International Astronautical Congress


Every year, the International Astronautical Federation with the support of the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Institute of Space Law, holds the International Astronautical Congress 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 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.
The International Astronautical Federation was formed six years after the Iron curtain fell 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 International Astronautical Congresses.

Founding Organizations

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
The President of the International Institute of Space Law
Special Advisor to the President

IAF Secretariat

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

Locations of recent and future International Astronautical Congresses (IAC)

International Astronautical Congresses normally takes place during the first half of October. In 2002 and 2012 the World Space Congress combined the IAC and COSPAR Scientific Assembly.
EditionDateVenue
1stSeptember 30 – October 2, 1950 Paris, France
2ndSeptember 3–8, 1951 London, United Kingdom
3rdSeptember 1–5, 1952 Stuttgart, Germany
4thAugust 3–8, 1953 Zurich, Switzerland
5thAugust 2–7, 1954 Innsbruck, Austria
6thAugust 2–6, 1955 Copenhagen, Denmark
7thSeptember 17–22, 1956 Rome, Italy
8thOctober 6–12, 1957 Barcelona, Spain
9thAugust 25–30, 1958 Amsterdam, Netherlands
10thAugust 31 – September 5, 1959 London, United Kingdom.
11thOctober 7–12, 1960 Stockholm, Sweden
12thOctober 1–7, 1961 Washington, D.C., USA
13thSeptember 19–23, 1962 Varna, Bulgaria
14thSeptember 25 – October 1, 1963 Paris, France
15thSeptember 7–12, 1964 Warsaw, Poland
16thSeptember 13–18, 1965 Athens, Greece
17thOctober 9–15, 1966 Madrid, Spain
18thSeptember 24–30, 1967 Belgrade, Yugoslavia
19thOctober 13–18, 1968 New York, USA
20thOctober 5–10, 1969 Mar del Plata, Argentina
21stOctober 4–9, 1970 Constance, Germany
22ndSeptember 20–25, 1971 Brussel, Belgium
23rdOctober 8–15, 1972 Vienna, Austria
24thOctober, 7–13, 1973 Baku, USSR
25thSeptember 30 – October 5, 1974 Amsterdam, Netherlands
26thSeptember, 21–27 1975 Lisbon, Portugal
27thOctober 10–16, 1976 Anaheim, California
28thSeptember 25 – October 1, 1977 Prague, Czechoslovakia
29thOctober, 1–8, 1978 Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia
30thSeptember 17–22, 1979 Munich, Germany
31stSeptember 21–28, 1980 Tokyo, Japan
32ndSeptember 6–12, 1981 Rome, Italy
33rdSeptember 27 – October 2, 1982 Paris, France
34thOctober 10–15, 1983 Budapest, Hungary
35thOctober 8–13, 1984 Lausanne, Switzerland
36thOctober 7–12, 1985 Stockholm, Sweden
37thOctober 4–11, 1986 Innsbruck, Austria
38thOctober 10–17, 1987 Brighton, United Kingdom
39thOctober 8–15, 1988 Bangalore, India
40thOctober 7–13, 1989 Malaga, Spain
41stOctober 6–12, 1990 Dresden, Germany
42ndOctober 5–11, 1991 Montreal, Canada
43rdAugust 28 – September 5, 1992 Washington, D.C., USA
44thOctober 16–22, 1993 Graz, Austria
45thOctober 9–14, 1994 Jerusalem, Israel
46thOctober 2–6, 1995 Oslo, Norway
47thOctober 7–11, 1996 Beijing, China
48thOctober 6–10, 1997 Torino, Italy
49thSeptember 28 – October 2, 1998 Melbourne, Australia
50thOctober 4–8, 1999 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
51stOctober 2–6, 2000 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
52ndOctober 1–5, 2001 Toulouse, France
53rdOctober 10–19, 2002 Houston, United States
54thSeptember 29 – October 3, 2003 Bremen, Germany
55thOctober 4–8, 2004 Vancouver, Canada
56thOctober 16–21, 2005 Fukuoka, Japan
57thOctober 2–6, 2006 Valencia, Spain
58thSeptember 24–28, 2007 Hyderabad, India
59thSeptember 29 – October 3, 2008 Glasgow, United Kingdom
60thOctober 12–16, 2009 Daejeon, South Korea
61stSeptember 27 – October 1, 2010 Prague, Czech Republic
62ndOctober 3–7, 2011 Cape Town, South Africa
63rdOctober 1–5, 2012 Naples, Italy
64thSeptember 23–27, 2013 Beijing, China
65thSeptember 29 – October 3, 2014 Toronto, Canada
66thOctober 12–16, 2015 Jerusalem, Israel
67thSeptember 26–30, 2016 Guadalajara, Mexico
68thSeptember 25–29, 2017 Adelaide, Australia
69thOctober 1–5, 2018 Bremen, Germany
70thOctober 21–25, 2019 Washington DC, USA
71stOctober 12-16, 2020 Dubai, UAE
72ndSeptember 27 – October 1, 2021 Paris, France
73rdTBD, 2022 Baku, Azerbaijan