NASA Acting Administrator, U.S. Chamber of Commerce to Speak to Astronauts Aboard International Space Station

News provided by

Mar 01, 2017, 13:56 ET

WASHINGTON, March 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- During an annual U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference in Washington, NASA acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot will moderate a discussion with NASA astronauts currently living and working aboard the International Space Station at 11:05 a.m. EST Thursday, March 2. The 20-minute, Earth-to-Space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson will answer questions from participants in the Chamber of Commerce's 16th Annual Aviation Summit. Canadian Minister of Transport Marc Garneau and Chamber representative Carol Hallett will join Lightfoot for the question-and-answer session. More than 600 industry leaders are expected to be in attendance.

Media interested in covering the event should contact Stacy Day at 202-463-5682 or via email at [email protected]. The conference will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel at 2500 Calvert St. Northwest in Washington.

Kimbrough launched to the station Oct. 19, 2016, and is scheduled to return to Earth April 10. Whitson launched Nov. 17, 2016.

For more than 16 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth that will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space. A global endeavor, more than 200 people from 18 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 1,900 research investigations from researchers in more than 95 countries.

Keep up with the International Space Station, and its research and crews, at:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

Get NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information at:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

SOURCE NASA