NASA Explorer Schools educator Jeffrey Kaloostian and students from T.R. Robinson High School completed an exciting lesson, “Satellites, Orbits and STK.” (STK stands for Satellite Tool Kit.) Students working in pairs selected and researched an operating NASA satellite, then built a “junk” replica from paper towel tubes, string, balsa wood and other items. The student teams produced a computer presentation about the mission and developed an animation showing the satellite’s orbit with classical orbital elements.
Get a copy of Kaloostian’s lesson, in NEON.
Link to the NES Virtual Campus home page.
Dr. James Gleason, project scientist for NPP, explains what it takes for a satellite to stay in orbit, why there are different types of orbits, and why satellites orbit Earth at different altitudes depending on their purpose.