Beam me up Scottie! Staff and students at a Canvey school were today looking forward to a close encounter of a very unusual kind, after catching the eye of Nasa, the American space agency.
Looking up - students Bernadette Sheldon, Matt Ilett, Courtney Sydney-Smith and Jay Hansell set up a telescope Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY
Youngsters at Furtherwick Park school, in Furtherwick Road, are set to become part of the elite few who get the chance to talk to astronauts circling the planet.
Only two other schools in the UK have had similar bids accepted by Nasa.
Head of Science John Houghton was thrilled at the coup. He said: "We have just won a place to take part in a communications project with the international space station.
"This means that some time during the next 12 to 18 months Nasa will contact us and we will participate in a radio and TV link-up with the space station orbiting the Earth.
"Students will be able to talk with astronauts as they orbit Earth and ask them questions about life in space and the work they do for the space station.
"We're really proud that Nasa has deemed Furtherwick a school suitable for such an exciting and unusual project."
Applying to Nasa took months of organisation. The school had to show it had a satellite link and a good line of radio signal.
They also had to provide Nasa with an education plan, which shows in detail how all areas of the curriculum - not just science classes - would benefit from the link.
Published Tuesday June 29, 2004
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