ARISS is an international working group, consisting of delegations from 15 countries including several countries in Europe as well as Japan, Russia, Canada, and the USA. The organization is run almost entirely by volunteers from the national amateur radio organizations, including the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) in the U.S., and the international AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) organizations from each country. For ARISS-USA, ARISS-International Delegates are Dave Taylor, W8AAS representing AMSAT and Rosalie White, K1STO representing ARRL. Since ARISS is international in scope, the team coordinates locally with their respective space agency (e.g. ESA, NASA, JAXA, CSA, and the Russian Space Agency) and as an international team through ARISS working group meetings, teleconferences and through electronic mail. Our primary U.S. sponsors are NASA and the ISS National Lab.
In May 2020, the USA team of the ARISS International working group became an incorporated non-profit entity in the state of Maryland, officially becoming ARISS-USA. This move allows ARISS-USA to work as an independent organization, soliciting grants and donations. They will continue promoting amateur radio and STEAM—science, technology, engineering, arts, and math within educational organizations and inspire, engage and educate our next generation of space enthusiasts.