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Frequently Asked Questions

What models does SCI offer? What are they made of? Why paper? Are there discounts for teachers? How long does it take to put one together? If I order today, when will it arrive? Which is the easiest one to build? Can a 9-year old build one? What else do I need to build an SCI kit? Why don't you make a Cassini SCI kit? Can you help me find a model of (-----) ? I've looked all over for a Mattel Hot Wheels Mars Pathfinder. Does SCI offer them? When will there be a new SCI kit? Is it safe to order on the internet? Will my mailing address be sold to someone else? Can SCI make a model of my spacecraft? I have a different question.

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• SCI offers these unique model kit designs:
  • Mars Polar Lander: The Mars Polar Lander was to touch down on Mars December 3, 1999. This new kit is simpler, smaller, and less expensive than the other SCI KITs. It doesn't contain any information sheets, just the model and instructions. This is the easiest SCI KIT to assemble.
  • Voyager: Voyager-1 and Voyager-2 are identical spacecraft which today are exploring the outer reaches of our solar system. Voyager-1 and -2 encountered Jupiter and Saturn; Voyager-2 encountered Uranus and Neptune. Neither spacecraft will ever return to the Sun, but will drift in the galaxy forever. NASA expects to maintain contact and control of both Voyagers until about 2020.
  • Magellan: Our first detailed look at the entire surface of Venus, our perpetually clouded sister world, was accomplished by NASA's Magellan spacecraft using radar imaging, altimetry, radiometry, gravity field mapping, and radio science.
  • Hubble Space Telescope: SCI's most popular model. HST orbits high above Earth's atmosphere to provide unparalelled views of distant objects.
  • Galileo: Orbiting Jupiter today, the Galileo spacecraft is exploring the Jovian world, its four large satellites, its magnetic environment. Upon arrival at Jupiter, Galileo released and tracked a separate probe into Jupiter's atmosphere.
  • Mars Global Surveyor: Currently orbiting Mars, MGS is using aerobraking to change the shape of its orbit, and it is returning unprecidented, detailed views of Mars's surface.
  • Lunar Prospector: In orbit around Earth's Moon, Lunar Prospector made headlines with its discovery of water frozen within the dark craters at the lunar poles.
  • Keck Telescope: Twin telescopes atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii use a revolutionary active optics system to achieve the largest aperture currently in existance.

• Paper. That is, 100% recycled heavy paper card stock which has been cut by laser in extreme detail. Realistic colors and metal foil sections are already in place. The Voyager and Magellan kits come with a high-density styrofoam antenna dish.

• It's the perfect medium for spacecraft models! Spacecraft like Voyager were designed to minimize mass while maximizing strength. Laser-cut paper lets SCI do the same thing! You'll find intricate trusses and structures reproduced. There are major advantages to using laser-cut paper. One is that we can apply lithography and metal-foil bonding techniques, making sure all the proper colors and details are present in your kit, without your having to paint them in. Another advantage is that the parts can be labeled for your convenience in assembly. The glue is non-toxic. Paper is a relatively easy material to work with. The use of 100% recycled paper is another advantage: look what's become of your discarded phone book! Also, paper products are perfectly suited for fast delivery by first class mail.

• That's easy. MPL, Mars Polar Lander, with its eleven laser-cut parts. A close second is the Lunar Prospector. It has 23 laser-cut parts. LPM is a fairly simple spacecraft. Some parts have built-in hooks to aid assembly. Really, the hardest part is waiting for the glue to dry. Actually, the Voyager kit has 23 parts, too, complete with hooks and all, so it's not too hard. Working with Voyager's styrofoam High Gain Antenna dish, and different glues, adds a little complexity, though.

• White glue. Small scissors for releasing the parts from the sheets. Toothpicks for applying glue. Each kit has a list of any other items in the beginning of the assembly instructions. Have a look here for more information.

• It's too big a spacecraft. An SCI KIT would be prohibitively expensive to create and market. However, there is a free one available. It just doesn't have any laser-cut parts. It is, however, scaled so you can use the styrofoam High-Gain antenna dish that comes with the Voyager or Magellan kits. It's quite a realistic model. The six parts sheets, and the sixteen pages of assembly instructions, explain stuff about Cassini's major components. Once you build one, and browse NASA's Cassini website, you'll be an expert on NASA's mission to Saturn!

• Sure. If it is a space-related model, like a launch vehicle or another spacecraft, it is probably available from one of the many sources listed on our GREAT LINKS page.

• Not regularly any more. However, please inquire, it may still be possible for SCI to find one. SCI has been unsuccessful in attempting to obtain the Mars Pathfinder Rover Hot Wheels toys in quantities large enough to offer customers. It's a shame that Mattel has ingnored the huge demand for this cool product. If you'd like to contact Mattel about it, here's some information here, such as a description, product ID number, and a link to Mattel's web site.

• Dave Doody designs the models. He's a pretty slow-moving guy (hey, but the designs are great). There's usually a new one every 18 months or so. There's really no telling WHAT the next one is going to be, but rumor has it Dave listens to what customers suggest.

• The Internet is a giant party line. So if you're going to send something like a credit card number, better be sure it's encrypted with a high-tech scheme so it travels incognito. SCI's secure Online Order Form uses the same, reliable Secure-Socket-Link (SSL) for encryption, that most other internet businesses use. If you still don't trust the internet for your credit card information, SCI also provides a Print-and-Fax-Or-Mail form, and an automated telephone ordering system available 24 hours every day. Details are here. SCI has been doing mail-order business since March, 1987, and is sensitive to questions of privacy and security.

• NO! SCI never sells, gives, or otherwise lets anyone else use our customers' information. See the SCI privacy statement.

• Probably. But the minimum run is 10,000 model kits, and SCI retains copyright. Alternatively, SCI might be able to contract with you to provide a free-downloadable (pdf/html) version which can reside on your Project's public web site (see these examples). This costs much less than 10,000 laser-cut kits, and might actually be within the budget of your Public Information department. SCI claims no copyright restrictions for those free ones. Contact SCI for more information. It will help if you have images available (on a web site?) of your spacecraft in various configurations.

• Well, let's hear it! Contact SCI, or post it on the Bulletin Board for others to see. It might even end up in the FAQ list! Thank you.

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