[Scan-DC] Fw: Prince William County School to contact International Space Station

[Alan Henney]

-----Original Message-----
From: Cindy Martin-Brennan
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 12:09 PM
Subject: Prince William County School to contact International Space
Station

Please see attached press release.  Next week, 4/17/2007, the school
will be talking with Dr. Charles Simonyi, who is currently on the
international space station.  Dr. Simonyi chose this school as one of
three in the U.S. to talk to while he is onboard.

Cindy Brennan

Cedar Point Elementary School Space Week Coordinator

Cedar Point Elementary School
12601 Braemar Parkway

Bristow, VA 20136

Phone: 703.365.0963 Fax: 703.365.0954



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



April 12, 2007



For more information contact:

Cindy Brennan

Cedar Point Elementary Space Week Coordinator

(703)304-3839

cmbrennan at comcast.net



Alternate Contact:

Victoria Belcher

Cedar Point Elementary School Science Specialist

(703) 365-0963

BELCHEVM at pwcs.edu



MEDIA ADVISORY

CEDAR POINT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL to talk "LIVE" to orbiting International
Space Station space traveler Dr. Charles Simonyi

Bristow, Virginia - April 13, 2007 -- This week, Charles Simonyi,
Ph.D., a former Microsoft software developer and co-founder of
Intentional Software Corp., arrived at the International Space Station
along with the Expedition 15 team. Before his flight, Dr. Simonyi
chose Cedar Point Elementary to be one of three U.S. schools and one
from his native Hungary that he will talk with during his 10 day stay
on the International Space Station. Cedar Point Elementary will talk
via a telebridge link with an Australian Amateur Radio Operator, to
Dr. Simonyi at approximately 3:12 EDT on Tuesday, April 17th.
Students will have an opportunity to ask Dr. Simonyi questions about
his spaceflight experience as he orbits the Earth. They will be able
to talk to him for 10 minutes. Science teacher Ms. Victoria Belcher
and school principal, Dr. Mike Drummond have been working with the
students to develop the questions. Ms. Belcher says "We are very
excited here at Cedar Point to have this unique opportunity to speak
with Dr Simonyi. We feel very fortunate that he chose our school, and
we look forward bridging what we have been learning about in the
classroom with such a wonderful real-life experience"

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program
and the Ole Virginia Hams Amateur Radio Club are providing the
technical assistance to allow this opportunity. Ham radio or amateur
radio is a way to talk to people across town, across the country,
across the world and even outer space.   By using radio signals to
communicate, this long-established hobby is also a public service and
was very critical for disasters such as Katrina.

Dr. Simonyi became interested in Cedar Point Elementary because of its
location and its background in running the annual Space Week event.
The audio sessions will be recorded and made available on Dr. Simonyi'
s Web site, www.charlesinspace.com.

"I'm really looking forward to speaking with students while I'm on the
ISS," said Dr. Simonyi.  "The hundreds of questions I've already
received from children around the world on my Web site are very mature
and intelligent.  It's clear that today's young people are eager to
learn about space and space travel, and it is great!"

The International Space Station orbits around the Earth at an altitude
of 360km. The construction of this beneficial space laboratory was a
joint effort, bringing together the resources of NASA, the Russian
Federal Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the
Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency.  Dr. Simonyi will
be the world's fifth tourist to fly into space. He will return to
earth on April 20th in the Russian built Soyuz space craft along with
the Expedition 14 crew.