An International Space Station Expedition 15 ARISS school contact has been planned with students at Escola Secundaria de Estarreja, Estarreja, Portugal on 09 May. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:06 UTC.

The contact will be a direct between stations NA1SS and CT6ESE. The contact should be audible in western portions of Europe. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

The Estarreja Secondary School is one of the largest in Central Portugal with 1200 students and 57 classes that range from the scientific areas of IT, Mechanics, Electronics and Robotics Engineering, to Chemistry and Biology. The school also has a tradition in the teaching of foreign languages with departments of English, German, French and Spanish. There are classes from the 7th to the 12th grade (pre-university) and the school issues European Union Level 4 professional qualifications in the Engineering classes. The school also hosts an Aveiro University branch with a class of 20 students from Electronics and Automation Engineering.

An International Space Station Expedition 15 ARISS school contact has been planned with students at Sunset Mesa Schools, Albuquerque, New Mexico USA on 09 May. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 14:44 UTC.

The contact will be a direct between stations NA1SS and W5SCA. The contact should be audible in central portions of North America. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English.

Sunset Mesa Schools is an independent, non-sectarian school in Albuquerque's Northeast Heights. The preschool program enrolls children as young as 3, and the school graduates 5th graders who are prepared for any middle school environment or challenge. Sunset Mesa, for 50 years, has helped students excel in core academic subjects and develop commendable character in their personal growth. Students are taught traditional values and encouraged to practice them, both in their pursuit of academic growth and in their development as productive, honest, congenial citizens of the community.

Marking the second week working together, the Expedition 15 crew wrapped up a week of various maintenance tasks, science experiments and preparations for the May 15 arrival of the Progress 25 supply ship.

To prepare for the new unpiloted cargo carrier's arrival, the currently docked Progress' engines were used to reboost the station Saturday. The move increases the number of rendezvous opportunities for the STS-117 space shuttle mission targeted for next month. Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineers Oleg Kotov and Suni Williams also removed the docking mechanism from the Progress 24 for later use.

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