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(This article has been updated to correct a misspelling of the school name.)

On Wednesday morning, students at Coastal Community School in Satellite Beach sat eagerly, watching two large screens showing the International Space Station as a pinpoint as it flew around the globe.

Traveling at more than 17,500 miles per hour, the space station was now almost right above Florida as Jeff Harrison stated his ham radio callsign into a microphone.

"This is Kilo Delta 4 Golf Papa India. Over," Harrison said as his son Jack Harrison, an eighth grader at the school, stood by him.

A voice crackled over the radio repeating a call sign. It was the voice of astronaut Sunita Williams, who is currently on the International Space Station. It just happens that Williams has a local connection, having earned a masters degree in Engineering Management from Florida Tech.

This rare opportunity to talk live to an astronaut on the space station was part of ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station), and it was Harrison, a member of the local Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society, who pitched the idea to the school a year ago. Coastal Community School Principal Jennifer Elling and her team put together a proposal to ARISS to do a contact event at the school. Out of schools worldwide requesting these opportunities, Coastal Community School found out it was selected in December 2023.

That launched a nearly yearlong process leading to Wednesday.

The school’s Enrichment Coordinator Brooke Gowan tailored lessons for students in every grade to prepare them for this once-in-a-lifetime STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math) learning opportunity. They called the program "Catching waves to space".

Wednesday, members of ARISS and the Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society, with assistance from ARISS mentor Charlie Sufana, had radio equipment ready to contact the space station as it flew overhead. The past weekend, a special antenna was installed on the roof of the school. This large antenna took six people approximately seven hours to install.

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Williams cheerful voice came over the radio as Jack asked his question: Does Williams think humanity will return to the moon or Mars first? To this, Williams explained that humanity will return to the moon first to prepare for missions to Mars.

A select group of 12 other students each got a chance to ask Williams questions as the entire school community observed in awe. The students were selected based on interest and an application process. Teachers worked with the students to come up with the questions.

Violet Vienias, a fourth grader at the school, was one of those who got to ask Williams a question. "How is the ISS different from the movies,” Vienias spoke into the microphone. Williams explained how while in the movies it looks modern, the ISS is more aged and "lived in.” The ISS started construction in 1998, and was completed in 2011.

Williams had flown to space on the Starliner crewed flight test in June. She will be staying onboard the space station until February, when she and astronaut Butch Wilmore will return on the Crew-9 SpaceX Dragon. Starliner returned without the two astronauts back in September after NASA could not ensure the safety of the spacecraft after a thruster performance issue.

"When she left, she thought she was going on an eight day journey," said Elling as the students waited that morning. "What would you miss if you got stuck somewhere for 147 days?"

Coastal Community School uses ham radio to contact astronaut Suni Williams

The school's principal had to explain to students exactly what amateur radio entails. Ham radio is not a term used often these days. Elling joked that the first thing that came to the minds of the youngest students when mentioning ham radio was Easter dinner.

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Ham, or amateur radio, requires special radios and a powerful antenna. In order to operate the equipment, amateur radio operators have to obtain a license.

"It's a privilege. Not many people have this opportunity," Elling reminded the students.

This is the second ARISS space station contact on the Space Coast. In March 2023, students at Stone Middle School talked to astronaut Stephen Bowen on the ISS.

Jack Harrison told FLORIDA TODAY that he is currently studying for his license. "One day my dad said, 'Jack, come into my office!'," Jack said. His father showed him all the equipment and they talked to people from all over the world.

As for space, his interest lies with missions such as NASA's recent Europa Clipper mission. It is actually radio signals that are used to send commands to spacecrafts.

As for Principal Elling, she said the students will continue to learn about space for the rest of the year. An upcoming star party is planned, along with a visit from NASA astronaut Winston Scott.

Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.