Vancouver student summers in simulated outer space

Bagley Downs — Like many students, Rachel Friesen of Vancouver spent part of her summer traveling. Unlike many, Friesen’s summer trip was a simulated one to outer space, as she attended the Advanced Space Academy at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. The Advanced Space Academy program is for students interested in space exploration, and Friesen, a Vancouver iTech Preparatory student, spent the weeklong session training with a team that flew a simulated space mission to the International Space Station. Once the crew reached the space station, they participated in experiments and successfully completed a spacewalk. The crew returned to Earth in time to graduate with honors. The camps run year-round and use astronaut training techniques to engage students in real-world applications of science, technology, engineering and math subjects. Students sleep in quarters designed to resemble those in the International Space Station and train in simulators like those used by NASA.