The student at the mic asked the first question of the "Talk with the Astronauts, "Now that you're so far away from earth, what is it that you appreciate most about earth?" Answer, "My family." . Roberta Keis (right), President of the Peconic Amateur Radio Club, and RHS Science teacher Bob Jester applaud the long-awaited event.

"NA1SS. Here is N2RVU calling NA1SS from the Aquebogue Elementary School in Rivehead, New York," repeated Warren Melhado from the Peconic Amateur Radio Club until FINALLY CONTACT WAS MADE. (To Listen to the Audiotape of the SPACE TALK, CLICK HERE. It requires Windows Media Player version 9 or better.)

(RIVERHEAD, New York - January 24, 2006) Ten students of the Riverhead School District had the opportunity to speak "live" via ham radio to the astronauts aboard the International Space Station with cosmonaut Valery I. Tokarev, Expedition 12 flight engineer and Soyuz commander, and astronaut William S. McArthur Jr., Expedition 12 commander and NASA space station science officer on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at 1:48 P.M. at the Aquebogue Elementary School.

The students came from different schools in the district. They gathered on the stage of the Aquebogue School in front of a painting of the galaxy, under a floating replica of the ISS and adjascent to a large poster of the astronauts with whom they spoke. Given the nature of space flight (the space station circumnavigates the earth at 17,000 miles per hour and is about 200 miles above the earth), the contact was only about 10 minutes in length. It was broadcast via the internet to all of the schools in the district.

Members of the Peconic Amateur Radio Club provided the equipment, expertise and guidance for this successful and exciting event. Connie Gevinski, the District's School to Career Director, and her sister, Roberta Keis, President of the Peconic Amateur Radio Club, were the coordinators of the event, but it was born in the heart of RHS Science teacher Bob Jester, who had applied to be the first teacher in space many yars before, and the memory will be carried on into the future in the hearts and minds of these young people who got a once in a lifetime opportunity to speak directly with a couple of astronauts on board a spaceship orbiting the earth.

After waiting 3 years, Charlie, now a fourth grader at the Riley Avenue School and the youngest member of the student team, finally got to ask the astronauts his question, "Do you ever feel scared?". Astronaut Bill McArthur answered, "Not at the time something happens. At that time I just feel more excited than scared." McArthur then went on to tell Charlie about a moment recently when they thought the space station had a gas leak.

In the last 5 years, space station astronauts have only spoken to 218 groups of students worldwide. Past contacts on Long Island included students in Quogue (2002) and Westhampton Beach (2004). Riverhead School District made application to ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) and NASA over three years ago. They have been eagerly preparing for this exciting event by preparing art projects, traveling to the Air and Space Museum where they watched an IMAX movie on the space station, reading, researching, and editing their questions. It was a long, and educationally fruitful journey.

"OVER."