American Dynasty

Bradyn Lystrup was one of the last to walk through the Starship Voyager before the school and Space Center were demolished and the new Central School and Christa McAuliffe Space Center were built.  With his camera set to panoramic mode, he snapped a few of the last pictures of the ship.  I'm posting them today as we gear up for the Space Center's 31st Birthday coming up on November 8.    The Voyager Bridge as seen from the top of the spiral stairs The Voyager Bridge as seen from the front main viewer The Crew Quarters, Sick Bay, and Galley The Crew Quarters, Sick Bay, and Galley along with the stairway leading to  decontamination  Meet The Voyagers and Young Astronauts at Renaissance Academy, the Crews of the New Starship Voyager Three of Renaissance Academy's Voyager and Young Astronaut Squadrons met last week: the Sixth Grade Dragon Squadron, the Sixth Grade Lion Squadron, and the Third Grade Tiger Squadron.  The sixth grade teams finished their brid...

On Monday, October 18 I stopped at American Heritage School (AHS) in American Fork to visit with Alex DeBirk.  Alex is the school's high school physics teacher, creativity lab director, and director of the school's space center.  In his spare time, Alex renovates homes, is an actor at Hale Center Theater in Sandy and his most important job is a husband and father.  He is a busy man.   Alex worked at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center in his high school days as a volunteer, supervisor, and flight director.  That's where he caught the Space EdVentures bug.  For some, it never leaves you.   Alex designed the new Starship Voyager at Renaissance Academy. He worked there helping me with the Young Astronauts and Voyager Club until it was time to start his own program at American Heritage.  His Voyager Club at American Heritage got off to a good start in the 2019-2020 school year.  He had six squadrons who came to Renaissance Acad...

Lissa's Final Mission Staff and Volunteers I've been told that all good things must end and sadly that came true on Saturday, October 2 when Lisa Hadfield completed her last mission with the Magellan, her home away from home for the last several years.  And with the last "Hurray!" from the crew and polite applause from her staff, she repeated those famous Flight Director words heard only on the Magellan (they're the only simulator commanded by a commodore), "Congratulations Commodore and Crew, you guys successfully finished your mission!"     Today, The Troubadour celebrates Lissa's last mission and reflects on her career at the Space Center.  The photos and video are courtesy of Audrey Henriksen. Lissa's Final Crew Lissa started at the Space Center in 2014.  She was a member of my Voyager Club which met early Saturday mornings on the Magellan.   Lissa with her Voyager Club Squadron plotting their winning strategy for one of our early Saturday mo...

  Hello Troops, Monday was the first meeting of this year's Young Astronauts and Voyager Club for the 2021-2022 school year at Renaissance Academy.  The Voyager Club is for students in grades 6 to 9.  The Young Astronaut Club is for students in grades 3 - 5.  There are 165 students enrolled in the club this school year.  Students are referred to as cadets.  Voyager Cadets on the Starship Voyager The cadets are divided into squadrons of between 8 to 10 students.  The squadrons meet once a month on average with a total of 8 meetings per school year.  Meetings go from 3:20 P.M. to 5:20 P.M.  The meeting agenda for October was: Welcome to the Club.  An overview of the Starship Voyager's bridge positions Selection of bridge positions for each cadet for the first two meetings. Training in those positions in the Voyager simulator. A discussion of the club's motto and pledge An introduction to the club's point and ranking system An introduction ...