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The  MIREX working group (Mir International amateur Radio EXperiment), is an Amateur  radio group formed to assist with the Amateur Radio experiments on board the Space Station Mir and eventually the International Space Station.
We  work  closely with MAREX (Mir Amateur Radio EXperiment) which is run by Sergej   Samburov  "Chief  of  Cosmonaut  Amateur  Radio  Department,  RSC, Energia," and with the German based group called SAFEX. 
All North American biased  Amateur  radio experiments for Mir, must first go through the MIREX group,  before  the  request is sent onto the MAREX Cosmonaut Amateur Radio Department  and  SAFEX.  
This  includes  requests  for  School  and  other "scheduled" radio contacts with the Space Station Mir. 
The MIREX group has received  signed  documents  from  the agencies involved to conduct Amateur Radio Experiments, within specific guidelines.

One  of  the  guidelines we must follow, is the "Off Hours" guide line. The crews on board the Space Station Mir usually have very busy work schedules, but  some  times  we  are able to arrange school schedules during the crews "OFF  Hours." 
All school schedules are planed months in advance to fit the crews  "OFF Hours." 
The MAREX Cosmonaut Amateur Radio Department makes the final  approval for all Amateur Radio Experiments and reserves the right to cancel  at  any time.  The daily experiments on board Mir always have first priority over School Schedules and other Amateur radio experiments.

The  ARRL  and  the SAREX organizations are working with MIREX and MAREX in selecting  and  scheduling  schools  for  future  contacts.   Currently the ARRL/SAREX  program  has  over  80 schools on the waiting list.
Through our joint efforts we hope to begin scheduling 4-6 school schedules per month in the USA (biased on the Mir crew's availability of course).  As we gain more experience  working  together, we hope to expand to our school schedules to our international neighbors.

International Third Party Traffic:
American  Astronauts  with  a valid Amateur Radio license living aboard Mir have  been  given  temporary Third-Party-traffic waivers.  What this means, is,  even though the USA does not have a Third-Party-traffic agreement with the  country  of  Russia, we have permission to pass Third party traffic to the  crew  members  of  the  Russian  Mir  Space Station. 
This third party agreement  only applies to stations transmitting from the USA.  It does not cover  other  countries.  Amateur Radio stations in other countries need to abide by your local Amateur Radio laws.

Under the existing American FCC rules, only licensed Amateur Radio Stations could  talk  directly  to  an  American Astronaut on Mir and other Mir crew members  while  on  board  the Space Station Mir. 
Fortunately, thanks to a tireless effort by members of the ARRL, we now have a temporary Third Party Traffic  agreement  from  the FCC.  This means a licensed control operator, may  allow  unlicensed people to talk to the American Astronauts while they are  on Mir (the control operator must be present during the conversation).
This  agreement  only applies to the licensed American Astronauts, and does not  cover  other  members  of  the Mir crew.  For conversations with other members of the Mir crew, the normal Third Party Traffic rules apply.

Random Mir voice contacts:
When  the Mir crews have some "off hours" time, you may hear one or more of the  crew  members  making random voice contacts.  It is common to hear the crew  chatting  during their meal times (breakfast, lunch and after dinner, Moscow  Time).
If  you do talk to the crew members, please do not ask the Mir  crews  to  set  up QSOs, as they do not have the long-term calendar in order  to  approve  schedules.  
The  crew will only accept school schedule information from a prearranged set of System Operators. 
As some of you are aware,  the  2-meter  experiment  on Mir has changed frequency from 145.550 simplex,  to  145.985 FM Simplex.  The Mir 2-meter station has experimented with  several  channels  to  find  the  best  combinations. 
Stay tuned for further updates.

Applications for School schedules:
Please contact the ARRL for a SAREX School schedule application.

73 Miles WF1F
MIREX Director of Educational Services