VIP Tour of the NASA buildings including the Neutral Buoyancy Lab and Mission Control (We got to sit in the Flight Director’s seat that Gene Kranz himself would have sat in when he was working tirelessly to save the crew of Apollo 13!), a day out to Rice University with a talk from fellow Scot Dr. David Alexander about what the future holds for space exploration, a visit to the Wood Group with talks on subsea engineering and laser scanning, dinner at a steak house where Kirsty had her first ever steak!, a talk from an aerobatic pilot and an astronaut, a tour round Lockheed-Martin to see the mock up of the Orion Capsule (what we were seeing was so high-tech that we weren’t allowed to take pictures!), an American football game, a hot air balloon festival and, of course, a talk from Gene Kranz himself! However, what was scheduled for us wasn’t all that was in store!

As well as this we had astronauts and leading edge engineers just casually walking into the room as we were playing pool in Hyang’s house in the evenings-we met the first European ever to go into space! I am still completely overwhelmed by the fact I was picked to go to Houston and I’m also incredibly grateful that I got to share the experience with such a great group of people. The nights in the hotel were made by everyone sitting up together (or having interesting trips to the gym!) and it’s definitely a week that I will never forget. I’ve still not readjusted to life back home but then I don’t think I ever will after such a truly amazing experience.

If you are currently in S5 then don’t have any doubts and apply as soon as you can because it will honestly be the best decision you have ever made. You’ll meet so many brilliant new people and see so much cutting edge research that it’ll be hard to keep up! If I have to sum up the many things Space School has taught me in the past year then I’d say its taught me that if you work hard then you really can do so much more and what you’re aspiring to isn’t always as far away as you might think so never give up on it.

I’d like to my physics teacher for introducing me to the Scottish Space School as I would not know have known about this brilliant opportunity had it not been for him. Also, obviously a massive thank you to Gordon, Marianne, Gayle and Hyang for organising such a brilliant and unforgettable week in Houston and an amazing week in June. Without you, none of this would have been possible so there will never be enough thank yous to describe how grateful I am for the opportunities you have given me. Thank you as well to you other nine who I was lucky enough to share the week with and I enjoyed ‘assuming the position’ pretty much everywhere in Houston with y’all! Erin

Posted at 11/11/2011 8:27 by Erin O’Kane

08/11/2011 22:35

Fly me to the moon..

After the experience of a lifetime I am struggling to settle back into hard work at school. When I think back to one of my physics lectures and the opportunity to apply for space school was given to the class I blindly applied because my teacher guaranteed me that it would be a worthwhile experience - I never understood the value of this until I spent the week at Strathclyde University. A lucky 100 people got to attend the week at Strathclyde and this week gave us a taste for University life and how meeting people from all over Scotland with all different backgrounds can have such a major influence on you.

The week really helps to build your communication skills and your confidence. All the team building challenges really build a connection with you and the others in your team, they become like a family to you. I later found out that this is also a custom at NASA where everyone must co-operate and they respect each other and work in teams, so they treat one another like family. This is a key factor in their great success in space travel but also seems to me like the best possible place to work! In the whole WORLD!

The feeling of being chosen for the NASA trip filled me with pride as it lets you know that you can achieve great things, this feeling spurred me on to do well not only at space school but in my classes at school because I want to be able to achieve my goals and hopefully have a positive global impact with my work.

My favourite part of the NASA trip was meeting all the inspirational people who had such a profound effect on me! Amber Gell - who we met at the initial week at space school and in Houston - is fascinating as her endless number of degrees proved to me that if you try and have dedication for a task you will complete it. David Alexander grew up in a poor area of Glasgow and is now a professor at Rice University, all because of his dedication to what he wanted to achieve. These people really spurred me on to do well and hopefully you will feel the same.. The people who put the trip together, Gordon, Marianne, Gayle, Hyang and George have to be thanked because what they offer is life changing - it's invaluable, I have really been spurred on to work hard in school and reach my goals by this, hopefully you will get the chance to meet some of the inspirational people as we did. So get applying you have nothing to lose! Oh and remember.. THE SKY IS NOT THE LIMIT!

Posted at 08/11/2011 22:35 by Connor Graham

03/11/2011 13:46

Houston we have a problem... I'm back home!

Why did it have to end? Space school has been an amazing experience right from the word go! The week in June spent at Strathclyde was incredible allowing us to experience university life, whilst meeting loads of new people and getting a real insight into what engineering is all about. However the trip to Houston was the icing on the cake! Each day I was amazed at where we went and who we got to meet, most of which would not have been possible if we had not been with the Space School. From behind the scenes at NASA; on our VIP tour round their many buildings usually closed off to the public, allowing us to gasp in awe at their latest developments such as the Deep Space Habitat; to Lockheed Martin where we saw the Orion Capsule (as well as sat in it and drove the simulator!!!), everything was so new and advanced that we weren’t even allowed to take pictures!

We met loads of amazing people from astronauts and engineers to stunt pilots! I for one can now say that I had dinner at the same table as George Abbey, former director of the Johnson Space Center and NASA legend. We even met none other than Flight Director Gene Kranz. And the amazing thing was that many of these people were just as interested to see us as we were to see them! It truly was the trip of a lifetime.

You could never dream up a trip like this; with such friendly and funny people with you every step of the way; the 2011 Space School team was awesome! Thanks guys! A special thanks to Gordon, Gayle, Marianne and Hyang without whom the trip wouldn’t have been possible. The trip to Houston gave me so many incredible memories and souvenirs. I even managed to get a proper Texan cowboy hat at the airport with the last of my dollars! I wear it every day… though usually only round the house.

If you're reading this now and are in S5 studying Higher Maths and Science subjects then go for it! Grab this opportunity with both hands and hold on tight because it might just take you to Houston and back. Don’t listen to those who tell you otherwise, I never thought that I would be going to Houston when I applied last year, so you never know. If you are interested in science or engineering then you’ll find this the best experience of your life; and if you are not, well, you’ll come out of it all having to completely reconsider your career aspirations. Apply now, you can thank me later…

Posted at 03/11/2011 13:46 by William Patrick

02/11/2011 11:20

Back to earth with a bump

I could never have imagined 11 months ago when I applied to the space school that I would be sitting here in cold, grey, rainy Scotland, writing a reflection blog on the Houston 2011 experience. A mere 64 days after finding out that I had been lucky enough to be selected from the 104 people who attended the space school week in Strathclyde (which, at the time, was the best week of my life), I found myself about to embark on the “learning journey to Houston”. The world I found myself in for the next week was the definition of amazing, inspirational and incredible. While those words are used too often in most cases, they simply cannot be used enough, nor give an accurate reflection of just how good the space school in Houston was. Where else would you get the opportunity to conduct a simulated mission to Mars, dock the Orion capsule to the ISS, star gaze at the George Observatory, get inside the Apollo mission control room, see live mission control, visit the Saturn V rocket, hold baby alligators, go to a huge airshow which makes Leuchars seem tiny, get a talk from the Wood Group, take a tour of Rice University, have dinner with astronauts and leading-edge engineers and scientists and at the same time share the experience with 9 amazing people with the same interests as you? Where else would you get the opportunity to meet people like Gene Kranz, Debbie Gary, Mike Foale, Mike Baker, Bill McArthur, Ron Garan and Amber Gell among others?

There’s nowhere like it and because of that it is the greatest opportunity I could ever have wished for and I cannot thank Hyang, Gordon, Gayle and Marianne enough for finding the time and giving the effort to organise the best experience possible for 10 very lucky people. The week in Houston has been the single biggest inspiration for me to work to achieve my goals – just as Gene Kranz says “dream, aim high and never surrender” – but it has also given me the confidence to follow those goals in a way I could never have done before Houston.

Each day spent in Houston brought with it new concepts and ideas and each day we found ourselves being inspired to follow the only common themes in a diverse industry: hard work, determination and ambition. Every visit to see space past, present or future was just as inspiring as each casual conversation with an astronaut, engineer, pilot or flight controller. Meeting such incredible people at the top of such an amazing industry now serves as my motivation to work and to succeed in the aerospace sector and has helped define a career path for me to follow in the future.

If you are reading this and are wondering whether to apply for the space school – do! It’s the biggest opportunity possible if you’re interested in science, technology, engineering or maths and it truly is an experience of a lifetime. Unfortunately words cannot do it justice as there is no way to explain to people just how amazing it is using dialogue, you just have to be there to understand. To y’all Houston 2011 folks: it was great to share this experience with such a brilliant group and I’m sure that you still hear the words “assume the position” when you see a camera in the same way I do!

Posted at 02/11/2011 11:20 by Neal Stokes

31/10/2011 19:48

Houston 2011 - What can I say?

It was the most amazing experience of my life. When applying to Space School a year ago, I never expected to get through to the week at Strathclyde let alone, going "across the pond"! After reading Holly's blog I realised how many things we actually did within the week; things that most people will never have the chance to do.

When we went to the Johnson Space Center we saw mission control, but we also saw the old mission control room. Tourists were seeing it from another room through a glass screen, whereas we were sitting at the flight director’s desk!! We even got to hold a baby alligator... But a favourite for me was the flight simulation at the challenger centre and we had to make sure we listened to mission control and work as a team for everything to work.

When sitting in school, all I can think about is what I would be doing if I were in Houston. Many things came to mind: going to an American football game, drinking volcano juice, meeting Gene Kranz, having dinner with Amber Gell, watching Austin walk backwards, eating a lot of food, watching a reenactment of pearl harbour, learning how to eat rice with chopsticks or laughing at Gordon and his broken sunglasses...

There were a mixture of activities, all of which were crazy but great! The week in Houston was made especially great by Hyang. All of her phrases to make us laugh for a photo, all of the positions she made us assume, all of the crazy driving... and all of the time and effort she put in to making sure we had an amazing and worthwhile time.

Thanks to everyone who was involved with the Space School but especially to Gordon, Marianne (or Merryanne as the Texans called her...), Gayle and, of course, Hyang. To all future Space School Students: it's not geeky, y'all make friends for life, y'all have an amazing time and just make the most of it while it lasts. You can only do it once despite how much you'll want to do it again! And y'all sound Texan... To the Houston team of 2011: We can do anything!! It was great to assume the position with y'all!

Posted at 31/10/2011 19:48 by Sarah White

26/10/2011 12:53

ASSUME THE FINAL POSITION..

This time last year I was sitting in my Physics class listening to my teacher talk about applying for "this fantastic opportunity" called the Scottish Space school - briefly adding that a few are taken to Houston at the very end on "the trip of a lifetime". I remember being instantly in awe of the idea - but never for one split second considering it a realistic possibility.

Between then and now has been an incredible year. After bombarding facebook with a mighty 8GB of photographs I've reluctantly brought myself to bid this official farewell (I say "official" to cover me for when I turn up next year, possibly chance my luck at re-applying?!) As the rest of the 2011 team agree, it's difficult trying to convey how much Houston really has an impact on you but something I found silenced my family was handing them over the itinerary Hyang presented us with on arrival in Houston. From sweet 16s to being VIPs at Ellington air show, Ichibon restaurant for dinner, the Johnson Space Center, Aligator trail walk, Challenger Center, star gazing in the planetarium, space suits and EVA lecture by Heather Paul, NASA level 9 tour, Neutral Buoyancy laboratory, dinner in the Pellis's home, Rice University tour, Dr. David Alexander talk, visit to the Wood Group, JP kenny talk on sub sea engineering, Mustang presentation on laser 3D scanning, dinner at a real Texas steak house, American football, the fabulous Amber Gell at Lockheed Martin, balloon show, mission control, a personal account of Apollo 13 from "flight" Gene Kranz and more! Not to forget casually hanging out with astronauts, engineers, scientists, the Vice Consul General.....

It sounds ridiculous when you say it back to yourself. Never did I think I'd be able to watch Apollo 13 or Transformers 3 and go "ohh, we've sat right there in mission control, we've done that, we've heard this from the man himself Gene Kranz!?" Each and every highly accomplished individual who kindly took the time to speak with the space school oozed inspiration and charisma like I have never before experienced. They were living examples of what they taught us - "dream, aim high, never surrender" In any normal circumstances I would be inclined to find this a bit cheesy, but every one of us was captivated by their words and left with a unique experience that allowed us an insight into the lives, attitudes, workplaces and projects of the very best in the industry.

I have now seen where I want to be, how high you are able to aim, and the possibilities to aim even further in the future - quite literally we were told on several occasions the possibility of travelling to Mars is in the hands of our generation! I could talk about Space School forever (as my friends and family and generally anyone with a spare ear would confirm!) but here we finally are, almost exactly a year on from when it all started, and really it should all be over.

Yet we're left with this strange feeling that we've barely even scratched the surface, excited and inspired by this incredible experience we were so grateful to have been given. There's a million thankyous to be given to anyone who's been a part of the Space School, but particularly to Gordon, Marianne, Gayle and Hyang and also to Mr George Abbey without whom we know the space school would not have been possible. Thank you all so so much for giving us such a genuinely awesome experience and one which we will certainly never forget! In case any future applicants of Space School 2012 are doing what I did and reading these blogs, 1. please know I am overwhelmingly jealous of the position you are in and 2. in case you haven't already gathered this is an absolutely unmissable chance. Grab it with both hands and appreciate every minute of it! And no, it's not just a mass of high wasted budgeed jeans and dorky glasses what one commonly refers to as a "geek-fest", I can assure you, you are about to meet some of the best guys you will ever meet (we were all bubbling saying goodbye!) A final message to the 2011 Houston team (*cough* the best ever *cough*): Assume the Position!, braaandon ova here budday.. y'all have been awesome!

Thankyou, Holly

Posted at 26/10/2011 12:53 by Holly Fergusson

25/10/2011 12:29

Back in Houston..... Renfrewshire though!

Words cannot do justice to the Houston Learning Journey but I’m all up for challenges and so will give it a try anyway... First and foremost y’all must understand that Space School was downright amazing. I cannot explain how fortunate I feel to have been part of such a unique, eye opening and completely fabulous experience!

The week was a blur of excitement and once in a life time experiences that I could never have anticipated. The things that I saw, the people I met and the places I visited; unbelievable. How many other 16 year olds can talk about sitting in NASA’s mission control, listening to inspirational speakers, chatting with a team of astronauts, holding baby alligators, attending air shows, hot air balloon festivals and American football matches? I can, and in the words of the Toy Story Martians I am ‘eternally grateful’ to Gordon, Marianne, Gayle and Hyang for giving me the opportunity to do all of these things and so, so much more.

Each day presented us with a new adventure, brought us another inspirational guest and introduced more unique experiences. It was a brilliantly intense seven day learning curve which taught us not just space facts but also the importance of determination, commitment and hard work which can be summed up in the wise words of my friend Gene Kranz: “dream, aim high, never surrender”. This philosophy appeared time and time again amongst each and every NASA success story allowing me to realise that such an attitude can be applied to any career, endeavour and aspect of life. However, the recurring theme of NASA tells of a multitude of qualities required in the correct balance to make your average, well rounded rocket scientist!

I would thoroughly recommend any 5th year pupil to apply to the Scottish Space School. Not only could it change you career aspirations, your perception of engineering, your circle of friends, but it could possibly change your life. To the Houston 2011 group... “It’s been a privilege flying with you”. Kirsty, from Houston, Renfrewshire x

Posted at 25/10/2011 12:29 by Kirsty Boswell

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