Aiming for the Stars : 6th-Graders From North Hollywood Overcome Obstacles at Elite Space Camp

At T minus 2:00 and holding, the command came from Mission Control:

“All positions are ‘Go’ for launch. Prepare to begin the countdown.”

Inside a million-dollar space shuttle simulator, computer screens flickered. A little girl in the commander’s seat seemed to shrink in the cold glow of her instrument panels.

“Roger,” she said.

The girl and five classmates from Oxnard Street Elementary School in North Hollywood traveled to U.S. Space Camp last month for astronaut training. The week was filled with an introduction to aerodynamics and astronomy and even a visit to an artificial Mars.

They buckled themselves into microgravity chairs and other high-tech contraptions to prepare for their mock shuttle mission.

Just to get here, these children had come farther than miles could measure. They were Latinos, some of whom had not yet mastered English. They came from immigrant families struggling to adapt to a new culture.

“A few of them have never been out of the neighborhood. It’s not a good neighborhood, and their parents are afraid to let them go very far,” said Arlene Delaney, one of several teachers who accompanied the group.

Maybe, Delaney hoped, a week at Space Camp would teach these sixth-graders more than celestial navigation. It might give them the confidence to navigate American society.

But the lessons would not come easily. Space Camp is designed around a series of academic and physical contests culminating with the all-important mission. The North Hollywood youngsters were paired with four Michigan students, their team pitted against three teams of children from across the nation. Many were honor students. All were white.

The week did not begin smoothly. Laura Blanco, the tentative commander, could only wonder at all the talk of solid rocket boosters and inertial measurement units. Jesus Ruiz, one of two boisterous twins on the trip, stumbled through such terms as “ESS busses” and “fuel cell cryos.”

T minus 2:00--Seated before a row of computer screens in a mock Mission Control, flight director Cynthia Zuniga started the clock.

The mission would be simple. Based on actual NASA procedures, it would include a launch, an orbit, a brief spacewalk and re-entry.

But in the ensuing minutes, Cynthia and Martha Sencion, the guidance control officer, would need to fire off dozens of commands. Inside the simulator, dozens of buttons would be punched in response. A stuttered phrase could throw everyone off schedule. With an adult supervisor looking on, a tardy maneuver could result in penalties or, worse, in “death” for the shuttle crew.

Under such pressure, Jesus could not find the auxiliary power unit controls. His eyes searched an ocean of instruments. Behind him, his twin brother, Miguel, and another classmate, the pudgy and grinning Chris Orantes, began to argue over their headsets.

“Stop it!” barked Kyle Garner, one of the Michigan students, from his post in the shuttle’s middeck.

He persuaded the crew to skip to the next maneuver while Laura leaned across to help Jesus locate his APU board.

Most of the students at Oxnard Street Elementary--Latinos, Vietnamese and Armenians, many of them recent immigrants--face a challenge beyond learning English.

“If you don’t know the social clues you are totally lost,” said David Ramirez, head of a center for minority access to education at Cal State Long Beach.

Teachers try to compensate with such activities as museum and beach field trips and a curriculum that includes everything from fairy tales to lectures on air travel for children who have never been to an airport. Two of the six who went to Space Camp had never flown before.

*

T minus 1:30--Again, Jesus hit a snag. He could not get the fuel cells started. His cry of exasperation threw the cockpit into chaos, seconds ticking away, voices Ping-Ponging off each other.

“Flight director? Flight director?”

“Wait. I’m checking.”

“It’s going to take off without us.”

Megan Gallagher, another of the Michigan youngsters, spoke quietly but urgently from her Mission Control post.

“You guys, we’re really behind.”

*

T minus 0:20--The fuel cells finally started, leaving Martha just enough time to rush through the countdown, skipping from “seven” directly to “liftoff!”

In the seconds that followed, Laura attempted a roll maneuver--the panorama on the windshields shifted, telling her that the move was successful, though the simulator never moved. Jesus then throttled down to 65% power to prevent vibration damage. The OMS engines fired, propelling the ship into orbit.

Now the students could relax. Their mission was back on schedule and would continue smoothly for 10 merciful minutes. Just enough time for the adult supervisor to enter a glitch into the computers.

The Oxnard Street students made it to Huntsville because two years ago teacher Elizabeth Teicher happened to hear about a birthday party for King Kong at nearby Universal Studios. She called to ask if her students could have some leftover cake. The studio had been looking to adopt a local school and had already heard of the school’s reputation for seeking community help.

By July, Universal invited the school to compete in a model rocket contest to promote the film “Apollo 13.” A Rocketdyne engineer volunteered to help build the rockets. Each member of the winning team received air fare to Huntsville and $500 for Space Camp tuition.

*

T plus 11:00--Warning lights flashed in Mission Control. A fuel cell had failed. The rapid-fire chattering resumed, team members searching for a remedy. Amid the technical jargon, a quick “Qu e pas o ?” slipped in.

*

T plus 20:00--Jesus found a solution, punching a series of buttons to restart the fuel cell. But the toughest part of the mission lay ahead as Miguel and Chris, the payload specialists, pulled on spacesuits. Leaving the shuttle, they strapped themselves into a pair of tall chairs that hovered on air, a fraction of an inch above the floor, simulating weightlessness. The pair had only a few minutes to complete the task of screwing together a metal framework and attaching it to a satellite.

Their cumbersome suits slowed the work. This portion of the mission often exceeds schedule. Because there are stiff penalties for late re-entry, some teams have been known to give up on their specialists and return minus two passengers.

Sure enough, as Miguel and Chris ran late, Kyle lost his cool.

“Just go. Leave them behind.”

This time, Laura provided the calming influence. From her commander’s seat, she said: “We can’t go. They’ll die.”

*

T plus 28:00--Miguel and Chris scrambled back from their spacewalk amid shouts of “Come on” and “Let’s go.” There was just enough time for Laura to fire the OMS engines for a deorbit burn.

*

L minus 5:00--Because of the delay, the team had to skip several nonessential items in the landing sequence.

Jesus, meanwhile, executed an S-turn with the dreaded joystick. The shuttle came into view on Mission Control screens now, seconds from touchdown. Megan noticed the landing gear was still up. She informed Laura, then sighed.

“That was close.”

Only two of the four teams ultimately landed their shuttles safely--and with everyone aboard. Although the Oxnard Street Elementary students and their teammates did not win the award for best mission, they were in contention.

There is hope that one of them might return to North Hollywood with a burning desire to become an astronaut or aerospace engineer.

*

L minus 0:00--The shuttle touched down. There had been several crucial missteps, but everyone returned safely. Beneath their caps, sweaty hair and wide smiles sparkled.

Jesus pointed at Chris and Miguel, who had come within seconds of being stranded in outer space.

“You guys are stoked,” the pilot told his specialists. “We could have left you up there.”

“No,” Laura interrupted, seeming larger after she climbed out of the commander’s seat. “We wouldn’t do that.”