Earth to Year 9 STEM

Year 9 STEM class visited the Satellite Earth Station in Belrose, Australia's biggest earth station. Students are learning about cybersecurity and developing their understanding of how satellites work, the infrastructure required, the cybersecurity risks in flying and maintaining satellites and how the risks are mitigated.

The class underwent a tour of the Earth Station where they were able to learn about the seven satellites currently in geostationary orbit over Belrose which provide TV, internet services and military communication services across Australia. They went into the signal room where the electromagnetic signals to and from the satellites are converted via fibre optic cables from binary to microwaves, the antennae farm where they viewed the giant satellite dishes and antennae and then they went inside the screen room that showed the live monitoring of each satellite and the stations they were broadcasting.

The students also engaged with a variety of physics experiments related to the launch of a satellite, such as how to create rotational motion when there is no friction in space using a gyroscope, and a chemical explosion experiment where the physicist created and used hydrogen to create a large amount of energy such as for a potential rocket launch.

Lisa Nowosad
STEM Teacher