Go for launch: Duleek student to fulfil astronaut dream

Saving a Space 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 day's work for Duleek student James Murray, who will become an 'astronaut' for a week in September. James, a student at St Joseph's Centre for the Visually Impaired in Dublin, will be travelling to the Space Camp for Visually Impaired Students (SCIVIS) in Huntsville, Alabama, in the autumn, one of eight lucky students who have been sponsored to go on the trip of a lifetime. Brian Allen, CEO of St Joseph's, explained how empowering the experience will be for students with a visual impairment. "The children at St Joseph's have all the same dreams and hopes as other children of their age, such as wanting to be an astronaut. 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. The confidence the children gain from the experience is invaluable," he said. "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 weightlessness of walking on the moon and learn how to put a satellite into orbit. 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 co-ordinated by teachers of the visually impaired and takes place over a week-long camp at the US Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville. A number of fundraising events are currently underway 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 18th April to raise funds for the trip.