HISTORY OF SPACE FLIGHT RESEARCH PROJECT
You will be researching the history of space flight next week, and presenting a short paper and
talk to the class in 2 weeks. Talks will be more than 5 but less than 10 minutes. Papers will be 1
to 2 pages long. You will not be allowed to read from your paper, so you will have to make notes
for your oral report.
FIRST PICK A TOPIC
There are many possible interesting topics concerning space flight. You will choose 1 and report
on that topic only. You are not limited to these. With Mr. Cypher’s approval you may pick your
own. I suggest checking out some potential topics by researching on the internet. You will
choose your topic next week. Here are some possible topics: Sputnik, the Air Force test pilot
program, the Mercury Program, the Gemini Program, the Apollo Program (you can pick
one of the important flights including the Apollo I disaster, Apollo 8- first manned orbit of
the Moon, Apollo 11- first manned landing on the Moon, Apollo 13- a near disaster, Apollo
17-the last mission, the Space Race, the Cold War, the Russian Cosmonaut Program (you
can pick from first man in space, first Earth orbit rendezvous, failed Moon missions),
Russia’s Venus lander program, first woman in space, first American woman in space,
NASA’s Viking Mars program, NASA’s recent Mars Rover program, the International
Space Station, Skylab, The Pioneer Satellite, SETI, The future human Mars Mission, the
future of interstellar flight, Star Wars Missile Defense Program, the European Space
Agency, other countries space programs (for example China’s space program), the history
of satellites, how GPS works, how weather satellites help predict weather, how satellites
track continental movement and earthquakes, the search for near Earth Orbiting Objects
(comets, asteroids, and meteors that might hit Earth).
WRITE DOWN THE TOPIC YOU PICKED! ___________________________
REQUIREMENTS OF YOUR TALK AND PAPER
Your paper and talk should include an introduction, a body of main text, and a conclusion. You
should find INTERESTNG things to talk and write about. Don’t just write facts and figures.
Make your presentation more like a story that your readers and audience can’t wait to finish to
find out what happens. You will also need to present pictures or photos during your talk on a
poster.
WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE LIBRAY?
You need to gather information on your topic while at the library. You will find all the
information you need in books and on the internet. You can make copies of pages you would like
to save for a small fee, but remember you must write a short paper in your own words. If you
have gathered enough information you should be writing a draft of your paper.
INTERNET LINKS AND REFERENCES
You can do an internet search for your topic on Google and, or find books in the library and likely
find all the information you will need. Write down the URL’s of sites that you use in your report,
and include title, author, publisher and publishing date of any books you include in your research
as part of your bibliography at the end of your paper.
WHEN IS THE PAPER AND TALK DUE?
The paper and talk is due ______________________