NASA astronaut visits Queens school

Dr. Michael Massimino, a NASA astronaut, encouraged students at PS/IS 499 Queens College School for Math, Science & Technology, to follow their dreams.
The astronaut from Long Island told the children on Monday, January 22, how he had applied to NASA every two years from the time he was 27 years old, and although he got an interview the third time he applied, he wasn’t accepted into the astronaut program until his fourth try.
His first trip to space was in 2002 when he was part of the Columbia mission that successfully upgraded the Hubble Telescope. During that journey his crew set a record for spacewalk time with 35 hours and 55 minutes during 5 spacewalks while orbiting the earth 165 times.
Massimino said that while astronauts make up a very small and select group, NASA represents the highest ideals of exploration, and that it goes to the limit of knowledge. He said that he was living proof that hard work, determination and a refusal to give in can make a seemingly impossible dream come true.
PS/IS 499, located at 148-20 Reeves Ave in Flushing, is a borough-wide school that selects children by ballot. The eight-year-old school has a broad curriculum and works closely with professors at Queens College to deliver an outstanding educational platform, placing special emphasis on math and science.
The children weren’t the only ones excited to meet an astronaut. Before the hour-long verbal and video presentation, an enthusiastic Congressmember Anthony Weiner peppered Massimino with questions about how fast the space shuttle goes (17,000 miles per hour) and later he asked if sound can travel through space (no). Massimino didn’t disappoint, providing everyone present with a wealth of inspiration and space facts telling the audience that it takes eight and a half minutes to go from the ground to space, and that the temperature in space ranges from minus 200 degrees to positive 200 degrees.