August 2021 brought exciting news for Aviation Challenge enthusiasts! The helo dunker is an underwater egress training component that is much loved in the Aviation Challenge community. In 2020, the current helo dunker system at the Aviation Challenge lake had to unfortunately be retired, as the owner of the system asked for it to be […]

Sometimes you find kindred spirits in the most unusual places. This summer, Space Camp made a few new friends starting with an email, extending to a phone call, then several emails and phone calls before finally resolving in the restoration of a prized Aviation Challenge simulator. The search to replace the 9D5 helo dunker used […]

Coca-Cola, a legacy partner of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, continued the company’s long-time support of the Center’s STEM initiatives and events by sponsoring an August program honoring the 30th anniversary of Aviation Challenge® Camp. The day’s festivities featured Tuskegee airmen George Hardy and James Harvey as well as U.S. Navy Commander Victor Glover, an […]

Support Museum Restoration Projects—Buy a Tag! Alabama’s new space tag promotes the groundbreaking role the Alabama workforce owns in developing lunar transport vehicles. Alabama residents can buy the Dare to Explore tag at local licensing offices. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation receives net proceeds from the sale of each plate. The funding, […]

2021 AlumniFest Patch Design Contest Announcement The future of human space exploration is brighter than ever- look at all the amazing crewed spaceflights in the past year, including those from NASA, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and Blue Origin! For many of us, our inspiration truly “blasted off” during our time at Space Camp. Let’s come together […]

Save the Date for Space Camp AlumniFest 2021! This year’s Space Camp AlumniFest 2021 will be a hybrid event with opportunities for alumni to participate in person at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and with virtual components as well. The Space Camp Alumni Association Board is working on Space Camp AlumniFest 2021 that will […]

As summer 2021 winds down, it brings reflection of how far Space Camp programs have come since the 2020 season, and how far they still have yet to go to get back to pre-pandemic levels. Space Camp programs returned in summer 2021 after weathering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in spring 2020. […]

On July 1st, 2021 the crew of Inspiration4 stopped by Aviation Challenge and Space Camp, to chat with trainees and try their hand at some of the Space Camp simulators. The crew of Inspiration4 is the first all-civilian crew and they will be journeying to space in September 2021 aboard a SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft. The […]

Aviation Challenge programs returned to the Space Camp roster this summer 2021, after a brief pause for the summer 2020 season. During COVID-19 when camp numbers were greatly reduced, the program was unable to run in what would have been its 30th program year. This summer, the program is back and at almost full enrollment! […]