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 Overview
Satellite Rescue Introduction
The Mission Scenario
Learning Objectives
NCTM Standards
Technology Requirements
Credits
The Mission Scenario

Mission Briefing
Welcome to the Satellite Rescue live simulation. During this experience students practice meaningful math and science in an authentic space scenario. In fact, all materials reinforce national math standards. In the mission students help NASA rescue and relaunch a satellite trapped in an unusable orbit above the Earth. To pull off the rescue, students link live with a flight director with the help of computers, the Internet, and a small video camera.

The Scenario
It’s flight day six of the space shuttle Endeavour ’s maiden voyage. The main goal of this mission is to rescue the Intelsat VI, a communications satellite, from an unusable orbit and relaunch it into geosynchronous orbit. This satellite will send and receive telephone calls, telegrams, and television programming for more than 180 countries, territories, and dependencies when it is fully functioning.

Astronauts Sonia Perez and Bob Vaughn have tried eight times the last two days to recover the satellite. Each try failed, though. The Intelsat VI began to wobble uncontrollably, and Sonia and Bob could not stabilize it.

The Mission
The crew has now proposed using a three-person extravehicular activity (EVA), the first in history, to rescue the satellite. Sonia, Bob, and astronaut Ilya Chetirkin are suiting up to perform this unscheduled EVA. While Sonia, Bob, and Ilya are at work, NASA needs life support specialists, task control specialists, special operations experts, and communication officers to monitor the astronauts’ vital signs and help them solve problems through this challenging mission. 

Overview of Teams
Satellite Rescue has four teams that work together to problem solve, give recommendations on tasks, and monitor the astronauts’ vital signs throughout the mission.

Life Support Team (six students, two per astronaut):

  • Monitors and calculates vital signs of astronauts using online Macromedia® Flash® tools, proportions, and cross-multiplication.

  • Reports astronaut vital signs and makes recommendations to the mission commander.

  • Sends respiration rate data to the task control team.

  • Graphs heart rate and respiration rate data and makes predictions about astronaut performance.

Task Control Team (six students, two per astronaut):

  • Organizes and coordinates astronaut task timeline.

  • Calculates the amount of oxygen needed for the next five minutes of the mission using respiration rate data from the life support team, proportions, and cross-multiplication.

  • Makes predictions about the amount of oxygen that will be used in the next five minutes of the mission.

  • Reports to the mission commander on predictions.

  • Confirms or corrects predictions and graphs the amount of oxygen left in astronaut tanks, using an online tool.

Special Operations Team (six or more students):

  • Uses basic geometry and proportions to solve problems during the EVA.

  • Consults with teammates about solutions.

  • Reports recommendations to the mission commander.

  • Reports to task control team as each problem is completed.

Communications Team (three students):

  • Communications officer 1 - Organizes communication between teams and mission commander; stationed at the primary communications center; uses the chat window.

  • Communications officer 2 - Organizes communication flow among life support team, task control team, and mission commander; delivers respiration rate data from the life support team to the task control team; reports orally to the mission commander.

  • Communications officer 3 - Represents special operations team; communicates directly with the mission commander and delivers answers with recommendations orally; updates the task control team on special operations team progress.

An Adventure Brought to Your Classroom
Satellite Rescue joins the lineup of innovative distance learning programs offered by NASA's Digital Learning Network
and the NASA-sponsored Classroom of the Future. Simulations are an interactive way for teachers to use technology in the classroom. Research indicates that this way of learning leads to improved problem-solving and critical-thinking skills and teaches students the importance of teamwork and communication.

Shifting to digital learning is critical to the success of education in America. Satellite Rescue creates an opportunity for you to apply various technologies and provides necessary digital content lacking in so many computer classrooms. The program's interactive nature also gives students a chance to experience distance learning through simulations, no matter how remote the school.

The Curriculum
The program is an innovative way to engage students in grades 6-8 in the power of math and science in real-life situations. Throughout the process students apply math, science, and reading skills to solve problems. The program was designed by middle and high school teachers, educational researchers, and subject matter experts. Lesson plans are provided to help students prepare for the mission.

Good luck on your mission!

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