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Kennedy Space Center & NASA
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ime_NY
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
 
2009-06-01, 14:44

So I just came back from Florida and made my second trip to Kennedy Space Center. Absolutely one of the best ways to spend a day that will leave you feeling optimistic about mankind (and patriotic if you're American). Also a pretty cool place to catch the new Star Trek flick in their IMAX theater


Anyone have any cool experiences there?

On an different note, how does a scientist come to work for NASA? Is it just a matter of applying for any NSF or NIH position? I know NASA has a graduate student fellowship, but I am a bit taken back that there is no formal graduate institution devoted to matching students with current NASA scientists. If I'm wrong, please educate me
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2009-06-01, 14:52

I've only been to the Huntsville Space Center in Alabama (no jokes, please...the shuttle simulator doesn't have a gun rack, Pabst Blue Ribbon hasn't replaced Tang, etc. ), but that was a thousand years ago during a third-grade school field trip.

I've meant to go back, as an adult (it's about a two-and-a-half hour drive from Chattanooga), dozens of times and just haven't gotten around to it. Something else always seems to come up...



I'd love to tour the Cape Kennedy complex someday. I'm one of those "The Right Stuff", "Apollo 13" and "From the Earth to the Moon" junkies...can't get enough of 60's space program lore. And I imagine the modern-day stuff is cool too!
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addabox
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: oaktown
 
2009-06-01, 14:57

I grew up in Huntsville, Rocket City USA as it was known back in the day. My dad was part of the wave of aerospace engineers brought in my NASA during the Apollo days.

So, the population at the time consisted of born and bred southerners, Nazi rocketeers, and Yankee space people. Quite a heady mix, as you can imagine.

That which doesn't kill you weakens you slightly and makes you less able to cope until you're completely incapacitated
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Kickaha
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2009-06-01, 14:57

Went and watched the launch of MESSENGER (Mercury probe) a few years ago, as a VIP guest (former student of mine ended up on the software team, got us passes.) You get taken out to a viewing site much closer to the launch than the general public. Oh yeah, and it was a night launch too.

After two nights of scrubbed launches due to weather (impending hurricanes), the third night it cleared up just in time for the window, and away it went. It. Was. Awesome.

The Center was quite amazing too, but watching a false dawn in the middle of the night was spectacular.
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jdcfsu
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Florida
 
2009-06-01, 15:22

I was there about a month ago. I have a friend that works for United Space Alliance, a contractor whose building is next door to the VAB. Once a year NASA has a "friends and family" day where anyone with a Cape Canaveral badge can bring a car load of people in to do literally whatever they want. This was when both shuttles were on the pads and we were allowed to drive right up to them. It was pretty incredible. Kickaha, we drove by that viewing area you are talking about, it'd be very cool to see a launch from there.



After that portion we got to walk through the VAB and tour the shuttle hanger where the third shuttle was being worked on. We even got to drive on the runway the shuttle lands on. People were out there playing with remote controlled airplanes. It was almost surreal.

After our all access NASA tour we went to the visitors center and did all the other tourist things. The launch experience ride was pretty cool and a lot more fun then I had expected. Also, the Tom Hanks moon IMAX movie was very cool.

I really love the space center and all that NASA does. It was a pretty awesome day.

As for working there ime_NY, my friend just applied to USA and was contacted by a department. I knew another person who worked from them a few years back and did the same. I know it's not NASA per-se, but it's basically the same thing.

90% of statistics can be made to say anything 50% of the time.
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Anonymous Coward
Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2009-06-01, 19:33

A few community colleges in the San Francisco Bay Area advertise internships at the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. I would assume that the same is true on the graduate level (San Jose State University, Santa Clara University, Stanford, and Berkeley).
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