The trip was to take place in April 2012, and here is the report, with a quite surprising end:
Arrival
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Our hotel was the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront, which has a nice and quiet location on the Atlantic shoreline, with access to a wonderful sandy beach.
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Kennedy Space Center
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Astronaut training and (planned) zero-g flight
Of course we knew that the pilot's decision was for our safety. It was nevertheless a bitter disappointment, we were looking forward to weightlessness so much. Yet we decided immediately that we would repeat this tour, to finally experience weightlessness in November.
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Then we did a simulated Space Shuttle mission, completely from take-off to landing, including a satellite deploy in "flight". We also got to try out the zero-g wall and the multi-axis trainer. At the end of the training we were given the certificates for the successful participation in a ceremony held by Bob Springer.
Sadly this was the last picture inside the aircraft. After a last short briefing we laid down on the floor, we heard the announcement "one minute" and were waiting for the pullup with its 2 gs and the following parabola. But there were no parabolas. Instead we were ordered back to our seats. The previously collected shoes were given out again and we were told that outside the flight conditions were unfavourable for flying parabolas. The pilot could not see the horizon and therefore he cannot perform zero-g maneuvers, since they require visible flight conditions.
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Launch pads and the Saturn V
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Since sitting around with sad faces does nothing good, on the next day we visited the launch sites and the Saturn V as a conclusion of our trip.
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and then we had to say goodbye... until next time in November
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A last group picture in front of our tour bus (left to right: Ernst, myself, our tour operator Michaela Pannes and Birgit) Many thanks to our tour operators, who always managed to motivate us again, despite the scrapped weightless flight.
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European Space Tourist (german) |