AIRSEDS/Get-Away-Special - Opportunities for students to explore outer space

Abstract

In 2002 The AIRSEDS Institute in conjunction with The Michigan Technic Corporation will be conducting a tethered satellite mission to explore the Earth's upper atmosphere. The goal will be to understand the chemistry and composition of the upper atmosphere and it's impact on the environment below. In conjunction with this mission The AIRSEDS Institute has formed the AIRSEDS K-12 program, an international program to involve students in K-12 with space missions. The goal of the program is to foster knowledge and growth in the sciences and engineering. The AIRSEDS Institute through the K-12 program will provide an opportunity for the students to learn about their home planet and near-Earth space environment with the mission scientists. Furthermore, high school students will have the opportunity to continue their work on the AIRSEDS mission when they continue on to Copyright © 1998 by The AIRSEDS Institute. Published by the American Institute Of Aeronautics And Astronautics, Inc. with permission. * Member AIAA college. As part of the AIRSEDS K-12 program the AIRSEDS Get-AwaySpecial (AIRSEDS/GAS) project was formed to provide an opportunity for schools and students to send experiments of their own design into space on the Space Shuttle. AIRSEDS/GAS, based on NASA's successfully proven Get Away Special program, is a small self contained canister designed to support a variety of student experiments in low Earth orbit. It is planned that up to eight school districts will be supported per launch. School districts will be encouraged to allow as many classes and student groups to participate as possible to maximize opportunities for student participation and educational outreach. As a prelude to the AIRSEDS/GAS program, The Michigan Technic Corporation is offering an opportunity for students to participate on the AIRSEDS-ST tethered satellite mission. This satellite will be sending flight data through its mission control center to student participants via the world wide web. This paper will present a summary of the AIRSEDS/Get-AwaySpecial Program, the system design, opportunities on the AIRSEDS-ST mission and the education program including the mechanisms for student participation and new curriculum under development. L. AIRSEDS/GAS Concept The goal of the AIRSEDS/GAS Program is to provide opportunities for students Copyright© 1997, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. and teachers to participate in actual space missions of their own design. Though all experiments must meet rigid standards for shuttle and crew safety all experiments will be exclusively conceived by the student participants. The AIRSEDS/GAS program represents a remarkable opportunity for students to follow their ideas from concept through flight and to present their results to the public. The AIRSEDS/GAS System is a selfcontained system within a sealed canister. Though minimal control is provided by the shuttle crew, the AIRSEDS/GAS System will provide computer control and data collection, electrical power, structural support and thermal protection for the contained experiments. The AIRSEDS/GAS Program is based on the successful and proven NASA Get Away Special (GAS) Program. To date over 100 GAS canisters have been successfully flown on the Space Shuttle Orbiter. The purposes of the NASA GAS program, and shared by The ATRSEDS Institute, is 0 To encourage the use of space by all researchers — private individuals and organizations. 0 Foster enthusiasm in younger generations. 0 Increase the knowledge of space. 0 To be alert to possible growth of GAS investigation into a prime experiment. 0 Generate new activities unique to space. The AIRSEDS/GAS Program is designed to teach students the scientific method and its application to real problems. Resources will be provided to instruct students on the design process and to integrate their experiments with the AIRSEDS/GAS system. 2.. The AIRSEDS/GAS