Published: January 19, 2014 | Last Modified: January 19, 2014 01:00AM

WALLINGFORD — Students from the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Academy realize the difficulty in establishing communication with a space station traveling 17,500 mph about 300 miles above the earth’s surface.

But perseverance was the theme Saturday morning as students from the academy successfully communicated with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station.

“It was a big relief,” said Christopher Stone, who leads the academy, an extracurricular offering that is based out of the Spanish Community of Wallingford. “This is definitely a measure of success.”

“Experiments don’t always go as planned,” said Stone, a fifth-grade teacher at Pond Hill School. “Students must learn how to revise ideas and plan carefully. This is a real life lesson in perseverance.”

The atmosphere was tense Saturday morning at the SCOW building on Washington Street. About 80 people gathered at 9:30 a.m. with the hopes of hearing from an astronaut in action. Paul Ciezniak, an amateur radio operator, stood at the front of the room and explained how the connection would occur. The event was made possible through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program, in which students can communicate with astronauts using amateur radio.

Students of the academy spent weeks learning about the space station and formulating questions, Stone said. In October, Ciezniak attempted to make a direct connection using an antenna placed atop the Parks and Recreation building on Fairfield Boulevard. There was a technical issue, but a new plan on Saturday proved successful.

Just before 10 a.m., Ciezniak dialed into a conference call with radio operators at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. The space flight center has a strong tracking antenna that can lock onto the space station’s location, Ciezniak said. The window of communication with the space station is limited to about 15 minutes as it passes over the eastern seaboard of the United States.

Questions from students were relayed from Wallingford through Maryland and up to the space station, Ciezniak said.

Also on the conference call was an amateur radio operator from Kingston, Australia, who often works with the program.

At about 10:15 a.m., the room went silent as everyone awaited word from the space station. Suddenly, the voice of Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata was barely audible as the space station came over the horizon. Ten students waited in line to quickly ask questions while they had the opportunity. The first student asked Wakata how the station stays supplied. Wakata’s answer was muffled but clear enough to hear that shuttles drop off supplies as they bring astronauts to and from the space station.

Another student asked how astronauts aboard the station prepare food.

“All the food is prepared in packs on the ground,” Wakata said, adding that astronauts use hot water or heat to ready the meals in space.

Asked if astronauts aboard the space station celebrate holidays, Wakata responded, “We do celebrate holidays like Christmas and New Year’s Day.”

With a crew of six individuals from across the world, he said, “it’s quite the experience when we celebrate different holidays.”

As the minutes passed, the signal from the space station slowly faded. Just before he was completely out of reach, Wakata was asked what was the hardest part of spending time in space.

“It’s a wonderful place for work and living, but being away from my family is the hardest part,” he said.

In total, students spoke with Wakata for about 12 minutes. As a final goodbye, the entire crowd in Wallingford yelled “arigato,” which means “thank you” in Japanese.

Sheila Cohen, president of the Connecticut Education Association, said she hopes students will remember the experience of speaking with an astronaut in space for the rest of their lives.

“This is what true education is all about,” she said.

Nothing comes easy, School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo told students.

But when countless hours of preparation turn into success, “a moment like that is worth every minute of hard work,” he said.

aragali@record-journal.com (203) 317-2224 Twitter: @Andyragz