Nov.

9, 2006

Sonja Alexander
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1761

Debbie Nguyen
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111

Jane Glickman/Stephanie Babyak

U.S. Department of Education, Washington
202-401-1576
MEDIA ADVISORY: M06-175

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO CHAT WITH SPACE STATION CREW

To highlight International Educational Week, NASA and the U.S.

Department of Education will host a live, ultra-long distance call
with the crew of the International Space Station at 9:21 a.m. EST
Tuesday, Nov. 14 at the U.S. Department of Education, Washington.

NASA Assistant Administrator for Education Joyce Winterton, U.S.

Deputy Secretary of Education Ray Simon, and Educator Astronauts
Barbara Morgan and Ricky Arnold, will give remarks at 9 a.m. Morgan
is the first educator astronaut and will travel to space next year on
shuttle mission STS-118. Her mission will continue assembly of the
station and include educational aspects to spark the imagination,
dreams and curiosity of the next generation of explorers.

Media that attend the event must be in place by 9 a.m. Morgan, Arnold
and Simon will be available for media interviews immediately
following the call.

Students from McKinley Technology High School, Washington; Walt

Whitman High School, Bethesda, Md.; and Washington-Lee High School,
Arlington, Va., will have the opportunity to ask questions of the
Expedition 14 crew as it orbits 220 miles above the Earth.

Between the three crewmembers, NASA astronaut and Commander Michael

Lopez-Alegria, Russian cosmonaut Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin and
European Space Agency astronaut and Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter,
five languages can be spoken aboard the world's only orbiting
laboratory: English, French, German, Russian, and Spanish.

This year's International Education Week theme is "International

Education: Engaging in Global Partnerships and Opportunities."
International Education Week runs from Nov. 13-17.

This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S.
Department of Education is part of an effort to promote programs that
prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders
from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United
States.

The station crew's call will be broadcast live on NASA TV. For NASA TV
downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about NASA's education programs, the STS-118

mission and Expedition 14 on the Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home

For more information about International Education week on the

Internet, visit:

http://iew.state.gov/

-end-