ARISS, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, has been honored with the prestigious Challenger-7 Recognition, a national honor celebrating organizations whose work reflects the spirit, vision, and values of the seven crew members of the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-51-L.
“This recognition is a tribute, not a competition,” says the Challenger Center. “It honors those who embody the Challenger crew’s values of exploration, learning, and inspiration, while also celebrating trailblazing organizations and programs that will carry this mission forward into the future.”
Nominations from nonprofit STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs that have a national-level impact on STEM learning and other STEM advocates were submitted by members of the broader Challenger Center community, with honorees selected by an appointed committee. The recognitions are part of the Challenger Center’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
“The ARISS team is humbled to receive the Challenger-7 recognition,” said ARISS-USA Executive Director and ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO. “We thank the Challenger Center community for this honor as well as treasure our long-standing partnership with them. The outcomes of our ARISS on-board astronaut experiences emulate the exploration and education spirit of the Challenger crew—to engage and educate our next generation of explorers in STEM while giving them the tools and inspiration to prepare them for future STEM careers.”
Other awardees this year include AIAA – American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Rocketry Challenge, and Janet’s Planet.
Read the ARISS News Release here.
About ARISS
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, participants are ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), and NASA’s Space communications and Navigation program. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.