Viewing page 34 of 117

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

[[image]]
Introduction

In this chapter, students will begin to draw together information from previous chapters, learn how to select sites on the Earth to photograph, and how to specify the information required to take a picture of these sites. The sites, called targets, must lie on the shuttle groundtrack, in the daylight part of an orbit, and within the footprint of the camera. This chapter addresses the mechanics of selecting a target; it does not discuss the different types of targets (e.g. deserts, rainforests, cities) that are available. Before the students being to select targets for the actual mission, they should discuss what types of targets they are interest in photographing.

Note: the Slinder Map referred to in this chapter will be provided by KidSat. We will also provide a separate ¨manual¨ on the SMOC web pages. The section on code words is intended for a teacher´s use; the code words themselves will be provided later.

Backgound

On STS-81, the space shuttle will be in orbit that will take it between latitudes 51.6 degrees N and 51.6 degrees S. That doesn't mean that the camera can photograph any spot on Earth between those latitudes. Because the camera footprint is only about 100 miles across, only a small area on either side of the shuttle´s ground track can be photographed. In chapter 6, we saw that the ground tracks of successive orbits are widely spaced (about 1500 miles apart at the equator). If the shuttle stayed in orbit long enough, eventually the ground tracks would cover most of the world between the furthest north and south latitudes. But since the shuttle only stays in orbit for a week or two, only a relatively small fraction of the Earth between 51.6 degrees North and South can be photographed during any one shuttle flight.

8/28/96
Page 7.2