Before Watching
Use Google Earth to simulate
what satellites "see" from different distances from Earth. Prior to launching "spy" satellites,
the United States and the USSR used high-altitude spy planes (such as the U2)
and developed camera and telescope imaging technology to take images of ground
facilities (see Spy Photos at www.pbs.org/nova/astrospies/photos.html for
influential satellite photos from the past 40 years). Developers of the manned
orbital laboratory (MOL) hoped to supply continuous reconnaissance.
Have students take their own turn
at being a spy by using Google Earth to inspect one of the following places:
your school parking lot (How many cars are in the faculty lot?) your local airport (How
many planes are visible?) a large U.S. airport such
as Logan in Boston, JFK in New York, or Dallas Ft-Worth (How many jets are
visible?) a naval yard or
shipbuilding facility such as Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine (How many ships
are being built?)
Have students take a screen shot
and file a "spy" report about the site (note that while the photos
students will be looking at are not real time, they do reveal what is going on
at a specific site at a point in time). Can they spot other vehicles, fuel
supplies, and hangars where weapons or planes could be stored? -
Have students create a time
line. The International Space Station now
orbiting Earth is a larger version of what the MOL astronauts would have used
to spy on military installations in the Soviet Union. What were the steps that
allowed the building of a permanent orbiting research facility?
Have the class produce a space
station time line. Assign one of the following people or events that were
crucial to the development of rockets and space flight to each group. Have each
group summarize on a 5 x 8-inch file card what the event was and why it was
important. Have students download an image of the person or craft associated
with the event and paste it on the other side of the card. Produce a time line
(a string 7 meters long) that starts at 1900 and ends at 2007. Have student
groups attach their cards at the appropriate place on the time line and have
each read their card descriptions to the class.
Orville and Wilbur Wright make first power-driven
flight (1903) Robert Goddard creates the first working
liquid-fuel rocket (1926) Werner von Braun builds two
rockets that rise vertically for more the than 2.4 kilometers (1934) Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier in the Bell
XS-1 (1947) Major
Arthur Murray sets altitude records of over 90,000 feet in the X1a aircraft
(1954) John Glenn becomes first man to orbit Earth (1962) X-15 becomes first winged aircraft to attain
velocities of Mach 4, 5, and 6 (circa 1957) WAC Corporal rocket becomes first U.S. missile to
penetrate outer space (1949) Bell X-1A airplane achieves record altitude of
90,440 feet (1954) Russians launched Sputnik 1 satellite into space (1957) United States launches Explorer
1 satellite (1958) Mercury space program
(1959–63) Gemini space program
(1965–66) Neil Armstrong becomes the
first man to step on to the Moon (1969) Apollo space program
(1961–75) Russian space station, Salyut (1971) Almaz space station (secret spy station for USSR, 1971-78) U.S. Skylab (1973–74) Mir space station (USSR, 1986–99) Begin assembly of
International Space Station (ISS) in orbit (1986) First crew enters ISS
(2000)
After Watching
-
Research satellite
development. Sputnik I was
the first satellite placed into orbit by the Soviets in 1957. There are now
thousands of satellites in orbit around Earth. Organize your class into groups
and assign each group one of the satellite types listed below. Each group
should make a poster or multimedia presentation that describes:
general
size, weight, structure, what instruments it uses primary
user (science, military, industry) and specific tasks type of orbit and typical orbital path and
height (see Links and Books for information on types of orbits)
Encourage students to include
graphics or models with their presentations.
Astronomical satellites
satellites used for observation of
distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects Biosatellites
satellites designed to carry living
organisms, generally for scientific experimentation Communications satellites
satellites stationed in space for
the purpose of telecommunications Navigational satellites
satellites that use radio time
signals transmitted to enable mobile receivers on the ground to determine their
exact location Reconnaissance satellites
Earth observation satellite or
communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications Earth observation
satellites
satellites intended for
non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, map making
etc. Space stations
human-made structures that are
designed for people to live on in outer space Weather satellites
satellites that primarily are used
to monitor Earth's weather and climate
Explore resolution. To demonstrate what resolution means and how
important it is to see details, draw three, four, or five dots on a piece of
paper. They should be about 2 mm in diameter and should be separated from each
other by 4 to 5 mm, center to center. The dots will represent rocket launchers
as seen from space. Tape the piece of paper in the front of the room. Have the
entire class stand up and line up across the back the classroom (or do this
activity in a hallway, gym, etc.). Tell students to imagine they are using a
telescope from space to see rocket launchers. Here is an image (point to paper
with dots). Ask, "How many rocket launchers do you see?" Students
will see one large dot. Have students take one big step forward. This action is
equivalent to either going closer to the ground with your spy telescope or
increasing the resolution of your telescope.
Repeat the process of students
moving one large step and then trying to guess (or see) how many rocket
launchers are on the paper. Students with keen eyesight will resolve the dots
before others.
To demonstrate how sharper, or more
detailed, resolution also means that you can't see the bigger picture,
download a dozen eye charts (find one at http://www.i-see.org/snellen.gif) and
tape them to a wall of the room so that the middle of the chart is close to eye
level for most of the students. Cover them up. Have students stand right up to
the chart and then uncover the charts. Have students write down what they see
without moving their heads. Have students take a step back and write down what
they see. Have students continue this process until they are able to see the
full eye chart. Repeat the process with students who have not done it. Then
discuss with the class the advantages and disadvantages of being able to see
objects more closely. -
Understanding
dimensions. In
this program, one of the astronauts had to press his helmet down on his head to
fit into the MOL capsule. There was not much room to move around in any of the
early space vehicles. The MOL was to be a tube-shaped capsule about 22 meters
long with a diameter of 3.05 meters. The actual cabin volume was projected to
be only 11.3 meters3. How much space is this?
Part
I: Have students come up with a list of what they consider a small space to
stand in at school or at home. (Some spaces students may mention: bathroom
stalls, janitorial closets, hall closets, shower stalls.) Have students measure these spaces and compute the
volume of space for each. Then have them compare this to the cabin volume that
was in the MOL capsule. How many cabins would fit into the small space they
measured?
Part II:
Compute the volume of your classroom. Compare the volume of your classroom with
the size and volume of the ISS (statistics given below). How many classrooms
volumes equal the present volume/working space in the International Space
Station?
International Space Station Statistics
Current Mass (November 2007): 232,693 kg
Mass on completion:
471,736 kg
Length: 58.2 m
along truss
Width: 44.5 m
Span of solar arrays:
73.15 m
Height: 27.4 m
Living volume:
424.75 m3 in a series of cylinders
Atmospheric pressure:
101.3 kPa
Perigee: 319.6 km
Apogee: 346.9 km
Orbit inclination:
51.63 degrees
Typical orbit altitude: 333.3 km
Average speed:
27,743.8 km/h
Orbital period:
91.20 minutes
Orbits per day:
15.79
Days in orbit: 3281
(2007-11-14)
Days
occupied: 2570 (2007-11-14)
Links
NOVA—Astrospies
www.pbs.org/nova/astrospies
Features articles, interviews,
interactive activities, and resources to accompany the program.
The Best Laid Plans: A History
of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory
www.aero.org/publications/crosslink/summer2004/02.html
Summarizes the history of the MOL
program.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
www.classbrain.com/artteenst/publish/article_108.shtml
Provides details of the kind of
evidence that precipitated the Cuban missile crisis and an aerial photo of
missiles in Cuba.
Earth's Atmosphere
liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/space/atmosphere.html
Provides details and diagrams of
Earth's atmosphere and layers.
How Satellites Work
electronics.howstuffworks.com/satellite2.htm
Explains how satellites work and
how they are launched, and describes different types of satellite orbits and
typical altitudes.
Stability and Control for the
Manned Orbiting Laboratory
ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19650076610_1965076610.pdf
Features the original prospectus of
the MOL in an article from the 1963 NASA archives.
Books
Countdown: A History of Space Flight
by T. A. Heppenheimer. J. Wiley & Sons, 1997.
Provides a history of spaceflight.
Space 50
by Piers Bizany. Smithsonian Books in association
with HarperCollins, 2006.
Features a history of spaceflight
and a look into the future of space flight.
Viewing Ideas Author
Jeff Lockwood taught high school
astronomy, physics, and Earth science for 28 years. He has authored numerous
curriculum projects and has provided instruction on curriculum development and
science teaching methods for more than a decade.
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