Title: Workshop: IL-Ed-Tech Trek-A-Sat
Updated August 2026
Written by: Frances Dellutri, Middle School/Intermediate Level SpacEdge Education Team
Edited by: Bonnie Thurber for ILTC Workshop
Contributor: Czar Dickson, University of Chicago Intern with NSS
Grade (Ages) Level: Grades 5-8 (10-13)
Summary: With this project, you can track a satellite in real time. There are hundreds of satellites orbiting our planet. You will also learn why satellites have the orbits they do and what they are named!
SpacEdge Topic: Astronomy, Satellites, Math & Data, Physics, Circular Motion, Orbital Mechanics, STEM/STEAM Foundations, Space Problem Solving
US Standards: NGSS:
MS-ESS1-1 http://www.nextgenscience.org/pe/ms-ess1-1-earths-place-universe
MS-PS2-4 http://www.nextgenscience.org/pe/ms-ps2-4-motion-and-stability-forces-and-interactions
MS-PS2-5 http://www.nextgenscience.org/pe/ms-ps2-4-motion-and-stability-forces-and-interactions
Key Topics Associated with Standards: Collecting, Analyzing and Interpreting Data; Gravitational Interactions; Forces and Motion, Relationship between Energy and Forces
Prerequisites: None are really required, just some prior knowledge in what a satellite is will help.