The Space Shuttle as an educational tool

Abstract

The paper discusses the impact of the Space Transportation System (STS) and the Space Shuttle on the science educational community and gives an overview of past space education programs. Construction of four flight 'Orbiters' (Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis) is being planned, with each Orbiter containing an External Tank (ET) to power the Orbiter's main engines, and two solid rocket boosters (SRB). Each Orbiter can carry a crew of seven, has a cargo bay for 65,000 lb of satellites and scientific equipment, and has an average flight duration of up to 7 days. NASA educational programs reviewed are the Skylab Student Program, the 'Getaway Special' Program, and the Shuttle Student Involvement Project for Secondary Schools (SSIP-S), as well as ESA programs including the Educational Physics Experiments in Spacelab and the Access to Spacelab for Young Europeans Program. A 'Classroom in Space' and 'Space University' have been proposed for the future.