Day 2

What a great day! The weather has really shaped up to be wonderful and beneficial to our astronauts! As is par for Space Camp, we were all on the go from about 7am-9:30pm, and boy did we accomplish a lot today!

While Matthew and Gerson trained for their Bravo (2nd) mission, Mimi, Taylor, KelliJane and Brandon were mastering their navigational skills in their airplane simulators. I'm not quite ready to jump into the co-pilot seat with them, but their skills have really improved since yesterday's training session (disengaging the wheel brake and turning the engine on are DEFINITELY important! :) )

Brandon and KelliJane then proceeded to learn how to survive on the land if they were forced to eject from their plane (NO, you can't kick them out of the house to test them, Holst and Barnes families!) We also learned that 90% of the time, red berries are safe to eat and aggregate (example, blackberries) berries are 100% edible. Another fast fact for you, the average person can go without air for 3 minutes (I still think this is a bit high, but the counselor claimed it was true) without water for 3 days and without food for 3 weeks.

KJ and Brandon then moved onto the low ropes course and did some teambuilding activities. Both were team leaders at various times and did a great job explaining the job at hand and successfully completed every obstacle the staff threw at them!

Right after lunch, Mimi and Taylor learned different ways to build a fire and how to protect themselves from the elements if they were stranded in the wilderness (again, this doesn't mean they'll be forced to try it at SCSDB :) )

Gerson and Matthew learned take-offs and navigation in the airplane simulators late this afternoon and both did really great work! I was very impressed with Gerson's ability to calmly (some of the other students were cruising ON THE GROUND at 100 knots (approx. 120 mph!) whereas the limit was 20 knots while on the runway.

A big "congratulations" to both the Orville and Wilbur teams; they both finished their Alpha (first) mission tonight!!!!!! Both groups were successful and everything ran smoothly. KelliJane was the pilot for her mission tonight, Mimi was the commander for hers, Brandon was in charge of ground communication and Taylor worked on a satellite while being suspended from the ceiling (I mean, while floating in space :) )

All of the students from the various schools are meshing really well and becoming fast friends. Their confidence in one another is building and some seemingly life-long friendships are forming. Hooray! :)

KJ- We had an awesome day today! I did those stuff today: listening to some boring lectures, making stuff, working on our missions (IT WAS AWESOME!!!) , and some other things!! I cant believe that time has gone fast enough that tomorrow will be Wednesday!! I DON'T want to leave!! Thanks for your support!