Every year, the

International Astronautical Federation The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is an international space advocacy organization based in Paris, and founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization to establish a dialogue between scientists around the world and to lay ...

with the support of the

International Academy of Astronautics The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent non-governmental organization established in Stockholm (Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán, and recognized by the United Nations in 1996. The IAA has electe ...

and the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), holds the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) which is hosted by one of the national society members of the IAF. They are an annual meeting of the actors in the discipline of space, and are generally held in late September or early October. They consist of

plenary session A plenary session or plenum is a session of a conference which all members of all parties are to attend. Such a session may include a broad range of content, from keynotes to panel discussions, and is not necessarily related to a specific st ...

s, 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 The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its ...

fell, the International Astronautical Federation (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 Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the t ...

, the IAF was one of the few forums where members of both East and West Europe could meet during the annual International Astronautical Congresses.

Founding Organizations

* Argentina: Sociedad Argentina Interplanetaria (Argentianian 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 The British Interplanetary Society (BIS), founded in Liverpool in 1933 by Philip E. Cleator, is the oldest existing space advocacy organisation in the world. Its aim is exclusively to support and promote astronautics and space exploration. S ...

* United States:

American Rocket Society The American Rocket Society (ARS) began its existence on , under the name of the American Interplanetary Society. It was founded by science fiction writers G. Edward Pendray, David Lasser, Laurence Manning, Nathan Schachner, and others. Pendra ...

, 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 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) was established on October 3, 1958 by the International Council for Scientific Unions (ICSU). Among COSPAR's objectives are the promotion of scientific research in space on an international level, wi ...

Scientific Assembly. The 2020 IAC was held virtually due to the global

COVID pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

References

External links

IAFIAC 2012IAC 2013IAC 2013IAC 2014IAC 2015IAC 2017
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