‘Astronaut’ dreams on
“We as South Africans don’t know much about space studies and Nasa over here. It was such a wonderful opportunity. I would really like to take a few South African boys to experience what I did.”
A Wingate Park boy recently realised one of his dreams when he attended Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, USA.
Sean Nell (12), a learner at Laerskool Monumentpark, who hopes to become an astronaut one day, undertook the trip with his father Jeff.
“I learned a lot about building rockets, and my favourite part of this experience was probably launching a rocket. “My team’s rocket landed in what can be called the ‘hall of fame’, which means it ended up in a tree,” Sean said.
Sean attended the week-long camp with six other boys from different parts of the world. “We each made a presentation about some space element and we learned about Newton’s three laws of motion and how that applied to a rocket. “A former astronaut spoke to us about how things worked when going up in space.”
Sean told Rekord his least favourite experience was performing the role of flight dynamics officer (FDO). “It was nice still having a role and learning about that role on a mission. I was responsible for the countdown to launch from the ‘moon’.” He said he would take a few friends along on his next Space Camp visit.
“We as South Africans don’t know much about space studies and Nasa over here. It was such a wonderful opportunity. I would really like to take a few South African boys to experience what I did.”
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According to Jeff, anybody could apply for the one-time scholarship to attend the camp. “The cost of this camp can be a tremendous financial burden on one’s pocket, especially if you take into account the flight costs and spending money.
“But there are other ways of funding your child’s dream. I think if you have a very compelling motivation, they might just grant your child a scholarship to attend Space Camp. I’d send Sean again in a heartbeat,” said Jeff.
Sean said he wanted to make a name for himself in the Advanced Academy group at his next camp en route to pursuing his dream of becoming an astronaut.
“I know so many boys who would love to do this but are not aware that a camp like this even exists. I really recommend visiting the Nasa or Space Camp website to find out more.
Also watch documentaries like The Mars Generation to get a good knowledge of what you can expect,” he said.
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