Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center
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The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center is a museum and educational facility in Hutchinson, Kansas that is best known for the display and restoration of space artifacts and educational camps.
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[edit] General Info
Founded by Patricia Carey as the Hutchinson Planetarium, the Cosmosphere began in 1962 as a planetarium on the Kansas State Fair grounds. In 1966, the Hutchinson Planetarium moved to the campus of Hutchinson Community College in the newly constructed Science and Arts Building. Due to growing popularity, initial expansion started in 1976 and was completed in 1980, with further expansion taking place in the second half of the 1990's. The current facility includes an IMAX Dome theatre (originally OMNIMAX), the Justice Planetarium, and the 2nd largest collection of US space artifacts in the world (second only to the National Air and Space Museum). Dr. Goddard's Lab is now housed in the original planetarium and presents daily shows on how rockets work. The Cosmosphere also has the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside of Moscow. The Cosmosphere is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
Note: The U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, which is part of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, has the world's largest collection of actual space hardware, so the Cosmosphere would be the third largest collection.
[edit] Camps
One of the things that the Cosmosphere is well known for are its camps, including the Future Astronaut Training Program (FATP). FATP is a 5-day summer camp for middle school and high school students, an Elderhostel program, and several 1-day or single overnight camp options for elementary school students based on grade level. Adults can also attend the 3-day Adult Astronaut Experience program.
The highlight of the 5-day and 3-day Adult Astronaut Experience camps is a "shuttle mission" in the simulator, affectionately named the Falcon. According to camp staff, NASA astronauts have visited and tested a "mission" in the Falcon, and found it harder to fly than the actual shuttle. This is due to the fact that most of the processes on the shuttle are automated, and on the Falcon, must be done manually. The fact that currently, none campers in the history of FATP has ever crashed the Falcon during their final mission, is a testimony to the reputation of the camp, and the teamwork and skill of the campers.
At the beginning of each camp, campers are organized into teams, usually with five people each (One commander, one pilot, two mission specialists, and a payload commander). Each team chooses a name from a list of flown spacecraft except for Challenger and Columbia, in respect for the crews of those shuttles. The name Falcon is also off limits, to avoid confusion with the shuttle simulator. Each team will work together on all of the activities and missions that take place, and train for their Falcon mission. There is often a running competition between teams, considering whose rockets go highest, who does best in the centrifuge, whose robot has the most complex programming, etc. This encourages creative thinking and unique approaches to problems, as campers strive to think of ways to outdo their peers.
Some of the camp activities include the Multi Axis trainer, a seat in two concentric rings that spins and twirls its occupant in every conceivable direction. There is also a centrifuge, where campers experience four times Earth gravity while completing simple tasks. A trash can stands nearby for the weak of stomach, and a pre-set signal allows riders to abort the mission if feeling queasy. There is a device known as the "tuna can" or "stress simulator", which pitches back and forth and blares loud music. Red and green buttons flash on and off, and campers try to push only the red ones, even as voices from the speakers by your ears urge you to "press the green button!" The object is to get a high score, each red button awarding you points. Push three green buttons, and the simulator shuts itself off. For levels one and two, rockets are constructed and launched, along with rockets constructed by camp counselors and senior staff. Robots are built and programmed to run a course.
For level three, the camp is a bit different. The first day launches the teams directly into their Falcon training, and on the second day, the teams fly their missions. Multiple flight sims are crowded into these two days between an overwhelming number of other activities. To add to the tension, the flights for the level three teams are completely free of interference. Where level one lands the shuttle automatically, and on both level one and two assistance may be received from the camp staff, level three teams are on their own. For a commander, landing the shuttle manually in windy conditions, it is definitely a high-adrenaline experience.
On the morning of the third day, the campers are loaded onto a chartered bus, and driven several hundread miles to Houston, Texas. There they stay in a local hotel, and for the next two days tour behind the scenes at Space Center Houston. Currently, the campers are the only civilian group allowed behind the scenes at the NASA facilities in Texas. Highlights of the field trip include the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, the mock-ups of the shuttle and ISS that astronauts from around the world use to train for NASA missions, and Mission Control. FATP Level 3 is the only group allowed on the floor of the restored Apollo Mission Control Center and are allowed to sit in the chairs that once sat the founding fathers behind the first steps on the moon. If a class is lucky, they may also see the newly restored Saturn V rocket, now housed in a specially built hangar to protect it from the elements.
[edit] Museum
Included in the collection at the Cosmosphere are an SR-71 Blackbird, the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft from Mercury 4 and the Odyssey command module from Apollo 13, as well as replica Redstone and Titan II launch vehicles used in the Mercury and Gemini programs. Restored versions of World War II V-1 and V-2 rockets are also on display. The Cosmosphere is the only museum in the world that has both an authentic restored V1 flying bomb and an authentic restored V2 rocket. It is also the only museum outside of Russia that has an authentic, flown Vostok capsule. Other notable artifacts include the Emmy Award won by the Apollo 8 mission and numerous prototype spacesuits. Along with the prototype spacesuits are some suits that have actually flown. Both American and Russian spacesuits are shown. Another prized item in the Cosmosphere's collection is a piece of moon rock.
Other items include a collection showing the various tools and vacuum-packed foods that astronauts would carry with them on a typical mission.
The Cosmosphere museum begins with the earliest experiments in rocketry during the World War II era, explores through the "Space Race" and Cold War, and continues through the modern times with the Space Shuttle and International Space Station.
Additionally, the Cosmosphere's Space Works built much of the replicated spacecraft hardware seen in the movies Apollo 13, "From the Earth to the Moon", and Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D.
[edit] Items on display
- Liberty Bell 7
- SR-71 Blackbird
- Odyssey command module from Apollo 13
- replica Redstone and Titan II launch vehicles
- Restored versions of World War II V-1 and V-2 rockets
- Prototype and space-flown American and Russian spacesuits
- Moon rock
- Largest American meteorite ever found
- Full-scale mock-up of Space Shuttle (left side of craft only)
- Section from Berlin Wall
- Lunar Rover
- Lunar Module
- Copy of Chuck Yeager's X-1, "Glamorous Glennis" which was used in the film "The Right Stuff"
- Actual, flown Gemini X spacecraft
- Flown Russian Vostok spacecraft
- Actual engine from Chuck Yeager's "Glamorous Glennis"
- Backup version of Vanguard 1
