The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is an annual meeting of the actors in the discipline of space science. It is hosted by one of the national society members of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), with the support of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and the International Institute of Space Law (IISL). It consists of plenary sessions, lectures and meetings. The IAC is attended by the agency heads and senior executives of the world's space agencies.

As the Second World War came to an end, the United States and the Soviet Union held different and competing political worldviews. As the Cold War began to take shape, communication between the two countries became less frequent. Both countries turned their focus to achieving military superiority over the other.

Six years after the Iron Curtain fell, the IAF was formed by scientists from all over Europe in the field of space research in order to collaborate once more. During the years of the Space Race, the IAF was one of the few forums where members of both East and West Europe could meet during the annual IAC.

Founding Organizations

Argentina: Sociedad Argentina Interplanetaria (Argentine Interplanetary Society) Austria: Österreichische Gesellschaft für Weltraumforschung (Austrian Society for Space Research) France: Groupement Astronautique Français (French Astronautic Group) Germany: Gesellschaft für Weltraumforschung Stuttgart (Society for Space Research, Stuttgart), Gesellschaft für Weltraumforschung Hamburg (Society for Space Research Hamburg) Italy: Associazione Italiana Razzi (Italian Rocket Association) Spain: Asociación Española de Astronáutica (Spanish Astronautical Association) Sweden: Svenska Interplanetariska Sällskapet (Swedish Interplanetary Society) Switzerland: Schweizerische Astronautische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (Swiss Astronautical Association) United Kingdom: British Interplanetary Society United States: American Rocket Society, Detroit Rocket Society, Pacific Rocket Society, Reaction Research Society

International Astronautical Federation Governance The International Astronautical Federation is a non-profit non-governmental organization created in 1951. Under French law, the IAF is defined as a federation of member organizations where a General Assembly is responsible for making decisions.

IAF General Assembly The IAF General Assembly is in charge of governing the Federation. Composed of delegates from every member organization, the assembly is responsible for voting to approve all major decisions regarding the Federation's rules and regulations as well as the acceptance of new member organizations. The General Assembly meets during the International Astronautical Congress.

IAF Bureau The IAF Bureau sets the agenda of the IAF General Assembly, including: review of new member candidates; supervision of IAF activities; and supervision of IAF accounts. It is made up of:

The IAF President The Incoming IAF President The IAF Honorary Ambassador 12 IAF Vice-Presidents The IAF Executive Director The IAF General Counsel The IAF Incoming General Counsel The IAF Honorary Secretary The President of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) The President of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) Special Advisor to the President

IAF Secretariat This branch is in charge of running the administration of the Federation.

Locations of past and future International Astronautical Congresses (IAC) International Astronautical Congresses are held in the late summer or fall months. In 2002 and 2012, the World Space Congress combined the IAC and COSPAR Scientific Assembly. The 2020 IAC was held virtually due to the global COVID pandemic.

EditionDateVenue1stSeptember 30 – October 2, 1950 Paris, France2ndSeptember 3–8, 1951 London, United Kingdom3rdSeptember 1–5, 1952 Stuttgart, West Germany4thAugust 3–8, 1953 Zurich, Switzerland5thAugust 2–7, 1954 Innsbruck, Austria6thAugust 2–6, 1955 Copenhagen, Denmark7thSeptember 17–22, 1956 Rome, Italy8thOctober 6–12, 1957 Barcelona, Spain9thAugust 25–30, 1958 Amsterdam, Netherlands10thAugust 31 – September 5, 1959 London, United Kingdom.11thAugust 13–20, 1960 Stockholm, Sweden12thOctober 1–7, 1961 Washington, D.C., USA13thSeptember 19–23, 1962 Varna, Bulgaria14thSeptember 25 – October 1, 1963 Paris, France15thSeptember 7–12, 1964 Warsaw, Poland16thSeptember 13–18, 1965 Athens, Greece17thOctober 9–15, 1966 Madrid, Spain18thSeptember 24–30, 1967 Belgrade, Yugoslavia19thOctober 13–18, 1968 New York, USA20thOctober 5–10, 1969 Mar del Plata, Argentina21stOctober 4–9, 1970 Konstanz, West Germany22ndSeptember 20–25, 1971 Brussels, Belgium23rdOctober 8–15, 1972 Vienna, Austria24thOctober 7–13, 1973 Baku, USSR25thSeptember 30 – October 5, 1974 Amsterdam, Netherlands26thSeptember 21–27, 1975 Lisbon, Portugal27thOctober 10–16, 1976 Anaheim, California, USA28thSeptember 25 – October 1, 1977 Prague, Czechoslovakia29thOctober 1–8, 1978 Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia30thSeptember 17–22, 1979 Munich, West Germany31stSeptember 21–28, 1980 Tokyo, Japan32ndSeptember 6–12, 1981 Rome, Italy33rdSeptember 27 – October 2, 1982 Paris, France34thOctober 10–15, 1983 Budapest, Hungary35thOctober 8–13, 1984 Lausanne, Switzerland36thOctober 7–12, 1985 Stockholm, Sweden37thOctober 4–11, 1986 Innsbruck, Austria38thOctober 10–17, 1987 Brighton, United Kingdom39thOctober 8–15, 1988 Bangalore, India40thOctober 7–13, 1989 Malaga, Spain41stOctober 6–12, 1990 Dresden, Germany42ndOctober 5–11, 1991 Montreal, Canada43rdAugust 28 – September 5, 1992 Washington, D.C., USA44thOctober 16–22, 1993 Graz, Austria45thOctober 9–14, 1994 Jerusalem, Israel46thOctober 2–6, 1995 Oslo, Norway47thOctober 7–11, 1996 Beijing, China48thOctober 6–10, 1997 Torino, Italy49thSeptember 28 – October 2, 1998 Melbourne, Australia50thOctober 4–8, 1999 Amsterdam, the Netherlands51stOctober 2–6, 2000 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil52ndOctober 1–5, 2001 Toulouse, France53rdOctober 10–19, 2002 Houston, USA54thSeptember 29 – October 3, 2003 Bremen, Germany55thOctober 4–8, 2004 Vancouver, Canada56thOctober 16–21, 2005 Fukuoka, Japan57thOctober 2–6, 2006 Valencia, Spain58thSeptember 24–28, 2007 Hyderabad, India59thSeptember 29 – October 3, 2008 Glasgow, United Kingdom60thOctober 12–16, 2009 Daejeon, South Korea61stSeptember 27 – October 1, 2010 Prague, Czech Republic62ndOctober 3–7, 2011 Cape Town, South Africa63rdOctober 1–5, 2012 Naples, Italy64thSeptember 23–27, 2013 Beijing, China65thSeptember 29 – October 3, 2014 Toronto, Canada66thOctober 12–16, 2015 Jerusalem, Israel67thSeptember 26–30, 2016IAC – International Astronautical Congress | September 26th – 30th 2016 Guadalajara, Mexico, accessed January 28, 2016. Guadalajara, Mexico68thSeptember 25–29, 2017 Adelaide, Australia69thOctober 1–5, 2018 Bremen, Germany70thOctober 21–25, 2019 Washington, D.C., USA71stOctober 12–16, 2020N/A (Virtually livestreamed due to COVID-19) 72ndOctober 25–29, 2021 Dubai, UAE 73rdSeptember 18–22, 2022 Paris, France 74thOctober 2–6, 2023 Baku, Azerbaijan 75thOctober 14–18, 2024 Milan, Italy 76thSeptember 29 – October 3, 2025 Sydney, Australia77thOctober 5-9, 2026 Antalya, Turkey78thOctober, 2027 Poznań, Poland79thSeptember/October, 2028 Samarkand, Uzbekistan

See also List of astronomical societies International Astronautical Federation International Institute of Space Law International Academy of Astronautics Space Generation Advisory Council

References

External links

IAF IAC 2012 IAC 2013 IAC 2013 IAC 2014 IAC 2015 IAC 2017