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Your Student Mission Operations Center

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Technology and classroom activities leading up to and during each mission-You and your students need to establish your school's Student Mission Operations 
Center (SMOC). You need at least four relatively powerful computers (Mac or PC) all connected to the Internet with a high speed connection (at least 14.4 kilobaud.)

The computers will be used to:

• communicate with the UCSD Gateway to get the latest data about the shuttle orbit and to send your image requests. 

• calculate the precise location and timing for each image request, using the UCSD web pages.

• get the weather information and news of current events that might be seen from space.

• view and download the images of earth you request as they arrive from the Shuttle

Your SMOC will also need plenty of reference books such as atlases and work space to spread out the targeting map for your student teams to work intensely and actively during the mission.

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NASA operates a TV station, called NASA TV, which operates 24 hours a day before and during a mission. It provides live updates on the flight, the space shuttle, and the astronauts' activities, and shows video being taken by the astronauts or by the space shuttle cameras. Several cable companies now carry NASA TV; you don't need to have it available in the SMOC during the flight, but it is extremely useful, and highly recommended. You might want to find out whether your cable company carries it, or would be willing to carry it during the mission. You can also receive NASA TV if your school has a satellite dish.