Day 3638

Today's destination was the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. This unique facility was created in the 1960's to test fire the Saturn V rockets that were being built 40 miles away at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Until you see both of these enormous facilities, you don't really understand the scale of the Apollo program at its peak. To say Stennis Space Center is big is an understatement. It's huge. The Army Corp of Engineers had to acquire five small towns and relocate over 700 people to built the 13,500 acre facility. They needed this much land in order to create a buffer zone that would isolate the entire area from the noise and potential danger of huge exploding rockets.

The rocket test stands were designated as a National Historic Site, but remained unused for many years following the end of the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. It took the Artemis program to bring them back to life. The place is buzzing with activity now. The test stands have been completely refurbished in preparation for the Artemis 1 booster that will be arriving before the end of the year from Michoud. The rocket will spend almost a full year here before it is delivered to the Kennedy Space Center for launch.

We also toured the Aerojet Rocketdyne factory at Stennis where the engines for these moon rockets are being assembled. It was the cleanest factory I've ever been at in my life. Even the air is specially filtered to eliminate all dust. We were able to see two of the actual RS-25 engines designated for Artemis 3 which will take astronauts back to the moon. It takes over three years to fully assemble one of these engines. I hope I'm still around to see the results of all this effort.

This trip was an eye opener in many ways. New Orleans feels like you are in a different country. It's a very unique place. I drove across the 24 mile long Lake Pontchartrain Bridge this morning in heavy fog and the sensation was surreal. You couldn't see the water below or much of the bridge ahead of you. It felt like I was driving uphill but this didn't make sense because I was driving over water. It was like I was driving up and up into a thick cloud. If Stairway to Heaven was playing on the radio, the odd sensation would have been complete.

I seemed to have survived eating fried shrimp, beans and rice, and gumbo for three days. I didn't go downtown to eat. I didn't have to. Even the little hole-in-the-wall diner near my East New Orleans hotel had delicious food. There were no tables in this place, so I just ordered a big cup of gumbo and some cornbread like all the other locals and took it back to my room. I doubt that I could eat like this indefinitely. It wouldn't take long to gain twenty pounds.

I'm back in Dallas now. I discovered on my flight that you can text people while you're in the air now.  Who knew? We are living in a world where everyone is always connected. My airline, hotel, and rental car reservations were all made using my phone. The whole reason NASA invited me to Stennis in the first place was that the want people like me to use my phone to tell their story. It's a new world out there. Going to the moon is only a part of it.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3637

The Michoud Assembly Facility is amazing. The building itself is enormous. This is where they built the Saturn V rockets for the Apollo program. It is also where the large orange external fuel tanks for the Space Shuttle were made. Today this historic building is being used to assemble a new generation of rockets that will take the United States back to the moon. Artemis Day is a celebration that the first of these Artemis rockets has finally been completed. It will soon go to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for testing. In a little more than a year from now it will take an unmanned trip around the moon.

When you see the size and complexity of these rockets, you begin to realize why the project is already over budget and behind schedule. The Apollo program basically had an unlimited budget. The object was simply to beat the Russians to the moon at all costs. Things are different now. The NASA folks are trying to do something equally as complicated on a much smaller budget. I hope they succeed. You get the impression that everyone at this factory realizes that the entire program could come to a grinding halt at any moment. The program is expensive and the politicians who approve things like this have been known to change their minds on a dime.

I think NASA invites me to events like this because they know that for space exploration to continue, people need to be enthusiastic about returning to the moon. They're not satisfied with news reports anymore. They want people talking about what they are doing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok, and anywhere else they might reach a new audience. If nobody is interested, the program will die.

Most of the people I met today weren't even born when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. This seems weird to me. I remember the moon landings vividly, but it is just something in a history book to a growing percentage of the population.

I have a feeling that most of these younger folks had an easier time getting to the Michoud Assembly Facility this morning than I did. I got lost several times. Even the GPS in my rental car failed me, taking me to a dead end street on the edge of a bayou. I followed the printed instructions from NASA to the letter and ended up at the wrong Michoud building. This time NASA was wrong. They sent out incorrect direction on how to reach our bus. Luckily someone was able to direct me to the right parking lot before the bus left without me.

Everybody loves to eat in New Orleans. Even the staff cafeteria at Michoud had some delicious creole food. People must live on red beans and rice down here. It's everywhere. It's the same way with Gumbo. Everywhere I've been had a pot of Gumbo cooking. They probably eat this stuff for breakfast. I love the flavors, but I have a feeling I'm going to have heartburn tonight.

Tomorrow we go to Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. It's further away than I thought, but I still think I'll have plenty of time to get back to the airport and catch my flight to Dallas. I hope it doesn't rain. The plan was to be outdoors at Stennis tomorrow and I didn't bring a raincoat. I don't think anyone else did either, so maybe the NASA folks are coming up with a Plan B this evening.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

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