Flight and Space

Gateway to Technology
Flight and Space

Course Description:

Lesson 1

Students discover the science of flight and use aerodynamics concepts to explain how aircraft fly. Students receive an introduction to the engineering design process, investigate the effect of different airfoils on flight, use maps for navigation, and explore flight crew scheduling criteria. In the end-of-lesson project, students design and build a prototype of an aircraft and create a flight plan for a given route.

Lesson 2

Students investigate how scientists and engineers play a vital role in space travel, space discovery, and living in space. They explore launch, orbit, landing, maintaining health in space, and maintaining a stable living environment for astronauts. In the end-of-lesson project, students follow the engineering design process to design, build, and test an improved prototype of a system of their choosing.

Lesson 3

Students work in teams to design and model different aspects required to complete a mission to Mars. Students collaborate to complete the problems and present their findings. The mission includes planning the astronaut crew, rocket specifications, crew daily activity schedules, Mars landing site, and Mars landing vehicle.