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Activity 6.3

Orbit Activity

Objective:
In this activity, the students will become familiar with ground tracks, the spacing between orbits, and the speed with which the shuttle crosses the ground. They will answer questions associated with four (consecutive) orbits across the United States (orbits that the shuttle followed on STS-76), and get a feeling for how much of the country they can photograph (not a lot!), and how quickly the shuttle crosses the country.

Time
1 class period

Materials
Student Worksheet 6.3
Map 6.3
Atlas (optional)

Getting Ready
Assign the students to work individually, or in small groups. 

Procedure
1. Lead a discussion of orbits, particularly noting that because the Earth, the ground track of one orbit is west of the orbit that preceded it.
2. Have the students answer questions on Student Worksheet 6.3, using Map 6.3.

Discussion:
It takes the space shuttle about 90 minutes to orbit once around the Earth. If the Earth did not rotate, the shuttle's orbit would take it over the same part of the Earth over and over and over. Because the Earth rotates underneath the shuttle, the shuttle goes over a different part of the Earth on each orbit.
Students should learn that the shuttle does not go over every part of the world (there is a lot of ground between the orbit tracks, and the KidSat camera can only take a picture of the ground that lays on its orbit track). 

Transcription Notes:
10/03/96 Page 6.25