Students Visit Infinity Science Center & Speak to Astronaut

All systems were go Thursday morning for a group of students at Infinity Science Center to watch N.A.S.A. launch the Orion space capsule. Keely Havard, a 4th grader, is one of more than 100 students who took part in a sleepover at the Infinity Science Center Wednesday night.

The purpose of the overnight trip was to help students better understand N.A.S.A.’s first exploration flight test of the Orion space capsule, designed to take humans to Mars. Havard says, “It’s interesting and you can discover new things."

Unfortunately, the Orion was unable to launch Thursday morning, but students at the space center were still in for a treat. The students got a chance to hear from Apollo 13 astronaut, Fred Haise, about what it’s like to live in space. Haise says, "They’re more interested in the human aspects of living and so my story was kind of like here’s what it’s like to live in a small capsule."

The students were actually more interested in the Apollo 13 mission than Haise thought. The 1970 mission, intended for the moon, had to make an emergency return to Earth because of an explosion in an oxygen tank. Havard also says, "He was telling us about how he did things in the shuttle, what he did in the shuttle, and what he did when he lost all his power."

It was the emergency landing that seemed to most captivate most of the students. Haise gave a firsthand account of how he and his fellow astronauts splash landed safely back on Earth. Another student says, "That he survived Apollo 13 and everything that went wrong with his ship."

Even though students weren’t able to see the Orion launch into space, Haise hopes their visit sparked some interest in space and science. Haise closes, "I’m happy to see so many kids here. They seemed to have enjoyed the visit.