On Thursday 26th Oct 2017 Mrs Hedderman and some students from 5th class were delighted to be invited to a live link up with the International Space Station.
We could hear the voice of International Space Station astronaut Joe Acaba echoing across the universe. “Hey, this is the International Space Station, I have you clear, a little bit faint, but welcome aboard the International Space Station,” said the US astronaut as he spun some 400km above Glanmire and the Earth at a speed of 28,000km/h.
The school is only the third Irish educational institution to speak directly to the ISS as it orbits around the earth and Thursday’s contact, which also involved a Romanian school, Coleguil National Calistrat Hogas in Pietre Neamt, marked the culmination of more than two years of work.
700 students watched in the school gym and there was absolute silence when contact was made as the ISS sped overhead.
Five Glanmire students got to ask questions.
One asked what it was like to sleep while floating in space, prompting an interesting reply from Mr Acaba.
“It’s actually very nice to sleep in space – we have a sleeping bag that you can attach to the wall or you can just sleep in your own little crew quarters – it’s super-comfortable sleeping in space,” he said.
We also learned that an astronaut has to be very small and light as the bigger and heavier you are the more expensive it will be to launch the rocket into space!
It was a fantastic experience and we thoroughly enjoyed being part of history being made in GCC.
Hopefully it will inspire some of our students to take up careers in science and engineering.
Brooklodge N.S. 