A Dublin school has become the first in Ireland to make direct radio contact with the International Space Station.

Pupils from Tallaght Community School made contact with the station as it passed over Ireland this afternoon.

The school had to set up a temporary radio station on the ground, complete with an antenna and a two-way radio system, in order to communicate with the station in real time.

With the station travelling at approximately 27,600kph the students had a window of between six and 12 minutes to pick the brains of the astronauts onboard.

Italian Astronaut, Paulo Nespoli was ready and willing to give them the lowdown:

View of the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility connected to the International Space Station, 06-10-2017. Image: Nasa/Zuma Press/PA Images

 

The students had to go up against thousands of schools across the globe to win the right to communicate with the station.

The competition is run by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) programme which aims to educate students across the world on the work of the International Space Programme.

Only a select few are chosen each year, with countries that are actively involved in ISS operations are generally chosen - making the Tallaght students achievement all the more memorable.