Way out in space together, Compass of the sky...

One of the great things about the Astronauts Hall of Fame is the fun side of space!

If you ask nicely, or if the man in charge can see that you are a bit of a space nut he will allow you to put on a parachute like harness and let you feel what it is like to walk on the moon. Yes. You're right, I did it! It was so much fun! I was bouncing about like a puppet on a string feeling the "moondust" under my trainers!

After that I headed towards the shuttle trainer. This is a computer flight, to be more accurate, computer landing simulator. I sat in the command seat, bringing home my own space shuttle. Okay, it took about 6 attempts to get close to achieving death-free approach and touchdown, but "Major Jim" could see the runway, guided his multi-million dollar spacecraft safely onto the welcoming earth and ground to a halt without killing all the crew on board.

I have to say my hands were clammy and my brow frowning as I brought that big white bird of a space ship home. I was grinning like an idiot. I had done it! More importantly, I had landed before my friend, also called Jim, had. He was about to have his tenth crash! Result! Childish? Yes! Satisfying? Oh yes!

Next! Next was flipping and zipping through ariel roll overs on board the 3D 360 degree flight simulator. Wooo hooo! Science is a wonderful thing!

Another joy awaited me. The Mercury spacecraft simulator! I climbed in. It was calling me! Would I be able to be as fast as the Mercury crew? The simulator gives you a number of commands that you must follow to test your reflexes. Was I fast enough and bright enough to be a Mercury astronaut? Ermm... no! The astronaut candidates of NASA have no fear of losing their places to me.

I was having a great time, but it was getting time to move on. We had arrived at 0830 and it was now 1230 and hunger was setting in.

We headed to the cafe for a slap up meal and a few soft drinks. After that, I headed to the shop to pick up some mementos of my morning.

As I have said before, this day I was 11 years old again and I was going to enjoy it. After this we headed towards the highway and on our way to Spaceport USA. What joys would await me at the John F Kennedy Space Centre? That is another story...