"An Experience I'll Never Forget": 

Devon Couch at Space Camp

Space Camp was an experience I'll never forget. From the moment myself and Ben Mannisto arrived in Huntsville, Alabama it was nothing short of amazing. The week was filled with interesting classes, fun activities, and lots of opportunities to get to know people from all around the world.

There were about 100 people attending space camp that week, and they were split into five teams. My team was Acidalia, named after a plain on Mars. On my team there were people from Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Greece, Mexico, Colombia, Belgium, the United Kingdom and all of the United States.

There were a variety of classes throughout the week, all of them very interesting. There were classes about the history of space flight, space exploration systems, and even about non-­governmental space programs.

There was also a handful of engineering challenged, my favourite being the rocket building one. We were given the task of building a homemade rocket with limited time and resources. Doesn't seem to hard at first, you are provided with the right material to create a basic rocket. The only catch, your rocket had to house an egg, and this egg had to survive the launch, flight, and landing of your rocket. After about 400 drawings and a 20 minute debate on what we should name our team, (we went with CANZSA+1, the Canadian Australian New Zealand Space Agency Plus One) we started actually building our rocket. At this point we had wasted half of the time we had to construct our rocket, and this only got worse when after 10 minutes of building

The infamous rocket

(the only thing we managed to do in those 10 minutes was realize our plan wasn't going to work) someone came up with the idea of having a logo, and another 20 minutes went down the drain.

Somehow we managed to finish our rocket. Then came launch day. The launch may not have been pretty, but it worked. The landing on the other hand, let's just say our parachute may not have worked perfectly. It doesn't matter how many cotton balls you have protecting an egg, when it comes crashing into the ground with no parachute, it doesn't survive.

You also got to choose between pilot training and mission specialist training. I chose to do the pilot training, and it was an amazing time. We learned about the principals of flight, and some basic survival tips. We got to experience 3.2 g’s in the centrifuge, which is basically a giant arm that spins a 2 person capsule that's on the end of it. We then got to go into the F­-18 simulators, were we spent some time learning how all the controls worked. Once we mastered taking off, landing and maneuvering in the air, we were able to spend a few hours simulating air­-to­-air combat.

Probably the most exciting part of Space Camp was the simulated missions. There were three of them in total, 2 that were 1 hour space shuttle missions. During these missions there were 3 groups you could be in,the ISS (International Space Station) where space science was being done, aboard the space shuttle, or in MOCR (Mission Operations Control Room). During our first mission I was in MOCR acting as the GNC, the Guidance, Navigation and Control Systems Engineer. My job was to make sure the shuttle changed direction when it needed to and didn't drift off course. Our mission went well, as good as it could go since instead of closing the large payload bay doors on the shuttle, when the commander was asked to close the doors, he went down the ladder and shut the hatch that lead to the payload bay. For our second mission I was the Pilot in the space shuttle. There was one thing we knew going into this mission. One of the 2 missions always has an abort, and since the last one didn't, it was a matter of what kind it would be. There are 4 types of aborts, RTLS (Return to Launch Site), TAL (Transoceanic Abort Landing), AOA (Abort Once Around), and ATO (Abort to Orbit). There were 2 we knew we wouldn't do, RTLS and ATO. This was because a RTLS had never been successfully completed in the simulator and no matter how over confident me and the Commander were they wouldn't let us do it. Also it results in a very short mission since you abort shortly after lift off. An ATO requires another shuttle to come retrieve the crew so we knew we wouldn't do that either. We ended up doing an AOA, and even after a poor approach I managed to perfectly land the shuttle. This may have had something to do with the training, but it was probably because we had "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty playing in the background.

Recieving wings from astronaut
Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger

Our last mission was the EDM or Extended Duration Mission. This was a 3 hour simulated Mars mission. There were again 3 groups to be in, Mission Control, the Orion capsule heading to Mars, or in the Ouranos base on Mars’s largest moon Phobos. I was the pilot of the Orion capsule during this mission. This mission was tons of fun. It was made especially fun because of the many, mainly mental, medical anomalies. This most memorable of these was after we arrived on Mars, and our Commander decided that Mission Control was stressing everyone out. He decided to turn of all the mics and speakers for communication and lead the entire Orion crew through a yoga class.

All in all Space Camp was something I could never forget. The incredible time I had and the friends I made from all around the world made this a truly unique and exciting experience.

"Experience of a Lifetime": 

Ben Mannisto's Space Camp Experience

This summer I had the experience of a lifetime. Myself and Devon Couch were selected to take part in a week of International Space Camp, in Huntsville, Alabama. This week was compiled of classes on various subjects, experiments demonstrating space science, activities based on astronaut training, and simulated NASA missions. Along with us there were representatives from 17 other countries.

The 100 or so students who attended international week were split into 5 teams. My team, Elysium, had people from Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Belgium, Ireland, Norway, England, Canada, and of course people from all over the United States.

The classes my team partook in covered many, highly interesting, subjects ranging from Russian space history to emergency first aid in space. I learned about robotics and space food, astronomy and space suit dynamics, the ISS and ground control.

These classes were often followed by experiments. These experiments demonstrated many different things, and were often in the form of challenges. Our teams were tasked with anything from designing a space suit, to purifying mars water. I learned how to protect an egg from the heat of reentry using a hand made heat shield, and that if an egg's heat shield fails and it heats up too quickly, it may explode. One of these experiments involved designing a rover to drive over a series of obstacles using a lego robotics kit, another found us trying to protect an apple from radiation.

These scientific challenges were complemented with more physical ones. My team was often brought to ‘Area 51”, which contained a climbing wall, team building activities, and the “pamper pole” (a telephone pole with handholds for climbing). We were also treated to a multi axis simulator, which spins you in a bunch of different directions without you getting dizzy.  

We also had our path specific activities. Before the camp began everyone had to choose one of two paths, Pilot or Mission Specialist. These would help decide the type of experience you had at the camp. I chose the Mission Specialist path. This meant that I would be doing scuba diving. The diving was a truly incredible experience, we dove in a 40 foot replica of the actual astronaut training tank. In the tank we lifted 100 pound balls with only one pinky, played basketball with bowling balls, and attempted to throw water toys underwater, which is not as easy as it sounds. They even had specialized speakers to play music underwater, which was rather neat.

All of this training led up to our simulated missions. In our first two missions we were placed in one of three groups: ground control, the space shuttle, and the ISS (international space station) for 1 hour. Those in the shuttle had to go through a mission abort and land the shuttle after it launched, ground control had to walk them through this, and while all of this chaos was going on those in the ISS did space science. On my first mission I was in the ISS, and on my second I was in ground control.

The third and final mission was called an EDM or extended duration mission. These were simulated missions to Mars and they lasted 3 hours. This mission was also separated into three groups: Ground Control, Orion Space Capsule, and the Ouranos base on Mars’s largest moon Phobos. Those in the Orion capsule were tasked with landing on Mars and setting up a base there, Ground Control would help walk them through this. Those on Ouranos had a variety of positions, The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) had to ensure everyone everywhere was healthy, the two weather specialists had to study weather on mars, the two flight engineers had to fix ammonia tanks and drive a rover, and the Extravehicular activity officer had to help the flight engineers fix the tanks.

This was all made difficult by a number of medical anomalies given to us by the people directing the mission. These were medical problems that could be physical or mental. A few of them were: the fear of the colour white (everything was painted white), Kleptomania, OCD causing the person to flip every switch (including the oxygen supply), drug overdose, everyone in the Orion capsule breaking their arms in lift off, and many more. Even with all of these obstacles we still managed to complete the mission successfully, we were later told we were the best of the week, and the first to fully complete the mission.

Overall, Space camp was an incredible experience. I met great people and made friends all over the world. I learned many things, and experienced things I couldn’t do anywhere else. Space camp was thoroughly enjoyable and came with memories I will never forget.

   

T-10, 9, 8, 7, 6...

After months of publicity, fundraising and preparation, two Greenstone high school students and a local teacher will soon be on our way to represent Canada at International Space Camp at the US Space and Rocket Center  in Huntsville AL.  There, we will join contingents of aspiring astronauts from up to 35 countries around the world as well as all 50 American states for a week of extensive training and simulations that will broaden our understanding of the Space Program, the universe and our place in it.

PLT Devon Couch (left), MS Ben Mannisto (centre)
and CDR Benjamin Jewiss show off the "right stuff" at
Nakina ON's annual Canada Day celebrations.

Pilot Devon Couch of Geraldton will find himself in command of the spacecraft in his crew’s simulated space missions. His training will focus on aeronautic design and the science of orbital mechanics, and he will take to the virtual sky in an F-18 jet fighter simulator, and experience 3.2 times the force of gravity in a High-G centrifuge.  Meanwhile, Mission Specialist Ben Mannisto of Longlac will study space physiology in order to design and test spacesuits and to prepare for extravehicular activities in the stomach-churning Multi-Axis Trainer and the microgravity-simulating Underwater Astronaut Trainer.  Finally, teacher Benjamin Jewiss of Nakina will participate in authentic astronaut training simulators and activities developed to promote learning in a classroom setting.

Getting to this point has not been easy, but as the late American president John F. Kennedy said about to the Moonshot in the 1960s,  we do these things “not because they are easy but because they are hard.” Jewiss’ previous experience at the US Space and Rocket Center, including being the only non-American participant in the invitation-only Advanced Space Academy for Educators in 2014, as well as his noted efforts in the classroom and the community to promote interest in rocketry and space science, led to his being invited to lead the sole Canadian contribution to International Space Camp. Couch and Mannisto were put through a comprehensive interview process and have led efforts to raise the substantial funds necessary to make this trip a reality.

Couch and Mannisto share their knowledge of
Newtonian physics as they teach Canada Day
revellers how to build their own foam rockets.

“Support from the community, and further afield really, has been astounding,” says Jewiss.  “We have had donations of $100, $200,  $500, even $1000, not only from established community service groups including Moosecalac, the Royal Canadian Legion, Nakina and Longlac's Fire Departments and the Nakina Sunrise Seniors’ Club, but also from ordinary people connected to Greenstone, the team or who just happen to be advocates of science and space exploration.”  One such donation came from an alumna of Geraldton Composite High School now living in Thunder Bay who stated her certainty that the Team "will do us all proud and that the boys will gain so much from the experience."

“That’s really what this is all about,” says Jewiss.  “The Space Race of 50 years ago led to the invention or popularization of Teflon, Velcro, GPS,  cordless power tools and memory foam. I can't promise that anything like that will come out of International Space Camp, but what we will see is an increase an awareness and appreciation for not only space science, but also aspects of technology, engineering and mathematics that have real, down to earth applications in Greenstone.   Our goal has always been to really bring this experience back to our community.”

International Space Camp Team Canada has already begun its outreach programs.  A group of Air Cadets from the local 227 Squadron was both amazed and horrified by  a presentation on some of the realities of space exploration -- including “Mr. Thirsty,”  the aptly-named toilet on the International Space Station. The team also led a rocketry workshop at the Nakina Canada Day celebrations on 1 July,  giving local children of all ages the opportunity to demonstrate Newton's Third Law of Motion with their own foam rockets and to experience the thrill of a model rocket launch.  The team will continue these programs  after their return from Alabama and hope to have the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with students in local schools.

Be sure to watch for such outreach programs in the fall. You can also follow the adventures of International Space Camp Team Canada  by visiting our blog here at http://iscteamcanada.blogspot.ca/ or following the Twitter hashtag #ISCCanada.

Bringing Space Science Down to Earth

ISC Team Canada CDR Benjamin Jewiss speaks to
Greenstone-area air cadets on everyone's favourite topic:
space toilets!

ISC Team Canada is excited to being offering space science education programs to the communities of Greenstone!  

From the onset, it has been important to Mission Pilot Devon Couch of Geraldton and Mission Specialist Ben Mannisto of Longlac that they acknowledge the support that they have received from our community by bringing the knowledge, skills, attitudes and experiences that they gain from International Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville Alabama back to Greenstone.  They hope to provide community service and youth groups such as yours with dynamic and engaging educational workshops and speaking engagements.  

Jewiss demonstrates an
ersatz astro-potty trainer.

International Space Camp Team Canada would be delighted to visit any area organization and to serve as space science resources for the community. Anyone interested in having us visit their group can contact us through this very blog!

We are still gratefully accepting donations to help to offset the cost of airfare, tuition and teaching materials, and any financial assistance that you and your organization would be willing to offer would be greatly appreciated.  If you would like to donate to ISC Team Canada, be sure to check out upcoming fundraising events or visit the team’s crowdfunding site.

We look forward to any assistance we can to aid in bringing space sciences down to Earth in Greenstone!

International Space Camp Team Canada Biographies, cont'd

International Space Camp Team Canada Biographies, cont'd

ISC Team Canada CDR and teacher
Benjamin Jewiss during a simulated EVA at
Advanced Space Academy for Educators, 2013

Name: Benjamin Jewiss

ISC Team Canada Position: "Commander" (which is to say, "chaperone")

Education: OSSD/OAC, Huntsville High School, 2002; BA (Honours History) WLU, 2006; BEd, NipissingU, 2007; numerous additional qualifications through Ontario College of Teachers

Hometown: Nakina ON Canada, transplanted from Huntsville ON

Favourite Astronaut: Hybrid mashup of Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell and Pete Conrad

Favourite Space Quote: "We choose to go to the Moon! ... We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard..." 

                                                                                                      -- John F. Kennedy

Husband, brother, son; educator, learner, dreamer: ISC Team Canada CDR and Greentone-area teacher Benjamin Jewiss is a man of many parts.  Growing up in rural Ontario (which stood in for adventures on far away planents, distant lands and eons of time), he dreamed of exploring "strange new worlds." A keen sense of duty and responsibility, not to mention adventure, led him on his path as an educator on a different, more terrestrial frontier in the Canadian North where he met his true love and best friend Melanie.  Moving to the small village of Nakina (part of the municipality of Greenstone) in northwestern Ontario, Benjamin (along with now-wife Melanie and erstwhile canine companions Farley and Dexter) quickly became a respected, if somewhat eccentric, member of the community.  Known to some as the "Rocket Man" due to annual model rocket launches on New Year's and Canada Day as well as extracurricular rocketry clubs, Benjamin is also the 2nd Vice President and Poppy Committee Chairman of the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, a tenured teacher of Ojibwe Language and Culture and just about everything else at St. Brigid Catholic School and the Training Officer and Deputy Commanding Officer of the area's Royal Canadian Air Cadet squadron with the rank of Lieutenant.  He has attended Space Camp for Educators programs twice before, once in 2012, along with teachers from elsewhere in Ontario as well as Australia and the United States, and again in 2013 as the sole Canadian (in fact, sole non-American) member of the invitation only Advanced Space Academy for Educators.  Benjamin has been working for years to make the dream of sharing the life-changing experience of Space Camp with local students a reality, and he is thrilled that, through partnerships with parents and community businesses and members, two aspiring space explorers/engineers from small-town, northern Ontario will get the chance to explore "the final frontier" as part of International Space Camp Team Canada.

International Space Camp Team Canada Biographies

Name: Devon Couch 

ISC Team Canada Position: Pilot

Education: Grade 10 at Geraldton Composite High School

Hometown: Geraldton ON Canada

Favourite Astronaut: Marc Garneau  

Favourite Space Quote: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." 

                                                                                                      -- Neil Armstrong 

ISC Team Canada Pilot Devon Couch (left)
with Mission Specialist Ben Mannisto (right)

I think I shared an interest of space with every other kid I knew. Ever since I was a young age, being an astronaut was a dream far beyond reach. In Grade 9, while completing a unit on astronomy unit in science class, my interest in the ever-expanding universe deepened. I became incredibly interested in how things work in space. When I learned about the opportunity to represent my community and my country at International Space Camp, I didn't really think it would happen. I didn't think I would get the chance to do some of the amazing things that I had dreamed of as a child. This experience will not only be extraordinary to take part in but also to bring back new information and new ways of looking at the universe.  I am grateful for this opportunity to pursue my passion for space and to bring this experience back to my community.  

Name: Ben Mannisto

ISC Team Canada Position: Mission Specialist

Education: Grade 10 Academic at Geraldton Composite High School

Hometown: Longlac ON Canada

Favourite Astronaut: Chris Hadfield

Favourite Space Quote: “Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” – Arthur C. Clarke

Two separate experiences came together to convince me to pursue the dream of representing my community and my country as part of International Space Camp Team Canada: one was reading Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield’s An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth; the other was an astronomy unit in Grade 9 science. Both of these ignited a burning interest in space, the universe and everything in it. When Benjamin Jewiss presented the chance of International Space Camp to em and three of my peers and described the opportunity of to go to Huntsville Alabama for a week of what is essentially astronaut training, I applied immediately. After a strenuous interview process, I am proud to say that I made the cut.  Not only will Space Camp be an incredible amount of fun, but the engineering challenges will help me in my endeavors of becoming a mechanical engineer in the future. I am looking forward to the opportunity to bring back everything I learn through this experience to my community through public presentations to youth groups and civic organizations.

Mission Support

The letter, sent by a support and 

GCHS alumnus from Thunder Bay.

International Space Camp Team Canada continues to garner support and interest from all over Northwestern Ontario and beyond!  Not too long along, we received a letter from a well-wisher and Geraldton Composite High School alumnus now living in Thunder Bay: "what an accomplishment for Northwestern Ontario," she writes, "I'm sure you will do us all proud and that the boys will gain so much from the experience."

Private citizens from as near as Geraldton and as far as Ottawa have contributed $100, $300, even $1000 each toward the cost of travel and tuition.  Our GoFundMe account as brought in over $800 from people from coast to coast, including one Alberta roughneck who enthusiastically declared that it was "high time that we support something so geeky.  I'm in!"  Other individuals and businesses have offered donations in kind, everything from uniforms and teaching aids to airport shuttles and accommodations.  ISC Team Canada is humbled and proud to have received the financial and moral support from so many disparate champions.

ISC Team Canada will continue to fundraise and seek out opportunities for outreach and community involvement.  Be sure to check out our upcoming fundraising events or visit the team’s crowdfunding site at gofundme.com/8ypasysk.