Author: Kim Perry

As Summer comes to a close and projects once again start, I genuinely wonder where the time went. The largest accomplishment this summer was finishing my thesis- a long-term project to say the least. Between the countless hours of revisions and self-reflections on “what am I doing with my life,” I did manage to go outside over the past few months.

2019 Parade of Sails:

 

Roadtrip to Washington D.C.:

Bartending at Norfolk Pridefest 2019:

Norfolk Tides Game:

While I wish there was more time before school, I can’t wait for what my fourth year of graduate school has in store.

I recently had the opportunity to tour Johnson Space Center with a family friend. The tour included a quick tour of the astronaut training modules used and lunar vehicle prototypes.

The tour quickly led to the main event: Mission Control.

It was hard to not ask a million questions on the usability and chain of command, but I was interested how the operators felt about being under surveillance at any moment from the general public. Our guide assured us that these professionals are the best of the best when working under pressure. The general public is not even a concern.

The tour finally ended at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. In this massive building, NASA scientists have created replica portions of the ISS within a massive pool. The pool allowed for astronauts in training to test techniques and general guidelines when conducting a Extravehicular Activity (EVA).

Finally, we were able to view remaining Saturn V rockets. The sheer size was staggering, especially when using TV footage for scale!

A quick visit to Rocket Park never disappoints and was a great end to a fantastic trip!