Viewing page 3 of 28

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

change (even at the last minute), so stay flexible! STS-81 will last about 9 days (this, too, can change). The primary goal of STS-81 will be for the Space Shuttle to rendezvous and dock with the Russian space station, Mir (this makes it a very interesting flight!). The KidSat camera, a digital camera that the astronauts will mount in one of the windows of the shuttle's crew cabin, will probably be set up (and therefore available for our use) for a total of about 40 hours. The camera is actually commanded from the ground; during the flight, it will take pictures selected by students in the SMOCs. We expect the KidSat camera to be able to take between 300 and 500 pictures of the Earth during STS-81.

We'll send you more information on the Space Shuttle, a Shuttle-Mir rendezvous flight, and the KidSat camera during the first half of the summer. In the meantime, here's a quick outline of what to expect between now and December.

• Soon you'll begin receiving background material and lessons for the fall. Your students will need to learn how to select sites to photograph; how to determine when the Shuttle will go over the site they select; how to get the information to us at the Mission Control Gateway; and how to view the pictures they've taken.

In about 2 weeks, we'll send you (1) an overview of KidSat, and (2) an introduction to world wide web (you may already be a web expert...if so, use this material to get information on relevant web sites).

• We'll soon begin scheduling regular computer "chat" sessions, to give you the opportunity to "talk" with us and other participating teachers. The introduction to the web will include a section on "how to use chat". We think that this is a good idea....but we haven't tried it yet, so bear with us!

• By Labor Day, we plan to have everything you'll need either in your hands or on the web. During the fall, as NASA refines the schedule and documentation for STS-81, we'll update our material accordingly.

• In September, October and November, it will be up to you to work the material you've received into your classroom, so that the students are well prepared by the time the Shuttle launches!

• In November, we'll conduct two 3-hour "simulations". NASA runs simulations to practice what to do during a shuttle flight; so will we. Participation  in these is mandatory (we'll let you know the schedule well in advance).

• In December, while STS-81 is in orbit, your classroom will be actively following the Shuttle flight, using our web pages to select areas of the world to photograph, then transmitting those selections to us for relay to the Space Shuttle. If all goes well, the camera will take your picture about 2 hours after you send the request to us. You will be able to see it (on the web) about 2 hours after that!

• After STS-81, you'll have access to several hundred new photographs of the Earth that you can incorporate into your curriculum.