Cathryn Mataga wrote:

ARRL should recognize the ISS as a country. That would stir up the pot. If Scarborough reef is a country, then why can't the ISS be a country?

Wayne replies:

Contacts with ISS don't count for any DXCC awards, same as maritime mobile contacts. I also wish that the DXCC program recognized the ISS (or perhaps ANY ham station in orbit) as a DXCC entity. One reason is that I have the ISS confirmed and most top DXers don't! But if ISS was a DXCC entity, there would be an "arms race" of top DXers trying to make contacts. The pileups wouldn't be much fun for the astronauts or most satellite enthusiasts.

Cross-band contacts are NOT allowed for DXCC. So if the ISS ham station ever makes regular contacts with separate uplink and downlink bands (as proposed by WB4APR), that would automatically be excluded from the "regular" DXCC.

Wayne Estes W9AE Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik DXCC totals: 317 mixed (terrestrial), 128 satellite