An audience of pre-kindergarten through high-school
students and teachers in North Carolina and Ohio will converse
with the International Space Station Expedition 8 crew during
a NASA educational downlink tomorrow from 9:40 to 10 a.m. EST.
The downlink is a component of an interdisciplinary,
collaborative-inquiry project, Partners in Flight, developed
by Distance Learning Systems and the North Carolina Department
of Public Instruction. The event also is part of a day themed
“Wright Around the World,” in recognition of the Centennial of
Flight, a national celebration commemorating the first
successful, powered flight by the Wright brothers, December
17, 1903.
“Descendents of the Wright Flyer have flown all around the
world during the first tremendous 100 years of flight,” noted
NASA’s Associate Administrator for Education Dr. Adena
Williams Loston. “We will continue our mission to inspire
students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering
and mathematics. Innovations in flight will continue in the
next 100 years and extend our exploration to uncharted areas
of the universe,” she said.
Thousands of students and teachers in N.C. and Ohio will view
the downlink. The event will be followed by a discussion among
students and a panel of science and mathematics experts. The
Partners in Flight project has particularly encouraged
participation in the downlink from students in groups
traditionally under-represented in science and mathematics
fields.
Partners in Flight is a semester-long activity that invites
students and teachers in N.C. and Ohio to explore the unique
contributions the two states made in the Wright brothers’
first successful powered flight. The downlink is the
culmination of the project, demonstrating directly to students
the impact of human flight and allowing them to envision the
potential of human space flight during the next 100 years.
The downlink event, one in a series with educational
organizations in the United States and abroad, is an integral
component of NASA’s Teaching from Space Program. The program
promotes educational opportunities using the unique
environment of human space flight. The program builds
partnerships with the education community to create unique
learning opportunities through the use of NASA research and
educational technology.
NASA TV will broadcast the downlink 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 on the Internet, visit:
For information about the Partners in Flight program on the
Internet, visit:
http://video.dpi.state.nc.us/eforums/partners/index.htm
For information about Centennial of Flight events on the
Internet, visit:
http://www.centennialofflight.gov
For information about NASA education programs on the Internet,
visit:
