8-Year-Old Uses Dad’s Ham Radio to Call Astronaut on Space Station [Listen]

An 8-year-old recently had the long-distance conversation of a lifetime as she expertly used her dad's amateur radio to speak to an astronaut aboard the international space station as it quickly orbited above her house.

Little Girl Talks To Astronaut Using Dad's Ham Radio

Isabella Payne, an 8-year-old from Kent, England recently had the conversation of a lifetime when she got to speak with NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren.

She didn't speak to him while he was here on Earth, she spoke to Lindgren as he whizzed by over her house while aboard the International Space Station orbiting the Earth at 17,400 mph.

Young Isabella pulled it off using her father's ham radio.

From ky3.com -

"Her call was answered by NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, commander of NASA SpaceX Crew-4, which launched on April 27 for a planned six-month mission."

As we understand it, astronauts aboard the ISS will routinely try and communicate with amateur radio operators as they orbit the Earth but, it can be a bit tricky to pull off due to timing and speed of travel.

Being that the ISS is orbiting the Earth at 17,400 mph, the time ham radio operators have to get through to the astronauts is fleeting.

However, thanks to Isabell's dad Matthew Payne, they were able to nail it.

In a tweet about the out-of-this-world experience, you can tell how much the experience meant to Matthew Payne for his daughter to successfully get through.

Apparently, the daddy/daughter duo had been trying to make it happen since 2016.

Although it was a brief encounter, it was a special moment for astronaut Kjell Lindgren as well.

Below is audio of the incredible moment.

How fierce is Isabella? She's so knowledgeable about the ham radio procedures it doesn't seem right to label her as an amateur radio operator.

If you're thinking you'd like to try and contact an astronaut on the ISS, you can track the International Space Station at spotthestation.nasa.gov.

According to livescience.com, the frequency the ISS broadcasts is 145.80 MHz.