Space Station Crew Celebrates Flight With Students

Gretchen Cook-Anderson
Headquarters, Washington December 11, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-0836)

RELEASE: 03-408

SPACE STATION CREW CELEBRATES FLIGHT WITH STUDENTS

Students from the Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk, N. C.
areas will have the opportunity to talk with the International
Space Station Expedition 8 crew tomorrow. NASA, with the
National Park Service, is sponsoring a special educational
downlink from 10:04 to 10:24 a.m. EST.

The downlink will focus on life and work aboard the Space
Station. The event is part of the Centennial of Flight
celebration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Dec. 12-
17. The Centennial of Flight is a national celebration
commemorating the first powered, heavier-than-air flight by
the Wright brothers on December 17, 1903.

The theme of the day's events is "Igniting the Imagination."
The downlink and other activities are designed to inspire the
next generation of explorers (and aviators) by engaging
children in the power of flight.

"It is an exciting opportunity for students to speak with real
explorers on the International Space Station," said NASA's
Associate Administrator for Education, Dr. Adena Williams
Loston. "The invention of flight was a great milestone, and
the celebration of its birth is an opportune time for NASA to
reach out to the next generation of explorers," she said.

NASA Aerospace Education Services Program specialists will
work with students and educators prior to the program.
Students will have the chance to learn more about the Space
Station and the crewmembers on board while participating in a
variety of educational activities that focus on the Centennial
of Flight. During the event, the Expedition 8 crew is expected
to display a model of the Wright Flyer, built by middle school
students from Orono, Maine.

The downlink series is an integral component of NASA's
Teaching from Space Program. The Teaching from Space Program,
managed from the Johnson Space Center, Houston, promotes
educational opportunities using the unique environment of
human space flight.

The program builds partnerships with education organizations
and communities in the United States and abroad to create
unique learning opportunities through the use of NASA research
and educational technology.

NASA TV will broadcast the downlink event live. NASA TV is
available on AMC-9, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 85
degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz.
Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz.
For information about NASA TV on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

For more information about NASA on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

For information about the Centennial of Flight on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.centennialofflight.gov

For information about other NASA education programs on the
Internet, visit:

http://education.nasa.gov

For information about the Wright Brothers National Memorial on
the Internet, visit:

http://www.nps.gov/wrbr


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