We spent the first day of our camp in the county of Fengtai, Beijing, and

one of the more interesting spots we visited was the Qianxuesheng

science institute, where we got to experience several activities that we
could never have personally had the chance to.

I was in charge of the control system

during the mock space shuttle launch, and I actually managed to learn so
much about the complicacies and preparations required for a successful
space shuttle launch. It was definitely an enjoyable experience shouting
reports to my fellow mates and in ensuring the success of the mock launch.
After that, we proceeded to build our small rocket, and even though I was
very bad at handicraft, my rocket actually fired pretty well during the
test fire, but the parachute did not deploy well. It culminated in a space
training room where we got to experience a rotating cylinder and our
challenge was to walk through without falling. This required excellent
brain limb coordination and simulates a space shuttle in orbit, rotating
around the earth. The most enjoyable ride was on the inverted stationary
chair which would rotate constantly to simulate a no gravity environment,
it was very much similar to a rollercoaster ride, albeit without the speed.
Thereafter, we also got to learn more about Chinas space history, and
delved deeper into Chinas spacecraft, astronauts, and accomplishments in
the space industry. In Singapore, our western education often exposes us
only to NASA, the Soviet Union, but I have never personally heard about
Chinas space industry, as such it was an interesting learning journey
that equipped me with more knowledge about Chinas development and push
for its own global positioning system.
It was definitely a memorable experience that our group went through in the
first day of the aerospace camp.