Feb 12 2016
From The Space Library
Release M16-011 Austin, Texas, Students to Speak to Space Station Astronaut
Students from the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools in Austin, Texas, will have the opportunity to speak with a NASA astronaut currently living and working on the International Space Station at 11:55 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 16. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
During the event, hosted by the Bullock Texas State History Museum, Austin native and Expedition 46 Flight Engineer Tim Kopra, who launched to the station on Dec. 15 will answer questions from second, fifth and sixth grade students from KIPP Austin Obras Elementary and KIPP Austin Vista Middle School.
Media interested in covering the event should contact Elizabeth Page at elizabeth.page@thestoryoftexas.com. The Bullock Texas State History Museum is located at 1800 Congress Avenue.
This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of the NASA Office of Education’s efforts to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning in the United States. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station through the agency Office of Education’s STEM on Station activity provides authentic, live experiences in space exploration, space study and the scientific components of space travel, while introducing the possibilities of life in space.
Media are Invited to Talk to Technology Experts, Tour Made In Space, Inc.
Reporters are invited to a media day on Friday, Feb. 19, at 10 a.m. PST at Made In Space, Inc. (MIS), located at NASA’s Research Park, at Moffett Field, California, to learn about the startup company’s recent proposal award as part of NASA’s "Utilizing Public-Private Partnerships to Advance Tipping Point Technologies” solicitation, issued through NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).
Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for STMD, will share the importance of the solicitation and give remarks, followed by a tour of the MIS facilities. The two-hour event will include informal briefings with MIS leadership as they discuss their winning proposal.
The American-based company was the first to use a 3-D printer on the International Space Station. Its project, “Versatile In-Space Robotic Precision Manufacturing and Assembly System,” was one of nine selected by STMD to mature technologies beyond their “tipping point.”
The goal of their selection is to develop mature technologies and qualify them for market, stimulating the commercial space industry while delivering technologies and capabilities needed for future NASA missions and commercial applications.
MIS leveraged NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, in which they received a Phase I and subsequent Phase II award. Their 3-D printer's success was a result of the SBIR program.
