Introduction

As the description at the top of the page says, the purpose of this blog is to document the places at the Kennedy Space Center where I take an astronaut that my cousin Emma gave me the last time I went home to visit my family. I was so excited about an opportunity to show of "my" center that I wanted to share it with as many people as I could and the idea for the blog was born.

Before I start the "tour" I figure I should answer some of the questions I get most often about myself and my experiences when talking to people. If there's anything else you want to know - either about me or the pictures I post - feel free to ask.

How long have you been at KSC? What do you do there?
I started with NASA in June of 2004 after graduating from Florida Tech with a degree in Computer Science. I'm currently working on modeling and simulation for Constellation, the program that's going to take us back to the moon and to Mars. One of my major projects right now is based on game technology, so I usually just tell people I play video games for NASA.

Did you always want to work for NASA?
Honestly, no. As a kid I thought space stuff was cool - things like watching Apollo 13 in awe, digging up anything I could find on Mars Pathfinder, and hours of stargazing come to mind - but I never once considered that I could be part of it. It was something neat that somebody far away did, not me. I think that's why I like the idea of this project so much. Hopefully it brings the space program a little closer to a few people.

So how did you end up at NASA then?
The grace of God, I think. It's a really great story, but the short version doesn't do it justice.

Do you like it there?
I love it. I have the privilege of working with some fantastic people at one of the coolest places in the world and I'm learning a ton. I still look for the VAB (the big tall building in the movies) every morning on the drive in, and often leave excited about coming back the next day. Some tell me I'll grow out of that, but we'll see.

Do you want to be an astronaut?
For a very long time the answer to that question was no. I was grounded by fear and I knew that. My whole perspective changed one afternoon as I sat in Discovery as it sat at the pad about two weeks before launch. I lay in the seat and I began to wonder what the cockpit was like at launch. I also realized that if something went wrong at that moment I might not survive, but the overwhelming thought was, "But what a way to go...". Suddenly the uniqueness of the opportunity far outweighed the risks in my mind.

Am I going to adjust my career plan to be an astronaut? Doubtful. But if somebody came to me and said, "Hey Bec, we need to send somebody up. Will you go?" I certainly wouldn't turn them down.

That picture of [x] is awesome. Do you have a larger version?
Yep. All pictures here are taken by me unless otherwise stated, so if you see one you'd like a copy of let me know.

When are you going to visit [q]?
Honestly, I have no idea. I'm sort of making this tour up as I go. If there's somewhere specific you think would be a good place for Emma's Astronaut to visit leave a comment and I'll see what I can do.

When is your next update?
Right now my goal is to take Emma's Astronaut to see something new every week. If for some reason I can't (travel, weather, scheduling, etc.) I will try to come up with something else related to space or NASA to post in place of the week's stop. Sound good?

Alright then, away we go. In 3...2...1...