Nettleton Students Connect with ISS Astronaut via Amateur Radio
Jonesboro, AR – Sixteen students from Nettleton University Heights School of Medical Arts (UHSMA) had an extraordinary opportunity to speak with Joshua Kutryk, a Canadian astronaut on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission, as the International Space Station (ISS) soared above Earth at approximately 17,500 miles per hour.
The event was organized through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, which aims to engage students globally in STEM education by connecting them with astronauts. The livestream contact, lasting about 10 minutes, allowed students to ask questions regarding life on the ISS and experiences like spacewalks.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Haley Bagwell, EAST facilitator at UHSMA. “We weren’t just communicating with Ham radio; we got to see them.”
This initiative was inspired by student Hudson Barker, who aspires to be a NASA engineer. Following a similar ARISS contact at a school in Northwest Arkansas, Barker and his partner Kinsley Martin encouraged Bagwell to apply for a contact at Nettleton, leading to acceptance in December.
During the call, Barker expressed his excitement: “From my perspective, we’re all people. … They’re in space, and I always thought that space was cool, so that was kind of cool to talk to a person in space.”
Martin, also motivated by her longtime interest in space, added, “It was just really cool to hear his voice the first time.” Devion Carter, a sixth grader, noted his nerves before asking a question but felt proud afterward, saying it “felt good” to have spoken with an astronaut.
Bagwell hopes such experiences encourage students to dream big. “This was just an opportunity to let students know, you can do whatever you put your mind to,” she said.
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