Source: https://mokxi.com/teachers/plans/spaceship-panel Updated: 2026-11-11 Lesson plan # Build a spaceship control panel lesson plan Arming switches, a mission display, a countdown, an engine and a master alarm, then fly the whole panel to orbit. 4 chapters, 7 lessons, about 5 hours, on the Arduino Mega 2560. 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 - Two-step arming with lit buttons, and a display that tells the truth. - A guarded launch button, a countdown that holds, and an engine that glows. - Read fuel and pitch at a glance, and stay calm when the alarm goes. - Everything at once, from checklist to orbit. ### Materials for the whole unit - 8-resistor network - Addressable RGB LEDs - Arduino Mega 2560 R3 - Character LCD, 20x4, with I2C backpack - Four-digit display, TM1637 - Full-size breadboard - Hobby servo - LED arcade button x 5 - LED bar graph, 10 segments - Piezo speaker - Resistor x 2 - Slide potentiometer - Slide switch x 4 - Thumb stick 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 10 min ## Arm the ship Two-step arming with lit buttons, and a display that tells the truth. Lesson | Time | What students do Arming switches with lit buttons Three toggles and three lit arcade buttons on a Mega. Flip a switch and its lamp asks, press the lamp and it answers: two-step arming, the way real panels guard against a stray hand. | 40 min - Meet the panel - Flip AVIONICS - Confirm with the lamp - Arm all three - Safe one again A mission display and a throttle Add a 20 x 4 LCD that shows the pre-flight checklist, and a slide-pot throttle that has to sit at minimum before the checklist completes. | 30 min - Light the display - Throttle to minimum - Complete the checklist - Open the throttle ### Materials - Arduino Mega 2560 R3 - Character LCD, 20x4, with I2C backpack - Full-size breadboard - LED arcade button x 3 - Slide potentiometer - Slide switch x 3 ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "A mission display and a throttle" 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: "Open the throttle". Chapter 2. About 1 h 20 min ## Count it down A guarded launch button, a countdown that holds, and an engine that glows. Lesson | Time | What students do A safety switch and a countdown A LAUNCH button that only works with the MASTER ARM safety up, and a TM1637 that counts down from T-10 and holds if the safety drops. | 50 min - The clock - Try to launch - Lift the safety - Start the count - Hold the count - All the way down Engine glow and thrust against weight A ring of 16 NeoPixels flickers like an engine bell as the throttle opens, and the LCD shows when thrust beats weight and the rocket would climb. | 30 min - Light the engine - Beat the weight - Back on the pad - Hear it cross ### Materials - Addressable RGB LEDs - Arduino Mega 2560 R3 - Character LCD, 20x4, with I2C backpack - Four-digit display, TM1637 - Full-size breadboard - LED arcade button - Piezo speaker - Slide potentiometer - Slide switch ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Engine glow and thrust against weight" 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: "Hear it cross". Chapter 3. About 1 h 30 min ## Gauges and alarms Read fuel and pitch at a glance, and stay calm when the alarm goes. Lesson | Time | What students do A fuel gauge and a pitch needle A practice burn on the pad: the throttle drains a ten-bar fuel gauge, a servo needle shows the pitch tipping toward the horizon, and the stick trims it. | 40 min - A full tank - Burn half the tank - Watch the needle lean - Trim with the stick - Burn it dry A master alarm drill Turn three systems on and a fault trips the master alarm: silence it with the red button, read the fix on the LCD, and cycle the right switch. | 50 min - Ready for the drill - Trip the alarm - Silence it - The wrong switch - Fix it - Finish the drill ### Materials - 8-resistor network - Arduino Mega 2560 R3 - Character LCD, 20x4, with I2C backpack - Full-size breadboard - Hobby servo - LED arcade button x 4 - LED bar graph, 10 segments - Piezo speaker - Resistor x 2 - Slide potentiometer - Slide switch x 3 - Thumb stick ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "A master alarm drill" 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: "Finish the drill". Chapter 4. About 55 min ## Fly to orbit Everything at once, from checklist to orbit. Lesson | Time | What students do Fly to orbit The finished panel: checklist, go/no-go poll, countdown, liftoff, staging and a fault or two on the way to orbit, with real orbital math deciding when you are there. | 55 min - The pre-flight checklist - Go for launch - Terminal count - Liftoff - Staging - Clear a fault - Orbit ### Materials - 8-resistor network - Addressable RGB LEDs - Arduino Mega 2560 R3 - Character LCD, 20x4, with I2C backpack - Four-digit display, TM1637 - Full-size breadboard - Hobby servo - LED arcade button x 5 - LED bar graph, 10 segments - Piezo speaker - Resistor x 2 - Slide potentiometer - Slide switch x 4 - Thumb stick ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Fly to orbit" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 7 of its 7 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Orbit". Your class ## Teach this unit as a class Start a class from this course and its 7 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. 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