Harrison students get a glimpse of space on Earth Day

Maggy Wolanske
·2 min read
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(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Harrison School District 2 students had an unforgettable Earth Day experience as they connected with the International Space Station (ISS) and spoke directly to one NASA astronaut.

Students at Stratton Meads Elementary School and Thrive Home School Academy came together to join in on this special call. A select group of students ranging from third to 11th grade had the honor of asking questions of NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps.

“I asked them if the International Space Station travels at 17,000 miles per hour, why do you float?” said Yali Huffman, a freshman at Thrive Home School Academy.

The student pictured above is just one among many who had the biggest smile throughout the morning's activity.
The student pictured above is just one among many who had the biggest smile throughout the morning’s activity.

The Pikes Peak Radio Amateur Association played a special role in helping make the morning possible, as they were able to borrow equipment and then use their expertise to make the connection possible.

“If you heard on the start of the contact, there was a lot of static,” said David Molter, a Board Member of the Pikes Peak Radio Amateur Association. “That’s because we’re going through a lot of the atmosphere and there’s a lot of noise, man-made noise around here…. then as the ISS got more vertical, it became actually shorter in distance.”

A dedicated team from the Pikes Peak Radio Amateur Association played a crucial role in facilitating the radio connection, allowing students and faculty to listen in and participate.
A dedicated team from the Pikes Peak Radio Amateur Association played a crucial role in facilitating the radio connection, allowing students and faculty to listen in and participate.

Once the radio connection was made, students eagerly listened as questions were answered by the astronaut.

“It was an honor to be chosen out of all the students, to be one of the people who got to communicate with the astronauts,” said Huffman.

One student could easily be spotted in the audience, Fiona Hull could be seen wearing a jumpsuit from the space camp she attended in Huntsville, Alabama.

Fiona Hull was acknowledged during the special ceremony, wearing her space jumpsuit, further showing her aspiration to one day be up space.
Fiona Hull was acknowledged during the special ceremony, wearing her space jumpsuit, about her dreams to one day be up in space.

“Just talking to the astronaut on the ISS,” said Hull. “I’ve talked to astronauts before, but talking to one directly on the space station is just like nerve wracking. It’s just like amazing to do something like that.”

The morning was even more meaningful for Hull, as she envisions her future career up in space.

“I want to be an astronaut, a flight director, mission control, and an aerospace engineer,” said Hull.

Hull is not the only one who is shooting for the stars with a career in aerospace, as three students are taking classes to one day get their radio licenses. A hope from the day’s activity is to inspire others to follow in their footsteps, potentially leading to future astronauts who call southern Colorado home.

“I would like for each kid to be able to come by and take a look at the equipment, what we do,” Molter said. “If we had a couple of classes that we’ve gone to where we actually have them, teach them basics of ham radio and then have them use ham radio and talk to each other around the corner or something like that. That’s the whole idea of all this is getting the next generation going into STEM.”

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