Musings: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center & NARHAMS Model Rocket Launch

This past Sunday I visited NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The visitor center houses educational exhibits that showcase Goddard’s work in astrophysics, communications and technology development, earth science, engineering, heliophysics, and planetary science.

One of my favorite indoor experiences was the new heliophysics exhibit. Aptly named Exploring the Spaces Between, the exhibit explores the many hidden and surprising ways our sun–the closest star to our planet–affects everything in our solar system, including Earth. Through a multisensory experience, the exhibit enables visitors (amongst other things) to be immersed in the journey of a solar particle, feel the protective resistance of Earth’s magnetic shield, “hear” the solar wind, and (my personal favorite) view the luminous glow of the northern lights.

Outside in the rocket garden are a unique collection of space artifacts including this model of the Apollo Command Module, which carried a total of 27 astronauts to lunar orbit aboard nine missions between 1968 and 1972. Launched by a Saturn V rocket, a retired super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA for human exploration of the moon, the Command Module was the only part of the spacecraft recovered at the end of a mission.

Also outside is this 90-foot-tall Delta B Launch Vehicle. It placed its first successful payload, ECHO 1A, into orbit on August 12, 1960. Since then, Deltas–a medium-class expendable booster used to launch satellites for scientific, meteorological, communications, and applications–have lifted over 200 payloads into space, earning it the nickname “workhorse”.

My favorite display of the rocket garden is this abstract kinetic sculpture with three mirrored orbs representing the Sun, Earth and the satellites activated by the wind. Unfortunately, Sunday wasn’t a windy day.

While at Goddard, I also participated in the NARHAMS monthly model rocket launch–the oldest public demonstration launch in the United States–amongst the historic artifacts in the rocket garden. The NARHAMS model rocket club, of which I'm a member, is an official chapter section of the National Association of Rocketry (NAR). First established in 1965, NARHAMS is the oldest continuously operating model rocket club in the United States. It was named Section of the Year seven times and the National Championship section twice.

My favorite part of the day was assisting the numerous children (including a few Cub Scout Packs and Boy Scout Troops) participating in the launch by putting their rockets on the pads before they were launched high up in the air. It’s always so rewarding to see the marvel in a child’s eyes and hear the excitement in their voice when they take in the experience for the first time. 

I couldn’t help but reflect on my own experiences as a teen in Florida. My daddy was stationed at Patrick Air Force Base (not too far from Kennedy Space Center). Our favorite pastime was to sit out on our lanai to watch the shuttle launches.

While at the launch, I even got to launch my own rocket. With its B Class engine, it flew about 1.5 Deltas (135 feet). It was an incredible day!

~ Louise