In May,
NASA will launch a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. On Saturday,
the space agency's goals were slightly different: to serve the Hubble
Space Telescope.
A
cake, crafted to look like the orbiting
observatory by the bakers behind the Food Network reality show "Ace of
Cakes," was unveiled at the Goddard Space Flight Center during a party that
celebrated humanity's achievements in space, as well as the Greenbelt, Md.-based
center's 50th anniversary.
"Everybody
knows Hubble"
"I
thought it would be really neat and it would enhance our Yuri's Night event if
we had such a spectacular creation," explained Amy Pruett, a public
affairs officer at Goddard who, as a personal fan of "Ace of Cakes"
had the idea to arrange for the Hubble-themed dessert.
Pruett, who
grew up watching her mother decorate cakes, told collectSPACE.com that
she called the Baltimore-based Charm City Cakes, which is the focus of the
reality show.
"I
called Mary Alice," recalled Pruett, referring to Charm City's office
manager Mary Alice Yeskey. "She said that 'We've always wanted to work
with NASA, and we'd love to work with you guys,' so we set up a meeting."
Pruett and
a co-worker met with Chef Duff, a.k.a. Jeffrey "Duff" Goldman, who
founded the cake shop in 2000.
"He is
clearly a bit of a nerd himself, a little science nerd," offered Pruett.
"He loves NASA, so it just worked."
Though
Pruett had Hubble first in mind, she was open to other ideas given the scope of
the space center's work.
"Our
employees work on a lot of different NASA research satellites, whether it is
building it themselves or designing and building instruments to go on NASA
satellites," she said. "But Hubble, of course, everybody knows
Hubble."
The nearly
two-decade old space telescope, which is famous for both its imagery of the
universe and its ability to be upgraded
by astronauts, is managed and controlled from Goddard. The center is
currently overseeing the preparations for the May 12 launch of the fifth and
last servicing mission scheduled before the space shuttle is retired in 2010.
The upcoming
STS-125 mission inspired Pruett to offer Hubble as the cake's theme, which
Goldman embraced.
"When
I brought [Hubble] up to Chef Duff, he immediately ran with it," said
Pruett.
Launching
the Hubble cake
"The
cake is a 2.5-foot Hubble, like a creative model of the Hubble Space Telescope,
and then it is looking at a Jupiter model with its moons around it,"
Pruett described before the unveiling Saturday night.
Appropriate
for its subject, the cake was suspended from the ceiling of Goddard's visitor
center, where it will remain on exhibit above other Hubble-themed displays.
The cake's
long shelf life, or roof life as it may be, is a credit to its recipe.
"It's Styrofoam,"
revealed Pruett, explaining they also had sheet cake to serve to the party
goers. The non-cake, or "dummy" cake, is not uncommon among "Ace
of Cakes" orders, given the desire by customers to preserve the art.
"So,
it is something everyone can enjoy rather than just those who attend Yuri's
Night," explained Pruett.
For those
who couldn't make the party or get to Goddard, the Food Network filmed the
cake's "launch" for a future episode of "Ace of Cakes".
A Charm
City representative was unavailable to comment as the network has a policy of
reserving details until after the episode has aired.
Customers,
in this case NASA and the non-profit Space Generation Advisory Council, which
provided the funding for the cake, spoke to collectSPACE.com to spread
the word about Yuri's Night.
Although
Goddard's party was held April 4, Yuri's Night is an annual worldwide
celebration of the anniversary of the first human space flight on April 12,
1961 by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The day, which this year will be marked by over
170 parties in 41 countries on six continents, is also the anniversary of the
first space shuttle launch in 1981.
Goddard's
party, which also celebrated 50 years since the center was founded, featured beats
spun by DJ Scientific and music by regional rock band Middle Distance Runner.
"Ace
of Cakes" is not the first reality show to incorporate NASA. Discovery
Channel's "American Chopper" focused on a Space Shuttle Tribute Bike
in two episodes aired in 2005. "Mythbusters," also on the Discovery
Channel, put the idea that NASA faked the moon
landings to shame in August 2008.
"It's
another way for folks to hear about us," said Pruett. "So, people who
are into just art and cakes, and indeed reality shows, will hear about us and
learn in a way they might not have otherwise."
For more
information about Yuri's Night, see this
website. For more photos of the Hubble Cake, see collectSPACE.com.
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