xargol's weblog

This morning, I’m heading for Huntsville, Alabama, USA together with two 9th graders from other schools in Lillehammer — Stine Obstfelder from Åretta ungdomsskole and Øyvind Sollien from Smestad ungdomsskole. We’re travelling to Huntsville to attend the Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, from the 10th of June to the 15th.

The trip is fully sponsored, by Fylkesmannen in Oppland, Oppland fylkeskommune, Lillehammer kommune, NHO Innlandet and the schools of the three of us. The trip is meant to be an inspiration trip for the scientific school subjects, and we were selected on the background of our grades in maths, science and English and our interests.

This trip is quite one of its kind, and it has been publicized quite a lot in the local media; the regional radio broadcast of NRK (the state broadcast), the local newspaper Lillehammer Byavis and the regional TV broadcast TV Innlandet have all interviewed the three of us. Additionally I’ve been interviewed for the school’s website.

The organizer behind this trip, Arnt Orskaug, a teacher at Åretta ungdomsskole, hopes that this trip will make the fylkeskommunen (county administration) realize how important trips such as these are to stimulate pupils to choose scientific subjects, and thus agree to fund more trips like these in the future.

During our week at the Space Camp, we will attend the Advanced Space Academy. We will get to be pilots and flight controllers on and for the Space Shuttle, and this will happen in life-sized simulators/models of the Mission Control conter, the Space Shuttle Orbiter and the International Space Station. We will also get to experience how it is to work under conditions without gravity, in water tanks where we’re going to SCUBA dive.

I’ve always been interested in space travel, and when I first heard of this trip, I thought I ought to apply. Turns out that was a good decision.

Our flight from Oslo leaves in an hour (I’m at the airport now), and I’ll probably be without Internet connectivity until we get back. I’ll make sure to write again when I’m home, but until then; see ya!