This Echo is READ ONLY !   NO Un-Authorized Messages Please!
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

10 May 2003

Live Astronaut Round Table - May 15, 2003

Join some of the world's most esteemed space explorers as they
examine the past, present, and future of space travel live on May 15
from the 2003 International Science and Engineering Fair!

This rare gathering of famed astronauts includes the first
African-American in space, Guy Bluford, and the last man on the moon,
Jack Schmitt, in addition to Kathy Sullivan, the first American woman
to perform a spacewalk. These former space pioneers will be joined by
current NASA astronauts Don Thomas, Franklin Chang-Diaz and Nancy
Currie. Former Russian cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev, the world record
holder for cumulative time spent in space, will also join the
discussion. Students will be given an opportunity to email their
questions to the panel. 

This event will be broadcast live on NASA TV between 3 and 5 p.m. EST
on May 15. NASA Television is broadcast on AMC-2, transponder 9C,
C-Band, located at 85 degrees West longitude. The frequency is 3880.0
MHz. Polarization is vertical and audio is monaural at 6.8 MHz. For
information on viewing NASA TV in your area, contact your local cable
company. 


Date: May 15, 2003
Time: 3:00-5:00 EST
Grade Level: All
Contact Info: Astronaut Panel

This webcast requires Realplayer.

Do you have a question for a member of the astronaut panel? You can
participate in the live interactive webcast event by sending an email
to astronauts{at}grc.nasa.gov. Your question may be chosen and used
during the live show!

Send questions now! Questions will be accepted from May 1 until 4:50
EST May 15.

Guion S. Bluford, Jr.
Dr. Bluford became the first African-American to fly in space as a
member of STS-8 in 1983. This mission also marked the first night
launch and night landing of the shuttle. Bluford went on the fly
three more missions logging a total of 688 hours in space.

Nancy Jane Currie
Dr. Currie is a veteran of four shuttle missions having spent a total
of 1000 hours in space. As a robotic arm expert she has used her
unique skill set to assemble the first two pieces of the
international space station, and assist in repairing the Hubble Space
Telescope. 

Harrison H. Schmitt
Dr. Schmitt was a member of Apollo 17, the United States' last trip
to the moon. As a field geologist he was uniquely trained in studying
the lunar surface. He spent 22 of his 75 hours on the moon in an
extravehicular activity exploring its surface using a lunar rover.

Kathryn D. Sullivan
In 1984, Dr. Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a
spacewalk, spending 3 ˝ hours outside of the shuttle. A veteran of 3
space flights, her final mission in 1990 aboard STS-31 deployed the
Hubble Space Telescope. 

Franklin R. Chang-Diaz
Born in San José, Costa Rica, Chang-Diaz is a veteran of seven space
flights totaling 1601 hours in space. Highlights of these missions
include deploying the Galileo spacecraft to explore Jupiter in 1989,
the final shuttle/Mir docking in 1998, and helping to assemble the
international space station in 2002.

Donald A. Thomas
Dr. Thomas has logged four shuttle flights spending 1040 hours in
space. Aboard Columbia in 1994, he set a new shuttle flight duration
record by spending 15 days in space and conducting over 80 life
science research experiments in a microgravity environment.

Sergei Avdeyev
Avdeyev, a Russian cosmonaut, is the cumulative record-holder for
time spent in space with 748 days spent orbiting earth, accumulated
on 3 separate stays aboard the Mir Space Station. His body has
orbited the earth an incredible 11,968 times.

 - END OF FILE -
==========

@Message posted automagically by IMTHINGS POST 1.30
---