UPDATE 2: President Obama Talks To ISS and Shuttle Astronauts

UPDATE 2: Highlights of the conversation:

The President said that his commitment to NASA is “unwavering” and that he was excited about spending more research dollars on transformational technologies to allow space travel of longer duration that also ensures astronaut safety. The President seemed to enjoy serving as the moderator for the questions asked by students from several states that spanned the gamut from what kind of research the astronauts are conducting (answer: combustion studies, cellular studies, materials research, and butterflies) to what natural or man-made objects can be seen from space (answer: it’s a great view, especially with the new Cupola; the Grand Canyon and the lights of the world at night are especially wonderful) and whether they could observe weather phenomena like the snowstorm that hit Washington DC last week (answer: yes to weather generally). And, of course, the usual “how did you become an astronaut” and “why do we explore space” types of questions.

UPDATE: NASA just said the President was running 9 minutes late.

ORIGINAL STORY: President Obama, congressional leaders and middle school students will call the ISS and shutle astronauts at 5:15 pm EST today. The event will be carried on NASA TV.