By John Dunn Students put science and math to practical application by climbing into simulators that create the same sensations felt by astronauts. They discover that while astronauts play the glamour role in space exploration, every job is important and knowledge and teamwork are keys to success. It is Thursday. A space shuttle launch is only seconds away and mission control specialists attentively study their computer monitors as the shuttle crew braces. Inside the shuttle, the crew experiences the thrust as the shuttle soars into space.
Mission specialists follow the flight on their monitors.
But the real mission of Space Camp has been to use the excitement of the space program to launch an interest in science, math and technology in the minds of young people. The spacious training center, where the simulated shuttle launches occur, is modeled after NASA's astronaut training facility at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. The cavernous center is a beehive of activity. Groups of young men and women, many wearing blue flight suits, gather near one or another of five space-shuttle simulators named Atlantis, Columbia, Discovery, Endeavor and Enterprise. We have three groups, explained Edd Davis, a spokesman for the Space Camp.