One model, six depths
The same spacecraft serves Grade 6 and university learners. What changes is the academic depth disclosed, not the physics — so the progression is real rather than repackaged.
For school leaders
A spacecraft engineering strand your school can actually run
One spacecraft model from Grade 6 to university, no hardware and no installation — and no claim we cannot evidence. Try it as Open Practice without accounts, or use Managed School, where assigned work, submissions and released teacher feedback persist.
Why a school would want this
Learners produce evidence, not clicks
Every mission ends with a prediction, a comparison, an engineering decision and a limitation statement. That is what the teacher reviews.
Honest about what it is
Evidence is labelled simulated, derived or reference. Nothing is presented as measured flight data, and no accreditation is claimed.
Two ways to run it, and you choose
Open Practice asks for no learner account on the routes that support it, and creates no institutional School record or submission — a learner's work stays in their own browser where a local record is implemented. Managed School adds institution and class enrolment so assigned work, submissions and released teacher feedback persist. Neither needs hardware, an installation or an LMS integration.
The progression
The same spacecraft, disclosed at six increasing depths. A Grade 6 learner and an university use one model.
| Stage | Band | What learners do | Observable verbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | ML-A Explorer | Observe & Explain | Identify · observe · measure · explain |
| Grade 7 | ML-A Explorer | Control & Compare | Predict · compare · control · explain |
| Grade 8 | ML-A Explorer | Design & Justify | Design · justify · choose · defend |
| Grades 9–10 | ML-B Builder | Calculate · Model · Compare · Test | Calculate · model · compare · test |
| Grades 11–12 | ML-C Engineer | Analyse · Program · Evaluate · Optimise | Analyse · program · evaluate · optimise |
| University | ML-D Mission Systems | Design · Integrate · Verify · Validate | Design · integrate · verify · validate |
Twelve mission families
Thirteen runnable pilot missions cover fourteen experiments. MLX-12 remains mapped but unavailable, and every runnable mission remains pending educator review.
First Contact & Spacecraft Systems
Sensors, Telemetry & Data Quality
Electrical Power & Energy Management
Attitude, Motion & Reaction Wheels
Feedback, Estimation & Control
Communications & Ground Link
Orbit, Ground Track & Contact Planning
Payload / Imaging / Mission Data
Thermal & Environmental Constraints
Faults, Diagnosis & Recovery
Integrated Mission Operations
Model-versus-Hardware Verification / Capstone
Two ways to run MissionLab School
Both use the same spacecraft model and the same missions. What differs is whether the work persists, and who can assess it.
Open Practice
Run missions without an institution. Account-free where the route supports it, and the learner's work stays in their own browser.
- No institution and no class are required.
- Account-free on the routes that support it.
- Work stays in the learner's browser where a local record is implemented.
- Nothing is uploaded into a School record automatically.
- Useful for trials, demonstrations, teacher exploration and ordinary lessons.
Managed School
A class runs one exact released Grade Programme. Assigned work and submitted evidence persist, a teacher assesses them, and released feedback reaches the learner.
- An institution and a class provide the context.
- Learners join through authenticated or pseudonymous institutional enrollment.
- The class runs one exact released Grade Programme.
- Work the learner intentionally submits becomes a persistent institutional submission.
- A teacher assesses that work and decides when feedback is released.
The Managed School launch catalogue
7 curated Grade Programmes, Grade 6 to Grade 12, covering 75 sessions in total. One exact released Programme is selected per class.
| Grade | Programme | Pacing | Weeks | Sessions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | Grade 6 — spacecraft foundations | Weekly guided programme; paired case runs in comparison weeks | 6 | 8 | Pilot — educator review and classroom evidence pending |
| Grade 7 | Grade 7 — mission evidence and comparison | Weekly guided programme; paired technical cases and preparation sessions | 8 | 11 | Pilot — educator review and classroom evidence pending |
| Grade 8 | Grade 8 — six-week spacecraft systems programme | Weekly; paired case runs in comparison weeks | 6 | 8 | Pilot — educator review and classroom evidence pending |
| Grade 9 | Grade 9 — quantitative mission analysis | Weekly quantitative programme with paired technical case sessions | 9 | 11 | Pilot — educator review and classroom evidence pending |
| Grade 10 | Grade 10 — systems trade analysis | Weekly systems-trade programme with evidence checkpoint | 10 | 12 | Pilot — educator review and classroom evidence pending |
| Grade 11 | Grade 11 — engineering evidence analysis | Weekly engineering-analysis programme with evidence checkpoint | 10 | 12 | Pilot — educator review and classroom evidence pending |
| Grade 12 | Grade 12 — systems engineering capstone | Weekly capstone programme with two synthesis checkpoints and final defence | 11 | 13 | Pilot — educator review and classroom evidence pending |
The wider Open Practice catalogue contains 13 runnable pilot missions. Each Managed School Grade Programme has its own curated composition derived from the accepted School catalogue and its teacher pack, so a Grade Programme is not simply all of those missions. At least one Grade Programme still has educator review and/or classroom evidence pending; the exact status for each Grade is shown above.
Where each role goes
Three entries, one per role. Signing in decides what you can see; these links only say where to go.
Managed School — Admin
Approve the School Programme for a class and see institution readiness.
Managed School — Teacher
Your class, its Programme, the next session, preparation and learner progress.
Managed School — Learner
Your Programme, your assigned mission work, your submissions and released feedback.
What your school needs to provide
Short list, and it stays short.
Devices
One computer per pair of learners, with a modern browser. No installation.
Accounts
Depends on the mode. Open Practice asks no learner to register. Managed School uses institution and class enrolment, so assigned work, submissions and released teacher feedback can persist.
Hardware
None. The spacecraft is a software model; no kit is required to complete a mission.
Teacher preparation
One planning period. The lesson ships with prompts, an answer key, misconceptions and timings.
Timetable
Two sessions of about 55–70 minutes, or one double period.
Internet
A standard school connection. Nothing is streamed or downloaded.
Delivery and trial examples
Illustrative shapes for a first engagement — how long it runs and who it is for. These are not the Managed School Grade Programmes above; those are the seven curated Grade 6 to 12 Programmes a class is actually assigned.
Two-session trial
Pilot lesson2 sessions · One Grade 7 class, 10–15 learners in pairs
- Both pilot lessons, teacher-guided
- Teacher preparation notes and answer key
- Printable learner record
- A structured feedback form for the teacher
Enough evidence for the school to judge whether the approach fits its learners.
Single-term programme
8 weeks · One class, one grade
- 8 runnable missions across 8 weeks
- 6 home follow-ups for practice between sessions
- Teacher lens showing what each grade level discloses
- Printable learner record from every session
A sustained mission strand that sits alongside the existing science scheme.
Full programme
12 weeks · One class, Grades 9-10 and above
- 12 runnable missions across 12 weeks
- 9 home follow-ups for practice between sessions
- Teacher lens showing what each grade level discloses
- Printable learner record from every session
A vertical STEM pathway using one spacecraft model, ending on verification.
Full semester
16 weeks · One cohort, Grades 11-12 and above
- 13 runnable missions across 16 weeks
- 11 home follow-ups for practice between sessions
- Teacher lens showing what each grade level discloses
- Printable learner record from every session
The complete mission catalogue over one semester, ending on a bounded engineering claim.
What this is not
We would rather a school chose us knowing this than discovered it in week three.