OCSS Activities
As a member of OCSS, you
have the opportunity to take part in many exciting
activities...even internationally! Take a look at some of the
events that our members have participated in, and you will see
that we not only educate the public on space, but we have fun
doing it.
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At the rollout of the refurbished orbiter Atlantis in
Palmdale on Sept. 20, 1998, are OCSS members (from left) Jeff
Howe, Cherie Rabideau, Larry Evans, and Mike Cutler, all holding
the OCSS banner.
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(Left) Splashdown! The Wright Flyer hits the mud in
Kill Devil Hills on Dec. 17, 2003 during the Centennial of
Flight celebration. (Right) Inside the payload bay of
Columbia. Jeff Howe (left) and Larry Evans sit on the sill
of the hatch that leads to the crew compartment. The "bunny
suits" are worn by everyone who enters the orbiter to protect it
against dirt and anything that might fall out of a worker's
pocket.
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(Left) The Lunar Module on the set of HBO's "From the
Earth to the Moon" at the blimp hangar in Tustin, California.
OCSS members had a chance to tour the set on Nov. 1, 1997.
(Right) OCSS member Bob Kline attaches the antenna to the
main body of the Pluto Express model that OCSS donated to the
Discovery Science Center.
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(Left) After the tragic loss of Columbia on
Feb. 1, 2003, OCSS conducted a public forum at the Discovery
Science Center to allow people to express their feelings and to
ask questions of our panel of experts: (left to right) Jim Busby
(Astronaut Legacy Foundation), Ivor Dawson (Traveling Space
Museum), John Spencer (Space Tourism Society), Jeff Laube
(Lockheed Martin), Dr. Harvey Wichman (Claremont McKenna
College), Larry Evans (OCSS), and Richard Shope (JPL). (Right)
OCSS with XCor after a test flight on Nov. 12, 2001: (left to
right) Larry Evans, Bob Hillhouse, John Spencer, Hank Murdoch,
two gentlemen from XCor, and pilot Dick Rutan.
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(Left) On April 28, 2001, Dennis Tito became the first
person to pay for his personal ride to orbit. He returned to Los
Angeles on May 9, where members of OCSS and the Space Tourism
Society met him in a festive welcome party. Several OCSS members
were interviewed for local news programs. (Right) OCSS
member Pam Leestma (in blue) with her second-grade class during
a video conference with their counterparts at Space Camp Turkey.
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(Left) Larry Evans, who is certified to handle and
transport lunar samples, shows off a sample to students in 1997.
(Right) The exterior of Space Camp Turkey in Izmir, on
the western coast of that country. Note the three-story Saturn V
rocket replica. OCSS helped manage a global youth summit there
in 2003 and 2004.
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(Left) OCSS member Charlie Carr passed away in August
1999. With his love of space exploration, a fund was set up in
his name to raise the money necessary to place his ashes aboard
a Taurus rocket through
Celestis, a Houston-based company offering these services.
Enough money was donated by members and supporters that we
easily made our target to cover the cost of sending Charlie to
orbit. This photo was taken on Dec. 19, 1999, the day prior to
launch, at the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the
central California coast. (Right) Star Trek alum
Nichelle Nichols and pop star Lance Bass at the annual Yuri's
Night party at Los Angeles International Airport on April 12,
2004. The event celebrates the launch of Yuri Gagarin into space
on April 12, 1961.
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(Left) OCSS Members and friends
at the final showing of “2001: A Space Odyssey” anywhere in the
world during the year 2001. (L-R) Richard Barnett, John Whiting,
Mike and Denise Okuda, Cherie Rabideau, Dee Bower, Robert Kline,
Dennis Gilliam, Don Scott and friends, Pam Leestma, and Larry
Evans. (Right) OCSS President Larry Evans sits on one of
the chairs from “Space Station 5” in “2001.” Another section of
our display at the Egyptian
Theater in Hollywood.
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Fun times at the 2004 Astronaut Autograph Show in Burbank,
California, held over Labor Day weekend. (Left) Pad
Leader Guenter Wendt fascinates OCSS members Pam Leestma and
Marty Waldman with his stories of life in the early space
program. (Right) Soviet cosmonaut Alexie Leonov--the
first man to walk in space--meets with "2001" actors Gary
Lockwood (left) and Keir Dullea (right). |
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