From almost 250 miles in space, the voice of Italian astronaut Samantha Christoforetti resonated Thursday afternoon through the auditorium of Council Rock High School South in Northampton.

And while her words were hard to hear and often obscured by static, the marvel of being able to communicate with someone traveling 17,100 mph aboard the International Space Station via a Ham radio setup wasnt lost on the students and staff who had gathered for the event.

It was a little fuzzy trying to figure out what she was saying, but just the general idea of being able to talk to someone in space was insane, said Council Rock South senior Jaclyn Timoney, one of seven students who asked questions of Christoforetti.

Jaclyn asked the astronaut how space travel affects economics on Earth. The fact she couldnt clearly hear the answer didnt ruin the experience for the student.

Just the fact of knowing there was an astronaut on the other end was impressive, she said. I still cant believe we were able to do this.

Ten students were scheduled to ask two questions apiece, but only seven questions were asked because the school could maintain contact with the space station for only nine or 10 minutes while it passed over Georgia on its way over Nova Scotia crossing over Pennsylvania on the way said Council Rock science teacher Jerry Fetter.

Some of Christoforettis answers came through more clearly than others.

When a student asked how the space station avoids small meteors and other objects, she said some of it is accomplished through the technical capabilities of the station and the rest through proper navigation and good communication with the ground crew.

I thought the whole thing was really interesting, senior Amanda Ritter said even though she didnt get to ask her question about what type of human impact on Earth is visible from space.

The thought of talking to someone up in space was really cool, Amanda added.

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Council Rock students talk to astronaut aboard International Space Station