Prior to this year, every year of the Space Camp Hall of Fame seemed to go off better than the previous.

This year proved itself to be no exception to that rule!

The 2010 Space Camp Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was a fantastic event. If you missed it, you missed out! It was probably the single greatest party Space Camp has ever thrown!

To all of those that worked so hard this year to make the night the success that it was, congratulations are certainly due. The hard work payed off and a fantastic time was had by all!

This of course makes the task of trying to top this year all the more difficult. But use the after-event glow you all should certainly be basking in as a motivator to put together another fantastic evening next year for the 2011 class of inductees.

In the meantime, if you weren’t able to attend, please enjoy a recount of the evening. It probably won’t do the evening justice, but it will be better than nothing.

After a few opening remarks by Space & Rocket Center CEO Larry Capps, the audience was treated to a wonderfully produced, though quite emotional “Space Shuttle Tribute” video, put together by, and shown with the permission of, Space City Films, Inc.



As Larry Capps pointed out, by the time the 2011 Space Camp Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony comes around, the Space Shuttle Program will likely be a program of the past.

Dinner service was held immediately after and I must give my complements to the chef, especially with the dessert, because it was out of this world!

After dinner was finished, The Weather Channel’s Stephanie Abrams was introduced as the Master of Ceremony for the event. Her job as MC is to be commended, but her real duty was done that morning. Thanks to her wonderful segments that were broadcast on The Weather Channel that morning, who knows how many people learned about the existence of such a wonderful place as this!

Stephanie introduced the three speakers for the evening. Former Astronaut Don Thomas went first and NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver did an admirable job speaking last. But the speaker in the middle, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger was the real sweetheart of the evening. Hot on the heels of her space shot, Dottie returned to Space Camp for the first time since her 2007 induction into the Space Camp Hall of Fame to share just how she got from here to there, along with the unique experiences that go along with space travel.

After these speeches, it was time for the true honorees of the evening. In the past, Space Camp has posted the wondeful introduction videos they put together for each inductee. Those have yet to show up on YouTube. Hopefully they’ll show up soon! I do have the speeches recorded though!

First up, was Francis French. And here I must apologize. I only recorded half of his speech. It was a great half though:



Next up was, of all people, my Advanced Space Academy counselor from 1999 (true story), Dave Hnyda!



After “Space Camp Dave,” Dr. Andrea M. Hanson, Ph.D., who has to be the absolute perkiest woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, gave an absolutely buoyant speech:



Finally, Danny Jacques received recognition for his tireless works to bring kids to Space Camp:



After Danny’s emotional speech, the ceremony concluded, but the night was just getting started. Max-Q was finally at Space Camp!

Astronauts Ken Cockrell, Chris Ferguson, Chris Hadfield, Drew Feustel, and Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger took the stage and played their hearts out, with Hoot Gibson joining in for some songs as well!

Having graduated Space Camp many times to the some of the music of Max-Q, the opportunity was finally at hand to see them live!

Max-Q arrived with a very long set list, and they didn’t stop until they got through it all.

All-an-all, it was truly a great evening for the inductees and attendees alike!

Thank you, Space Camp, for yet another memorable day!

In less than two hours, the 2010 Space Camp Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will commence!

If you’re in the area, get ready and get dressed NOW!

In my opinion, every HoF event has been better than the last, and many have worked hard to ensure that this year will be the best yet!

Max-Q did their sound check this afternoon. Hoot Gibson brought his own guitar down along with an amp that was given to him by a member of the Eagles!

Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, making her return to Space Camp, will be contributing her vocal stylings to the group!

Another great reason to go? Challenge Coins!

Space Camp Challenge Coins are being set on all of the place settings!

And this year’s auction will have about three times as many items as last year! 44 lots in all. Here’s a peek at a few of them:

This is your last chance. Get your tickets, print out the order confirmation, and get yourself to the Davidson Center for one heck of an evening!

Noted two-time Space Camp alumnus and Weather Channel Meteorologist, Stephanie Abrams, in addition to performing as master of ceremonies for the 4th Annual Space Camp Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this Friday will broadcast live from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center during her segments on The Weather Channel.

Be sure to tune in to The Weather Channel (as if you weren’t going to already) between 6am and 10am Eastern Time this Friday!

Local Huntsville news station WAFF48 is reporting that Larry Capps, CEO of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center has announced his intention to retire from that position.

The very brief announcement states that he will remain CEO until a new CEO is hired.

The 2009 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony introduced a new annual tradition to the event: an auction to benefit the Space Camp Scholarship Fund.

Thanks to many generous donors and bidders, the auction was a resounding success. The only criticism that came out of it was that you had to be present to take part in bidding.

This year, Space Camp has posted some of the donated items onto eBay so that everyone may bid on them. And there are some real gems available.

You can decide for yourself what those are, but be sure to bid on them!

• 100th Space Shuttle Flight Commemorative Snoopy - Donated by Astronaut Bob Springer.
• Autographed John Glenn Hot Wheels Action Pack - Donated by Space Camp Hall of Fame Inductee Dan Oates
• Barbara Eden - I Dream of Jeannie Signed Photo - Donated by Barbara Eden
• Bart Starr Signed Game Ball
• Hoot Gibson Flight Suit with Name Tag & Patches - Donated by Astronaut Robert “Hoot” Gibson
• Salvador Dali Inferno #24 Print - Donated by Space Camp Hall of Fame Inductee Marlenn Maicki
• Space Camp Parent Child Tuition
• Star Wars Sheet Music signed by John Williams
• STS-29 Space Flown Polo - Donated by Astronaut Bob Springer
• STS-83 Space Flown Polo - Donated by Astronaut Don Thomas

Bidding on these items will conclude one week from now, at the close of the 2010 Space Camp Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Have you purchased your tickets yet?

These won’t be the items available for bidding, of course. Those who attend this year’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will have a chance to bid on more fantastic items!

Teacher Frederik Gunther and students Eivind Roson and Nina Lisa Nordskag of Norway decided to get the audience involved this year by teaching the art of dance. Overall, I think it was very well received, even if the audience didn’t exactly pick up on all of the steps!

I would also like to take this opportunity to disparage the Canon PowerShot SD960 IS camera. It's not very good....Sorry about the quality of the video. I’ll try to have better equipment next year. Sadly, all of this year’s videos are going to be a bit out of focus. *sigh*

International Space Camp got off to a great start this evening with its annual opening ceremony!

International Space Camp 2010 has officially begun!

Here I present to you the opening procession. Enjoy!

Students and teachers have flown all over the world to a sleepy mill town, Huntsville, Alabama for a week at Space Camp!

International Space Camp begins this evening with the opening ceremony is scheduled for 5pm in the Davidson Center Theater.

As always, delegates from each country will do some sort of opening presentation to educate the audience about their culture. And there are always some very funny presentations. As always, I’ll get as much video and post the ones I like best!

In addition to the international visitors, the Teachers of the Year from each of the 50 states and territories are invited to come to camp. The National Teacher of the Year will be here as well. This year’s National Teacher of the Year is Sarah Brown Wessling from Johnston High School in Johnston, Iowa.

I can’t wait to see the costumes and presentations!

I do hope our international guests enjoy their time this week!