2001 SPACE SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| DISCO ISN'T DEAD: DISCO BALL SATELLITES TO GLIDE ACROSS HEAVENS | G01-075 | 11/13/01 | 00:05:32 | Rows of tiny mirrors will reflect multiple narrow shafts of sunlight to student observers on Earth once their Starshine 2 satellite is deployed. Mounted and readied, Starshine 2 is to be spring-deployed from a Hitchhiker canister onboard the STS-108 Space Shuttle. Why the interest? The goal is to predict when and where the satellite will fall from the skies in an attempt to photograph the shining event. This international and educational effort includes more than 30 countries and approximately 1000 different schools around the world.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): Starshine Animation - The Student-Tracked Atmospheric Research Satellite for Heuristic International Networking Equipment or "Starshine" will be launched from a Get Away Special (GAS) canister during the STS-108 shuttle mission. While in its highly inclined and low earth orbit, tiny mirrors will reflect flashes of sunlight to observers on Earth. After about 9 months in orbit, the satellite will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere in a fiery blaze of glory.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (2): Students Observe Starshine's Final Vaporization Animation - Once the Starshine satellite is launched and begins to rise and set in the skies, student observers from around the world will watch and track the satellite by measuring its longitude, latitude, and altitude. These international observations will then be posted on the project's web site at http://azinet.com/starshine. As the satellite's orbit grows shorter due to aerodynamic drag, the satellite will descend to a sufficiently low altitude where heating will cause it to become a spectacular meteor falling in the sky, vaporizing completely. Students from elementary schools through college will attempt to photograph the shining event.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (3): Disco Ball Rocks in Space - Looking like a disco ball from a 1960's dance club, this world "class project" called "Starshine" will be deployed into space at a low, earth orbit from a Hitchhiker canister on STS-108. Students of all ages from around the world worked on the 845 tiny mirrors in their classrooms and then sent them back to the project, where they were placed on the spacecraft. The Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C built the small satellite.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (4): Students Keep a Watchful Eye - Students don bunny suits and enter a NASA clean room at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Here they inspect their satellite and learn more about the ejection system that will send "Starshine" into space. Other classmates watch from outside the room to wait their turn.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (5): Deployment of Starshine - Starshine 1 was deployed in June 1999 on STS-96.
Courtesy: NASA
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