Huntington ISD students vow to reach astronauts on space station after failed attempt

HUNTINGTON, TX (KTRE) - Students in Huntington ISD learned a life lesson Monday after a rare opportunity to chat directly with the crew of the International Space Station didn’t go as they planned.

"It was hard to swallow you know. It was hard to admit that hey this didn't work out, everybody was looking forward to it. We had to adapt and overcome," said Ethan Collins, a junior.

After several attempts, the connection with the ISS failed to connect.

"It appeared that we were doing everything correctly. We were transmitting on the right frequency, we could hear him but he could not hear us on the space station. We're not 100 percent sure what the problem is but we're investigating it," said Kris Kirkland, a teacher.

Students worked hard to obtain their amateur or “Ham” radio licenses from the Federal Communications Commission which was a requirement to participate in trying to speak with the NASA astronauts.

“Everyday during practice, practice for the Ham radio," said junior Sam Thorton. “Of course we’ve been able to make contact with the people that we’re trying to so it was a bit surprising that it didn’t work but like I said we’ll be trying again.”

Although this didn't work out as they hoped, students will try again later this week.

"Overcome it and just move forward from it and then hopefully I think Thursday we're going to try again," Andrew Quick, another junior.

The ISS has had a Ham radio system on board for almost 20 years now, making this kind of communication possible.

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