Gabby
The VAB and a Real Astronaut

Today I went to the Kennedy Space Center. It was so much fun. We took an hour-long bus ride from our hotel to get there. I saw a huge building called the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). This is the building where they put the shuttle together with the fuel tanks. I learned what substance goes inside the shuttleÕs external tank. It is filled with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The shuttle is 185 feet tall. The doors to let the shuttle out are very tall. The building is so big that when we were miles away it still looked huge. I also learned that when the shuttle is launching they put 300,000 gallons of water on the launch pad under the shuttle to absorb the sound. Even with the water, the noise is extremely loud when the shuttle launches.

When the shuttle returns from space, friction occurs from the EarthÕs atmosphere and it burns all over the outer layer of the shuttle. We had a demonstration about the material that is used to keep it from burning up. The shuttle is covered with tiles that get bigger as they get hotter.

I learned so much more from a real astronaut, Rick Searfoss. He really went to space and our group talked to him. He answered my question. I asked him, "DonÕt the thermo blankets tear when you use them? They look so thin." His answer was, "No. The ones we use in space are much thicker than the ones you buy at camping stores." He also said, "Since there is almost no atmosphere in space, they donÕt suffer the same stresses as they do on Earth." Thermo blankets are space blankets that look like foil. When folded they weigh a couple of ounces, but they can warm your whole body. All the heat coming out of your body bounces off the blankets and then goes back in your body.

I learned facts about the shuttle that are memorable. "The shuttle takes off like a rocket, flies like a space craft and lands like a glider." I had an excellent time at Kennedy Space Center and I will remember it for the rest of my life.