Astronaut and UND Alum to Deliver Keynote Speech at Summer Graduation Ceremony

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — This year's summer commencement ceremony at the University of North Dakota will be out of this world.

Astronaut and UND alum Karen Nyberg will deliver the keynote speech from space. She is currently orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station, and NASA will deliver her recorded message.

Nyberg first traveled to the International Space Station aboard a space shuttle in 2008. She made her second journey on a Russian Soyuz capsule that blasted off from Kazakhstan in late May. She's to remain in space until late this year.

About 520 students are eligible to graduate from UND during the Aug. 2 ceremony.