Students throughout the Upper Cumberland have more time to prepare questions to ask Atlantis space shuttle astronauts through Tennessee Tech University’s “Soaring Eagle Question Contest.”
Just as NASA pushed back its launch date by four days to Nov. 16, TTU is pushing back the contest deadline by four days to Oct. 29, says Sally Pardue, interim director of the Oakley Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The Oakley Center — an initiative to support the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related fields — sponsors the contest.
“We’ve already received 10 questions from college students and another 45 from students in grades K-12. I anticipate quite a few more will come in,” Pardue says.
The launch is especially significant for residents of the Upper Cumberland and for TTU. Alumnus Barry Wilmore (electrical engineering, ‘85, ‘94) will pilot the mission, which is NASA’s fifth shuttle launch of the year. The mission will return space station crewmember Nicole Stott to Earth. Atlantis also will deliver parts to the space station, including a spare gyroscope. The mission features three spacewalks.
Contest winners will ask questions via a live NASA education downlink on TTU’s campus scheduled for Nov. 22.
Wilmore was jubilant about the mission in an interview with NASA officials held Tuesday during a launch dress rehearsal at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“I can’t begin to put into words how it feels,” he said. “How exciting it was to fly by yesterday, look down and see Atlantis on the pad…We’re proud to be the folks to sit on the pointy end of it and get to launch on it.”
The Soaring Eagle Question Contest divides students into four age groups. Five winners will be chosen from each group: kindergarten to fourth grade, fifth grade to eighth grade, ninth to 12th grade and college.
TTU students majoring in any subject are encouraged to submit questions. The 20 winners will sit on stage in TTU’s Nursing and Health Services Building and ask their questions directly to the astronauts via a live video feed. An additional 100 students will be invited to be members of the audience, 25 from each age group; with one adult accompanying each K-12 student.
Entries can be submitted online at www.tntech.edu.
As with any shuttle launch, delays may affect the date of liftoff. In the event the launch date is moved back, the downlink will be delayed as well. Notification will be made about any changes in the schedule.
On the day of the event, the live space station downlink and the student interaction with the astronauts will be broadcast live on WCTE-TV, the local PBS station. Details of the broadcast will be available on wcte.org or tntech.edu.
School News
Related Photos
-
TTU
Soaring Eagle Question Contest deadline extended
- School News
-
-
Battle of the Bands is Saturday
Ladies and gentlemen, start your decibel meters! Stone Memorial’s 4th annual “Battle of the Bands,” sponsored by The Panther Tales Players theatrical troupe, will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4, in the SMHS auditorium. The first elimination round begins at 6 p.m., followed by the second round of eliminations at 7:30. A $5 ticket at the door gets you into both elimination rounds.
-
North Cumberland students Commit to Graduate
-
VEC scholarship deadline
Volunteer Energy Cooperative (VEC) wants to reward students who have used their time and talents to benefit their local communities. VEC’s Lillard-Shadow scholarship program rewards academic and community service achievements by awarding four $2,000 scholarships to students who will graduate from high schools in VEC’s service area in the spring of 2012.
-
High school students invited to enter art competition
Public, private and home-schooled high school aged students are eligible to enter the Reba Bacon Memorial High School Art Competition with an approved entry form. The Cumberland Art Society, 186A S. Walnut Ave., Cookeville has sponsored this annual event for 34 years.
-
Lions honor Iles as January Student of the Month
Cumberland County High School senior Dimi Iles has been honored by the Fairfield Glade Lions Club as January “Student of the Month.” She was selected by guidance counselor Robin Hull to be so honored by the Lions Club.
-
Vol State students conduct service learning project for The Stephens Center
Students in Dave Johnson's communications class at Vol State in Livingston recently conducted a service learning project to benefit The Stephens Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse.
-
Roane State Playmakers to hold auditions for ‘A Year with Frog and Toad’
The Roane State Playmakers will hold auditions for “A Year with Frog and Toad” on Friday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. in the O’Brien theatre on the Roane County campus in Harriman.
-
Brown students get a lesson in fire safety
-
Fairfield UMC scholarship applications available
Fairfield Glade United Methodist Church Scholarship Committee announces that applications for scholarship for the upcoming 2012-2013 school year are now available.
-
Students share their sewing skills
- More School News Headlines
-
Battle of the Bands is Saturday
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
