Jan. 6, 2011 Ann Marie Trotta Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1601 ann.marie.trotta@xxxxxxxx Obie S. Young Federal Aviation Administration, Lakeland, Fla. 407-341-3072 obie.young@xxxxxxx MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-001 SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS TO CONNECT WITH CENTRAL FLORIDA STUDENTS WASHINGTON -- International Space Station residents Scott Kelly, Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli will speak on Tuesday, Jan. 11, to 150 students from Kathleen High School's Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) in Lakeland, Fla. The CFAA prepares students to go into advanced aerospace education or the aerospace industry. In 2009, the academy received an agency grant to develop a NASA-based science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, curriculum. The station astronauts will answer student questions on Jan. 11, from 11-11:20 a.m. EST. In preparation for the conversation with astronauts in space, the students have been participating in science activities, exploring careers in science with local scientists and engineers, studying a floor plan of the International Space Station and learning about experiments in microgravity. The event will air live on NASA Television and on the agency's website. Media interested in attending this event should contact Obie Young at 407-341-3072 by 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10. The live downlink will be shared with other students through the Florida Aviation Network, the Federal Aviation Administration Training Network and the Government Educational Training Network. This will give approximately 93,000 students in Polk County's K-12 classrooms the opportunity to watch the event. NASA astronauts Kelly and Coleman and Nespoli of the European Space Agency are conducting science experiments aboard the space station. Kelly serves as the Expedition 26 commander until March when he returns home. Coleman and Nespoli will complete their station mission in May. This live, in-flight education downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the U.S. and abroad to improve teaching and learning in STEM subjects. It is an integral component of Teaching From Space, a NASA education program. Teaching From Space promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA's human spaceflight program. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about NASA's education programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/education For information about the International Space Station and the crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station -end- To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
