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Student Worksheet 7.3
The Target Selection Process

Step (1). Maps

Lay out the world map and plastic overlay.

You may also want to create a clear plastic overlay that you can tape to the world map, then use waterbased markers to mark the areas of interest. Then when you put the orbit overlay on top of the map (see step 2 below) you can see at a glance whether the ground track passes through those regions. For example, if you want a picture of the Outback you can see if the shuttle will pass over Australia during the orbit you are selecting targets for. 

Step (2). Orbit Tracks
Set up the slider map for a particular orbit (see activity 7.1 or page 7.6). Look on the SMOC Status web page to find the longitude of the descending node (indicated below) for each orbit. 

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Step (3). Identify the Daylight Portion of the Orbit
Next, you need to know what part of the orbit is in daylight. The camera can only take pictures during this time. This information will be available on the SMOC Status web page (indicated above).

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