GRC NEWS RELEASE 01-074



01-074
For Release: September 21, 2001



Pamelia Caswell
Media Relations Office
216/433-2901



New "Star" Lets Learning Shine 

Students from 20 Ohio schools and social organizations have good 
reason to watch the September 21 launch of the Starshine 3 satellite 
from Kodiak Island, Alaska, at 9:30 p.m. They polished some of the 
1,500 mirrors that will make the satellite visible to the naked eye 
and allow the students to learn about Earth as they measure the 
satellite's position in the sky.



Fifteen of the 20 schools are in Northeast Ohio.



"That's probably in large part because, when NASA Glenn and OAI agreed 
-- jumped at the chance, really -- to design and build the power 
supply for Starshine, we learned about the exciting way school 
children could be involved in building the satellite, said Principal 
Investigator Phillip Jenkins, of OAI, Cleveland, Ohio. "We talked 
about it to our families, our kid's schools, to friends and even 
friends of friends who are teachers."



The Starshine 3 satellite is nearly a meter in diameter (37 inches), 
weighs 91 kilograms (200 pounds) and is covered with 1,500 mirrors 
polished by students from around the world. Once the satellite is in 
low Earth orbit, students will track it and measure its orbital decay 
(how quickly it is falling back to Earth). From the collection of 
world-wide data, students and adults can calculate the thickness of 
the upper atmosphere and even the effect of solar flares on it.



"Project Starshine is a great program that involves students in nearly 
all the stages of a science mission -- from building the satellite 
through data collection and interpretation," said Henry Curtis, of 
the Photovoltaics and Space Environment Effects Branch at Glenn.



The ambitious Project Starshine plan is for students around the world 
to study Earth's upper atmosphere for the full 11-year sun cycle 
through a series of Starshine satellites. Each satellite remains in 
orbit up to 1 year before burning up on reentry. Starshine 1 was 
launched in May 1999. Starshine 2 will be launched in the fall of 
2001.



NASA Television's live coverage and commentary from Kodiak Island will 
begin at 7:30 p.m and continues until it has been confirmed that 
Kodiak Star's four satellites have been deployed. The final 
deployment confirmation, that of Starshine, is expected to be 
communicated from Antarctica approximately 2 hours, 10 minutes after 
launch. NASA TV is broadcast on GE-2, transponder 9 (C-Band) located 
at 85 degrees West longitude. Audio is also available on the V 
circuits that may be accessed directly by dialing 321-867-1220, 
-1240, -1260, -7135, or -4003. Coverage will also be webcast and may 
be accessed via the NASA Kennedy Space Center home page at 
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/.



For more information about Project Starshine go to 
http://www.azinet.com/starshine/.



The list of Ohio schools participating in Starshine 3 follows:


<th>School City</th> <th>School</th> <th>Point of Contact</th>  
Bay Village Bay Village Preschool PTA David Wilt  
Bay Village Hepp Home School Maura M. Hepp  
Cincinnati Princeton High School Pamela C. Farrell  
Cincinnati Cincinnati Country Day School Jan French  
Cincinnati Montgomery Elementary Erika Jewell  
Cleveland Thomas Jefferson Middle School Bradley DiFranco  
Cleveland Kentucky Elementary School Anthony Miranda  
Cleveland Heights Roxboro Middle School Kathy Pahys  
Columbia Station Boy Scout Troop 104 Randle R. Jones  
Columbia Station Troop 795 Junior Girl Scouts Valerie Lyons  
Elyria St. Jude School Grace Ogonek  
Fairview Park St. Angela Elementary School Eileen Augustin  
Massillon Jackson Middle School Craig W. Smith  
Medina Medina Christian Academy Timothy A. Holmes  
Parma Heights Incarnate Word Academy Cheryl Kaminski and Anthony 
Miranda  
Parma Heights Parma Heights Christian Academy Dottie Fowler  
Perrysburg Glenwood Elementary School Linda Cutler  
Rossford Rossford High School Richard E. Lees  
Strongsville Strongsville High School Laurel Odeal  
Valley City Whitson Homeschool Group Elizabeth Whitson   

# # #



NOTE TO EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS: If today's Starshine launch is 
cancelled because of inclement weather in Alaska, launch attempts may 
be made on Saturday or Sunday (Sept. 22 or 23). Please check the 
Kennedy Space Center home page for up to date launch information.

	
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