Cadet Chantelle Sainsbury said it was an amazing experience to get to talk to someone in outer space. (CBC)

A group of very eager Air Cadets in Mount Pearl had the opportunity to talk with Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield on Saturday.

The cadets gathered at the Admiralty House Museum and Archives to communicate with Hadfield over a ham radio while the astronaut was aboard the International Space Station.

Cadet Chantelle Sainsbury said it was amazing to talk to someone in outer space.

"It's groundbreaking for us, being the first cadets to ever do this," she said. "It was an awesome experience."

Hadfield said his time in the cadet program helped him become a successful pilot in the Canadian Forces.

"I joined air cadets because I was thinking of being an astronaut — because I wanted to fly airplanes and be in the air force," he said. "They're all connected for me."

Everett Price, the manager of the ham radio station at the museum, said it took a lot of work to make this a success, but it was well worth it to get the cadets in contact with Hadfield.

He also said that he received a special request from NASA for hosting the chat.

"We've also been asked by NASA, because of this, if we would consider being the only Canadian ground station for the ISS," Price said.

Hadfield, who is on a five-month mission aboard the ISS, has attracted international attention in recent weeks with his tweets and photographs.