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History of ISS EarthKAM
NASA ISS EarthKAM began in 1994 as KidSat. A pilot program, KidSat
flew on three missions to test its feasibility. The
first Shuttle flight, STS-076, occurred in March of 1996. Three middle
schools participated in the inaugural mission that took 325 images over the course of 60 hours. On its next flight, STS-081, KidSat expanded its capabilities and included 17 schools. This time, the camera was operational for 75 hours and took over 500 photos of Earth. Fifty-two schools participated in the third KidSat flight, STS-086, in 1997. During this mission, the camera was operational for 60 hours, capturing 670 images.
In 1998, the KidSat program was deemed successful and renamed EarthKAM. The EarthKAM camera flew on flight STS-089 in January, 1998, where it took more than 490 photos in 60 hours of camera activity.
The EarthKAM camera took part in STS-099, its last Shuttle mission, aboard Endeavour
in February of 2000. This time, 83 schools participated in the flight,
sending up commands to take 2715 photos of Earth's surface in 226 hours of camera operation. In 2001, EarthKAM changed its name again to ISS EarthKAM, corresponding to the move of operations to the International Space Station.
ISS EarthKAM is made possible by the cooperative work of undergraduate
students and their advisors at the University of California, San Diego;
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California; NASA's
Johnson Space Flight Center; TERC, a non-profit educational
research and development company; and Middle School students and teachers
around the world.
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