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Living and Working in Space: Energy |
Spacecraft Power Systems!
The second of two web seminars on the topic of Living and Working in Space: Energy
was held on Thursday, February 1, 2007, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
The presenter was Steven Johnson, International Space Station Flight Controller
at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The focus of this presentation
was spacecraft power systems.
Twenty-nine (29) participants were present at the live Web Seminar in addition to
the presenter and the NSTA staff. Participating educators represented the states
of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto
Rico, South Carolina, and Washington.
In this seminar, Steven Johnson talked about three spacecraft power systems: nuclear,
solar, and energy storage. He discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each
power system and shared examples of space missions using them. All participants
received a copy of NSTA's SciGuide about the Solar System, grades 5-8.
Here are some comments provided by the participants at the end of the Web Seminar:
- "I gained a deeper appreciation of the international space station and more
especially the people working at the mission control center.”
- “The information is relevant in that it provides me with supplemental info to
make teaching the topic of space exploration more interesting to my students.”
- “Although I teach at the High School, the 4th graders at our school are studying
the International Space Station, I'm excited to visit with their class and share
the information that I learned tonight.”
- “Students frequently ask questions about the choice of energy source. Now I
can respond other than saying "We can find out together.”
Thanks to the participants and the presenter for the learning opportunity, the interactions, and a job well done!
Websites
For more information contact webseminars@nsta.org
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