Visitors can add a personal dimension to a Kennedy Space Center trip by having lunch with an astronaut.
By MICHAEL SCHUMAN
Published November 2, 2003
Retired Air Force Col. John Blaha flew five space shuttle missions between 1989 and 1996 and spent time aboard the Mir Space Station.
In the words of our luncheon speaker, "When the engines stop, it feels like you're hitting a brick wall at 300 mph."
Ouch!
Obviously, our luncheon speaker isn't the guy from the local chamber of commerce or a nearby brokerage house with suggestions about 401(k)s or even a worldly travel writer.
A slender, middle-aged grandfather with neatly combed gray hair and glasses, John Blaha looks the part of a certified public accountant, at least from the neck up. However, CPAs don't don blue NASA uniforms unless they are on their way to Halloween parties.
The audience of 100, including my family of four, is sitting in a midsized function room, the type where wedding and bar mitzvah receptions would take place. The speaker is officially retired Air Force Col. John E. Blaha, but to those of us rounding up the last crumbs of our desserts, he is John Blaha, astronaut.
We admit without hyperbolic fluff that it is a thrill to meet him.
Blaha flew in five shuttle missions from 1989 to 1996, spending as much as four months at a stretch in space, many of those days conducting science experiments with Russian astronauts on the Mir Space Station. In total, he spent 161 days in space. Today, Blaha works in the private sector.
The former astronaut spent about 20 minutes chatting with us as part of a new program at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral called Lunch With an Astronaut. It was started as a supplement to the popular Astronaut Encounter program, where visitors hear tales of space travel from those who have been there. Aside from offering a sit-down meal, the lunch program takes place in a more intimate setting and allows more time for questions.
There are several retired astronauts regularly taking part in the lunch program. Most, like Story Musgrave and Margaret Rhea Seddon, are from the shuttle program, but depending on the day one dines one might also hear Apollo veteran Walt Cunningham.
Our luncheon took place three short weeks after the Columbia accident, when the shuttle program was put on indefinite hold and a makeshift memorial was in place in front of the permanent Astronaut Memorial on the visitor center grounds. Blaha addressed the tragedy, stressing the importance of forging ahead, but cautioning against mankind's tendencies toward hubris: "We human beings don't know as much as we think we know," he conceded.
He then offered the assembled diners a choice whether we would prefer to ask questions or sit back and listen to stories of space exploration. Not all speakers grant the audience that option. Some astronauts fill most of the time talking about their experiences followed by a brief opportunity for questions. Among those, some emphasize technical topics and others have a more structured and educational way of presenting information. When we visited, the audience offered enough questions to fill Blaha's allotted time with us.
"Should there be corporate sponsorship of space exploration?" asked one man, roughly 60. Blaha answers that he is working in the private sector and comprehends the importance of the bottom line. There may be corporate funding in the years ahead, but for now he believes there is not enough profit to be made from such a venture.
A boy about 5 years old boasts that he can draw all the planets of the solar system in order of distance from the sun, and wants to know whether Blaha met up with any aliens in space. "No," he answers, "but if I had seen any aliens I would have asked to join them."
What does it feel like during takeoff in the shuttle, another man asks. "It's nothing like an airplane," Blaha responds, demonstrating takeoff position by pulling an empty chair from a nearby table and laying it on its back. "You're in this position, on your back, looking up at the ceiling," he begins, continuing with a moment-by-moment commentary, intertwining phrases such as, "You can hear everyone huffing and puffing and trying to breathe," and "It feels like someone heavier and heavier is sitting on your chest," concluding with his comment about hitting a brick wall at 300 mph.
Blaha is also asked a couple of technical questions, about gravitational force and things like that, which went over the heads of most of our family and I'm sure many of the other guests. But most of the discussion is well within the grasp of those in attendance, even me.
The roughly hourlong program begins with food served buffet-style as videotaped highlights of shuttle missions play on a screen in front of the room. Audiences generally sit in 10 tables of 10 persons each, and the centerpiece at each table is a model space shuttle stuffed with a bouquet.
The brownie and whipped cream desserts are in the shape of a space shuttle. The pats of butter are molded to look like little shuttles. And the food? We had a selection of chicken, potatoes, mixed veggies, noodles and sauce and salad. We were satisfied, but it's not gourmet.
During most of the meal, diners' eyes are directed toward a movie screen showing videotapes of astronauts in action, playing jacks, doing pull-ups (really easy ones) and spinning, spinning, spinning in the gravity-free confines of the space shuttle. One plays with a yo-yo, which goes up, not down. "It's an oy-oy," he cracks. The host who will introduce our speaker points out a younger, dark-haired Blaha on screen, mugging for the camera.
Lunch With an Astronaut ends as any fruitful vacation experience does, with souvenirs - good ones - and these are free. Guests can have their picture taken with the astronaut with their own camera, or simply take home an autographed photograph that is handed out. And yes, it is a real autograph, not one mass printed or signed by volunteers.
- Michael Schuman is a freelance writer living in Keene, N.H.
If you go
Lunch With an Astronaut is not included in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex admission. Admission to the lunch program is $19.99 for adults and $9.99 for ages 3-11. The luncheon is offered every day except Dec. 25 and certain launch days.
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day (except Christmas Day and certain launch days)
Maximum Access admission to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, good for two days and admittance to the Astronaut Hall of Fame: $34 adults and $24 ages 3-11. Standard admission tickets for two days, not including the Hall of Fame: $28 adult, $18 ages 3-11.
For information, contact the Delaware North Parks Services of Spaceport Inc., Mail Code: DNPS, Attn: KSC Visitor Complex Information, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899; 321 449-4444; www.kennedyspacecenter.com For general regional information, contact Florida's Space Coast Office of Tourism, 8810 Astronaut Blvd., No. 102, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920; toll-free 1-800-872-1969; www.space-coast.com
