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Winter students to connect with astronaut aboard International Space Station
Posted: 11/17/2009 2:56:50 PM
This January, students in Winter will be part of an experience that is out of this world – well, out of this planet, at least. Astronaut Jeffrey Williams, a graduate of Winter High School, will talk to students on January 6 via a satellite link from his post aboard the International Space Station.
Williams has been in space since September 30 as part of an expedition to the International Space Station. In November, Williams took command of the ISS crew and during his command he’ll take questions from students while orbiting 220 miles above the Earth. In fact, Williams approached NASA and the district to do the downlink.
“Jeff was the one who got it rolling for us,” said Madeline Smith of the Winter School District, which includes about 360 students. “It’s really exciting.”
To participate in the downlink, Winter School District officials prepared an application to NASA that detailed its educational component – how space was going to be incorporated into lessons. Students will ask questions to Williams in a 20-minute chat on January 6.
Williams, 51, graduated from Winter High School in 1976. He then received a bachelor of science degree in applied science and engineering from the U.S. Military Academy, a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering and an aeronautical engineer degree from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, and a master of arts degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College.
Williams was made a second lieutenant in 1980 and served as an Army aviator in Germany. He also was assigned to the Army at the Johnson Space Center in Texas and as an experimental test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in California. According to NASA, Williams has logged more than 2,500 hours in more than 50 different aircraft.
Williams is currently on his third space flight, previously docking with the ISS in 2000 and 2006. He logged nearly 200 days in space during those two expeditions.
Williams taking command of an ISS expedition is bringing a smile to more than just students’ faces. David Sanders, a WEAC-Retired member, had Williams in his classes in the late 1970s when he was teaching math and computer science in the Winter School District. Sanders, who taught in Winter for 26 years after teaching in Chicago for 10 years, said Williams is frequently in his hometown of Winter, attending school reunions and talking to students.
Sanders said seeing a former student of his from “a little berg up here in the woods” now leading a crew in space is a nice feeling.
“It’s wonderful to see someone you know do something like that,” Sanders said. “He’s quite an individual.”