Korean Astronaut and Private Space Explorer to prepare for in-orbit student blogs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Join Richard Garriott, the next civilian to fly into space, and Korean astronaut Soyeon Yi station for a live interactive webcast from Star City Moscow and the South Korea Challenger Learning Center on August 20th at 10:00am ET. Richard and Soyeon will answer questions as she helps him train and plan for a series of on-orbit video blogs for students Richard will record during his October flight to the International Space Station. To join the event live, simply go to www.challenger.org and click on Garriott Webcast.

Richard Garriott, private space explorer and son of NASA astronaut Dr. Owen Garriott, intends to record a series of video blogs for students while he is in orbit around the Earth explaining how things work in the weightless environment of space. Richard plans to explore a variety of physics principles through demonstrations of physical movement of astronauts and objects, fluid behavior of water, ice and other substances and a variety of other science concepts that have space applications.

The Korean astronaut Soyeon Yi, a nanotechnology engineer from Seoul, completed a series of experiments and educational events for her country while she was onboard the ISS this past April flying under a commercial agreement between Russia and South Korea. In this webcasts she will assist Richard by discussing her experiences and the demonstrations she performed in space. The events will be broadcast via a live internet Russian Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City where Richard is undergoing spaceflight training, and at the newest Challenger Learning Center at the Songam Observatory in Stars Valley, Seoul, South Korea.

To submit a question for Richard or Soyeon before the live event, or to learn more about the Garriott educational space science program, please visit our website at http://www.challenger.org/

Challenger Center webcasting is supported in part by KZO Networks.

The Challenger Center for Space Science Education was founded in 1986 by the families of the astronauts of the space shuttle Challenger 51-L mission. Challenger Center programs raise student's expectations of success by fostering a long-term interest in science, mathematics, technology and engineering, motivating them to pursue a career in these fields. The network of 50 Challenger Learning Centers across the U.S. train more than 25,000 teachers annually to incorporate project-based learning and use the theme of space exploration to engage students in critical thinking, decision-making, communication and teamwork.

For program information, please contact:

Shannon Rush, Development and Communications Associate
Challenger Center for Space Science Education, Alexandria, VA
703-683-9740; srush@challenger.org