James ready for take-off to US camp
ASTRONAUT TRAINING IN STATES
Duleek student James Murray (left) with fellow students Kieran Shannagher and Elena Libman and Ronan Hughes, and Tamara Allen bothSt Josephs
Wednesday March 10 2010
DULEEK student James Murray will embark on the adventure of a lifetime next September as he travels to Alabama to become an astronaut for a week.
Saving a shuttle mission from disaster, scuba diving while changing a battery in a weightless environment and taking a trip to Mars will be all in a days work for James, who attends St Joseph's Centre for the Visually Impaired.
He will spend a week at the Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students (SCIVIS) in Huntsville, Alabama next September.
The Duleek resident is one of eight lucky students who have been sponsored to go on the trip of a lifetime.
Brian Allen, CEO of St Joseph's Centre for the Visually Impaired said the experience is very empowering for students with a visual impairment.
'Dreams of being an astronaut may seem out of reach to a child who is blind or visually impaired, but the SCIVIS programme in Alabama offers children that opportunity to live their dreams,' he explained.
' The confidence the children gain from the experience is invaluable. We have sent children to the camp for the last 10 years and each year they come back with an increased sense of their own potential.
James will get to simulate a shuttle mission, experience the lightness of walking on the moon and learn how to raise a satellite.
He will also hear from a guest speaker who works in space exploration. The programme is specially devised for the visually-impaired, using the cutting edge technology including tactile Braille displays and synthetic speech for computers. Each student is screened based on their eye medical condition.
The programme is coordinated by teachers of the visually impaired and takes place over a week-long camp at the US Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville, Alabama.
A number of fundraising events are currently under way around the country to launch the students on their way, and staff at St Joseph's are also looking for volunteers to join them in the Great Irish Run in the Phoenix Park on the 18th of April to raise funds for the trip.
- Fiona MAGENNIS
