The Scenario
The space shuttle Endeavour
is on a mission
to rescue a communications satellite.
The satellite is called the Intelsat VI. This
satellite will send and receive telephone calls,
telegrams, and television programming for more
than 180 countries, territories, and
dependencies when it works.
Unfortunately, the satellite doesn’t work right
now. Its orbit is off. There was a malfunction
during its launch, so it never reached the
correct orbit. The shuttle crew wants to
rescue the satellite then relaunch it into a
geosynchronous orbit. In that kind of orbit, the
satellite travels the same speed as Earth does. That keeps the satellite fixed over the same
spot on Earth. When someone on Earth tries to
find the satellite, it always appears in the
same position.
Astronauts Sonia Perez and Bob Vaughn have tried
eight times the last two days to recover the
satellite and reposition it. Each time the
Intelsat VI began to wobble uncontrollably, and
Sonia and Bob could not stabilize it.
The
Mission
The crew is now going to try a three-person
extravehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalk.
This will be the first time three people have
taken a spacewalk at the same time.
As your
mission begins, Sonia, Bob, and the third
astronaut, Ilya Chetirkin, are suiting up for
the EVA. While Sonia, Bob, and IIya are at work,
NASA needs you and your class to act as life
support specialists, task control specialists,
special operations experts, and communication
officers. You’ll monitor the astronauts’ vital
signs and help them solve problems throughout
this challenging mission.
Overview of Teams
To accomplish this important mission, your
class will be divided into four teams that work
together to solve problems, give
recommendations, and monitor the astronauts’
vital health signs:
Life
Support Team
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Communicates between teams and the mission
commander verbally and through the chat
window.
-
Organizes communication flow between life
support team, task control team, and mission
control.
-
Represents the special operations team and
communicates directly with the mission
commander to deliver recommendations.
The success of this important
mission depends on you!
Good luck! |