Entry Date: 6/10/09
Internship Day Ten (2 hours)
Our day ten internship experience began with a presentation by Jeremy. The presentation covered the basics of a computer program called Satellite Tool Kit (STK). STK is a predictive tool used to track and map where almost any satellite will be at a given time. As Jeremy put it, it is a “crystal ball” he uses to predict the future path of satellites. We were taught how to input Honolulu as our base facility and also how to select satellites to track. We tracked a few satellites as a group then broke up to individual computers to track satellites of our own. We spent the remaining hour researching different satellites (many nanosats) and examining their predicted flight paths.
Our newly learned ability to track satellites was not only to satisfy our scientific curiosity but also to prepare for our next internship experience. On Tuesday we plan to set up the mobile radio antenna in order to listen to and possibly communicate with orbiting satellites. Our ability to predict the future location of satellites helped us to find out what satellites will be passing above Honolulu, when, and for how long. This information is essential to our ability to communicate effectively with the satellites. I am anxious to set up the antenna and hope that our STK researching abilities lead to successful communication.
Attachments: Day Ten Notes