Speed Reads
The future has arrived
Astronaut will deliver college commencement speech from space
NASA/Getty Images
Speakers at college commencement ceremonies usually deliver their speeches on location or are at least present on the same planet. But the University of Connecticut's School of Engineering is embracing the future at its graduation ceremony next Saturday, when astronaut Rick Mastracchio will address the class of 2014 from space.
Mastracchio's speech will be pre-recorded and broadcast to the school. The astronaut is currently orbiting the planet in the International Space Station and will return to Earth on May 13.
"I remain a bit nervous," Kazem Kazerounian, the dean of the engineering school, told The Associated Press. "We have never tried anything like this before, and I know that the world will be watching us."