Jim Conrad

Wise County, Va. -- Did you know that there's something flying around the earth aboard the International Space Station that has a direct connection to Southwest Virginia?

It is a piece of equipment but the connection is very much human.

It's a former Powell Valley High School graduate who has that personal connection with the space station.

When one of the last space shuttles launched there were astronauts on board plus something new, a robonaut, specifically robonaut two.

One of the software designers of robonaut two spoke at Mountain Empire Community College about his role with the program.

He is Adam Sanders, a 2002 graduate of Powell Valley High School. He's back home to help promote technology and a special live conversation for students with the crew aboard the International Space Station.

"It's an incredible rare chance for students to be able to be a part of living history. The men and women on that station are true heroes and the work that they are doing is so important for the advancement of science and technology, I'm just very excited that students from this area are going to get a chance to be a part of that," Sanders said.

The word for the day was opportunity. An opportunity for students to become involved directly with NASA with their Develop program. One of the first programs began ten years ago in Wise County.

"It's just been a great co-operation and partnership that we've had to be able to ultimately expand it across the country. In my mind I don't think we could have done that without the help of the county here in Wise," Amanda Cutwright a NASA mechanical engineer said.

As many as 3,000 students will be a part of the rare chance to chat with the space station and spark more interest in science and technology.

"To be able to have that for students around here especially in middle school and high school and elementary school. It's a wonderful opportunity to get them into the field of what's going to happen within their generation," Kaitlyn Collins with the local NASA Develop program says.

There's no limit to what new opportunities for that generation lie ahead.