Almost all the NASA and Mir astronauts are licensed ham radio operators, as is John Glenn. During disasters and emergencies, when phone lines are out, amateur radio volunteers provide communications for local police and fire departments whose communication systems may be knocked out. Happens all the time. As a 5-6th grade teachers I was able to have classrooms listening to the Shuttle broadcasts, all around my school, long before there were any Net connections in the building. Even now, that school has only one computer lab, and no classroom Internet connections.
Radios can bridge the gap.
Shortwave radios are wonderful, inexpensive tools for students to gather information, even when the Internet is available, but even more so when it is not. If you add Amateur Radio, the communication goes both ways. We did just that at the MOST Science Museum here in Syracuse a few years ago, and the museum staff was so impressed they have since added a working ham radio station exhibit. My local ham club helped install it and provides volunteers to run it. You can visit ham radio stations at most major science museums, like The Smithsonian, the Toronto Science Centre, the Franklin Institute, and many others.