Space Center Houston - My First Stop in Texas

I drove from the very end of Florida to Houston in one day. I managed to pass into Texas on the day I-10 was reopened from the flooding. I saw plenty of water and a river that was just about to wash over the highway. Well actually one that had just finished washing over the highway so I could pass. I didn't want to delay so sorry all you states in between. I got nothing.

 I grabbed a hotel right across the street on priceline. Not the best, but the closest. The next day I paid a visit to Space Center Houston. The visitors door to the Johnson Space Center. To say I was excited may be a bit of an understatement. I was the first one and the only one in the parking lot for about a half hour. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft was recently installed right at the front gate so it was my own personal photo op. I didn't realize till later in the day you can tour both the mockup shuttle and the real 747 that carried them. There is a video inside explaining the hows and the whys. Even a person such as myself who is pretty knowledgeable about the program could learn plenty from this display.




Many kids in school say they want to be an astronaut when they grew up. I'm way too tall for that. I would have to be folded like luggage to fit in any of the early space vehicles. Even Skylab as large as it was would just be an exercise in head trauma. When you get all the way down to the Apollo capsule, they would have to search me for a can opener as I would surely try and cut my way out half way to the moon.



I would be much more suited for a desk job at mission control. I actually applied to several space companies like Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin)  and TRW as a programmer way back when. Anything to be part of the space program. My chances then were as likely as me touching a moon rock.

Well guess what. I TOUCHED A MOON ROCK!!!. I touched a rock that was on the moon and now it is not. It's in Texas!! The first thing I did when I got home was to see if Space X was hiring. Just for fun, click on the link and go to their careers page. They are hiring for EVERYTHING. If I were starting my career right now I am sure I would have found a way to make the grade, I'm not 100% sure I wont try in the next year. Who needs to be retired when space is calling.

Visiting Space Center Houston is an amazing trip through the past. There are plenty of interactive displays, movies, mockups, and astronauts to show you the present, and the shuttle craft from the original Star Trek TV show to keep you dreaming of the future. There is a lot to not like in this world of ours so my answer to that is always - Space.



[click here] for more photos of my visit.