TOOELE, Utah — Excitement filled the air as students from the Tooele County School District had the extraordinary opportunity to connect directly with astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Thanks to the amateur radio on the stations, students from the district gathered at Blue Peak High School and posed questions Monday to astronaut Mike Barratt in live ham radio contact.
Teacher Clint Thomsen spearheaded the initiative, sharing his excitement about the truly unforgettable opportunity for students to engage with those partaking in space exploration.
"There's nothing more manual than an amateur radio contact with the International Space Station, and so it's personal to them," he said. "They have a contact, not through some sort of satellite network, not through some sort of big complex broadcast environment, but talking directly to astronauts."
The contact lasted about 10 minutes, which was the total time the ISS was over the Salt Lake Valley before it went out of contact.
"It's a cool experience that we can reflect on the fact that we were able to talk to astronauts in space," said student Colin Ruebush.
