According to ARRL ARISS Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, a record number of Amateur Radio on the International Space Station school contacts have been made during 2007 -- 74, to be exact. This is nearly twice the highest number of school contacts the astronauts and the ARISS Team handled in previous years. "Though the ARISS Team's expectations are a little lower for being able to achieve this level of contact activity in 2008, this is a good time to file an application and begin making preparations for your school to have an ARISS contact," White said.

The 2007 Amateur Radio activity was led by the energetic participation of astronauts Sunita Williams, KD5PLB, and Clay Anderson, KD5PLA. They have significantly reduced the backlog of schools waiting for a contact. The ARISS Team plans to award a Certificate of Appreciation to Anderson. The astronaut set a new record for ARISS school contacts. White said, "A successful ARISS contact with a school in Quebec was the 39th contact made by Expedition 15 crew members, surpassing the record set by the Expedition 12 crew for the most contacts made during an International Space Station expedition."