Orbiters

observations

Advanced Orbiting Solar Observatory

What do you notice?

Why do you think this tool is this way?

What was this tool designed for?

Add notes to your initial observations using the information and images below.

Columbia

What differences do you see between the artifact on the left, the Apollo 11 Capsule "Columbia" and the artifact at the top of the page? One difference is that the capsule on the left was designed to transport humans during space exploration. Though intended for different missions, both were designed to explore celestial bodies in our Solar System that are not planets. What celestial bodies do you think they were focused on exploring?

SkyLab

The artifact to the left was a part of the SkyLab, the first American space station. SkyLab, like today's International Space Station, was created for astronauts to live and work in space. The first human solar observations were made from the SkyLab as well; shown below is the Apollo Telescope Mount from the SkyLab. SkyLab launched in 1973 and orbited Earth for around 6 years.

Studying the universe

The artifact pictured at the top of the page is a full-scale model of the Advanced Orbiting Solar Observatory (AOSO). AOSO is an orbiter, meaning that its mission was focused on orbiting a specific celestial body. Considering the name, what body was AOSO most likely created to study? The black panels fanned out from the cylindrical, aluminum body are solar panels. Solar panels are used on spacecraft as a power source if the spacecraft is flying close enough to the Sun to convert its energy into electricity.

What was the mission of the Advanced Orbiting Solar Observatory?

The Advanced Orbiting Solar Observatory (AOSO) was built for a mission to study the Sun. The mission was cancelled, however instruments created for it were later used on SkyLab. The reasoning behind cancelling the mission is still unclear, however it could be due to the fact that the imaging available wasn't high enough resolution for capturing images of objects in space.

What is an orbiter and why is it a useful tool of exploration?

An orbiter is a tool of exploration that orbits, or goes around, a celestial body. The Moon is an example of a natural orbiter of a planet. Orbiters are a useful tool of exploration to provide prolonged observations from above. Through its imaging and data, the entire surface of a celestial body can be observed in several weeks to several months. Orbiters can also retrieve information on specific areas of a celestial body over a period of time. Orbiters have studied various celestial bodies including the Moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and the Earth.

Are astronauts onboard orbiters?

Sometimes! Astronauts have crewed spacecraft orbiting the Moon and Earth, however they are not always on board; for example people were not on board the Viking Spacecraft orbiting and landing on Mars. The artifact featured in the image carousel below, the Apollo 11 Capsule "Columbia", orbited the Moon with Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins inside. Apollo 11's mission was to accomplish the first lunar landing in 1969. While Aldrin and Armstrong spent around 21.5 hours on the lunar surface, Collins spent that time orbiting the moon in "Columbia". SkyLab and the International Space Station also have had people onboard while orbiting Earth.

What are space stations? is there one orbiting earth today?

A space station is an orbital spacecraft that has a human crew on board. The SkyLab was America's first Space Station. Today, NASA collaborates with other countries' space agencies to maintain the International Space Station (ISS). Visitors to the ISS come from countries across the world such as Japan, Russia, Italy, South Africa, Brazil, and Canada. The first part of the ISS arrived in space in 1998, and as of 2020 the station has hosted continuous human presence on board for the past 20 years.

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