Source: https://mokxi.com/teachers/plans/space-tracker Updated: 2026-11-11 Lesson plan # Satellite tracker lesson plan Aim a dish with a stepper and a servo, predict a pass from an orbit model, then track it across the sky. 2 chapters, 4 lessons, about 4 hours, on the Arduino Uno R3. Every lesson runs in the browser, with nothing to install. Start a class from this course The unit ## Objectives and materials ### By the end, students can - Turn and tip a dish to any spot in the sky. - Predict where the satellite will be, then follow it. ### Materials for the whole unit - Arduino Uno R3 - Buzzer - Character LCD with I2C backpack - Half breadboard - Hobby servo - LED - Pushbutton - Resistor - Stepper motor, 28BYJ-48 with ULN2003 Every part is already on the simulator’s bench, so there is nothing to buy or hand out. The counts are the most any one lesson uses, if you build it on real breadboards too. Chapter 1. About 1 h 50 min ## Pointing Turn and tip a dish to any spot in the sky. Lesson | Time | What students do Point by steps Aim a dish with a 28BYJ-48 stepper: 4096 half steps to a turn, a quarter turn per press, and an LCD that says where it points. | 55 min - Meet the tracker - Why 4096 - Face east - All the way around Azimuth and elevation Add a servo for elevation and point at any spot in the sky with two angles, on a short tour that ends straight overhead. | 55 min - Two numbers for the whole sky - Tip it up - Straight up - Both motors, one target ### Materials - Arduino Uno R3 - Buzzer - Character LCD with I2C backpack - Half breadboard - Hobby servo - LED - Pushbutton - Resistor - Stepper motor, 28BYJ-48 with ULN2003 ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Azimuth and elevation" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 4 of its 4 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Both motors, one target". Chapter 2. About 2 h 15 min ## Orbits and tracking Predict where the satellite will be, then follow it. Lesson | Time | What students do Predict a pass Model a circular orbit, put yourself on a turning Earth, and turn the difference into a table of azimuth and elevation from rise to set. | 55 min - An orbit in one line - Find the satellite, find yourself - Rise and set - Read the table Track a pass Fly the whole tracker: predict, pre-position, count down on the LCD, follow the satellite from rise to set, and flip over the top of a high pass. | 80 min - Ready to track - Predict the pass - Be there first - Acquisition of signal - Loss of signal - Over the top ### Materials - Arduino Uno R3 - Buzzer - Character LCD with I2C backpack - Half breadboard - Hobby servo - LED - Pushbutton - Resistor - Stepper motor, 28BYJ-48 with ULN2003 ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Track a pass" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 6 of its 6 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Over the top". Your class ## Teach this unit as a class Start a class from this course and its 4 lessons are assigned in one go, in order. Students join with a six-character code or printed login cards, and each one’s work comes back to you. The class tools are free for 30 days for one class of up to 20 students, with no card. The lessons themselves are free either way. Start a class from this course See the demo class More units ## Other lesson plans Electronics basics 20 lessons, about 10 h. Embedded on the Arduino Uno 16 lessons, about 12 h. Embedded on the ESP32-C3 13 lessons, about 11 h. Embedded on the Raspberry Pi Pico 7 lessons, about 6 h. Build your own fight stick 5 lessons, about 4 h. Embedded on the STM32F411 6 lessons, about 6 h. C++ on a board 13 lessons, about 10 h. Digital logic and memory 4 lessons, about 4 h. Interactive devices on the Uno 9 lessons, about 8 h. From gates to a computer 23 lessons, about 16 h. Build a claw machine 8 lessons, about 6 h. Every unit All the courses as ready-made units, on the teachers page.