ARRL and AMSAT — the US managing partners of the Amateur Radio of the International Space Station (ARISS) program — have announced that 11 schools or organizations submitting proposals have been selected to advance to the next stage of planning to host scheduled Amateur Radio contacts with ISS crew members next year. ARISS’s primary goal is to engage young people in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities and raise awareness of space exploration, radio communications, and related areas of study and career possibilities.

ARISS anticipates that NASA will be able to provide scheduling opportunities for these US host organizations during the second half of 2017. The 11 candidate schools/organizations must now complete an acceptable equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio contact. Once their equipment plan is approved by the ARISS technical team, the final selected schools/organizations will be scheduled as their availability and flexibility match up with NASA scheduling opportunities.

The schools and organizations are: 

• 2017 Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree, Glen Jean, West Virginia
• Antietam Elementary School, Woodbridge, Virginia
• Bishop Hendricken High School, Warwick, Rhode Island
• Chiddix Junior High School, Normal, Illinois
• Fleet Science Center, BE WiSE Program, San Diego, California
• Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas, Texas
• Heart of America Council, Boy Scouts of America, Kansas City, Missouri
• Los Angeles Academy Middle School, Los Angeles, California
• Meadows Elementary School, Manhattan Beach, California
• South Florida Science Center and Aquarium, West Palm Beach, Florida
• West Virginia University, Lane Department of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering, Morgantown, West Virginia.