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Space Exploration |
303 Counselors
Robert E. Carson
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- Tell the purpose of space exploration including
- historical reason,
- immediate goals in terms of specific knowledge,
- benefits related to Earth resources, technology, and new products.
- Tell about main steps in humanity's movement into space and tell the
contributions of these individuals: Jules Verne, K.E. Tsiolkovsky, Robert
Goddard, Hermann Oberth, and Werner von Braun.
- Build, launch, and recover a model rocket.
- If local laws prohibit the launching of model rockets, do the following
activity: Make a model of a NASA rocket. Explain the functions of the parts.
Give the history of the rocket.
Make a second launch to accomplish a specific objective. (Rocket must be
built to meet the safety code of the National Association of Rocketry.)
Identify and explain the following rocket parts:
- Body tube
- Engine mount
- Fins
- Igniter
- Launch lug
- Nose cone
- Payload
- Recovery system
- Rocket engine
- Discuss and demonstrate each of the following:
- The law of action-reaction
- How rocket engines work
- How satellites stay in orbit
- How satellite pictures of the Earth and pictures of other planets are
made and transmitted
- Discuss what has been learned about the Moon and planets by manned and
unmanned spacecraft exploration and the possible benefits of new knowledge. Do
TWO of the following:
- Construct a data table of recent information about the planets. For each
planet, give important facts, including distance from the sun, period of
revolution, rotation, number of moons, etc.
- Make a scrapbook of magazine photographs and news clippings about
planetary research.
- Design a spacecraft that will be sent on a mission to another planet to
take samples of its surface and return them to Earth. Name the planet your
spacecraft will visit; and, in your design, show how your spacecraft will
work and cope with the environment of that planet.
- Describe the purpose and operation of the space shuttle. Discuss the
following:
- Main components
- Typical mission profile
- Payloads
- Design and Earth-orbiting space station. Make drawings or a model of your
station. Within your design, consider and plan the following:
- Source of energy
- How it will be constructed
- Life-support systems
- Purpose and function.
- Discuss with your counselor two possible careers in space exploration.
BSA Advancement ID#: 107
Source: Boy Scout Requirements, #33215C, revised 2000