United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Vienna International Centre, P. O. Box 500, Wien (2026)

16/10/2026

🚀On 15 and 16 October, the Vienna International Centre is hosting the second U.S. Space Forum, convened by the U.S. Mission Vienna

🌍Following the inaugural Forum in November 2025, this edition focuses on commercial space capabilities, innovation and international coordination. It brings together COPUOS delegations, diplomatic missions in Vienna, government officials, academic experts and representatives of the commercial space sector.

The programme includes discussions on space situational awareness, satellite deployment, on-orbit servicing, and activities in low Earth orbit and on the Moon.

Such exchanges matter. With more actors operating in an increasingly busy orbital environment, dialogue between governments and the private sector helps turn shared principles into responsible practice.

🙏On the margins of the Forum, at a morning coffee break hosted by Meridian International Center, announced a voluntary contribution to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) which will support our capacity building efforts in space law and safety. Director Aarti Holla-Maini welcomed the contribution, noting the importance of all stakeholders engaging with and supporting the multilateral system.

Amazon’s contribution reflects support for the important role UNOOSA plays in fostering international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space and will support the work of the Office for the benefit of all Member States.

🤝Outer space is a shared environment. Keeping it safe and sustainable is a shared responsibility. Multilateral cooperation remains the best way to ensure it benefits all humankind.

15/10/2026

🚀 Are you passionate about space law, policy and ensuring the long-term sustainability of outer space?

UNOOSA is looking for a Space Law and Sustainability Intern to join our team in Vienna! This is a great opportunity for students and recent graduates interested in gaining hands-on experience in an international environment.

⚖️ Working with our Space Sustainability Unit, you’ll support research and analysis on space law and policy, contribute to capacity-building activities and help advance international cooperation to keep outer space safe, sustainable and accessible for all.

📍 Location: Vienna, Austria (in person)
📆 Duration: 4–6 months, starting January 2027
🗓️ Apply by: 1 November 2026
👩🏽‍🎓 Eligibility: Final-year Bachelor’s students, graduate students or recent graduates in law, policy, international affairs or related fields
💼 Type: Full-time, unpaid internship

🔗 Learn more and apply: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/285723?language=en

13/10/2026

🌍 Today is the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction! Did you know that space technology helps us prepare for disasters on Earth?

🛰️ When a flood, earthquake or cyclone threatens a community, the right information at the right time can save lives. Satellite data helps countries map hazards, understand risks, strengthen early warning systems, and get a clear picture of impacts when disaster strikes. That way, when every minute matters, decisions are based on evidence, rather than guesswork.

UNOOSA's UN-SPIDER programme helps countries turn this data into action. We provide technical advice, train national institutions to use satellite data in practice, and facilitate access to satellite imagery during emergencies. This year alone, we've strengthened capacities to use satellite data for disaster risk reduction in East Africa, supported flood and landslide risk management in Kyrgyzstan, and helped advance multi-hazard risk assessments in the Philippines. We also facilitated access to more than 120 high-resolution satellite images following earthquakes in Venezuela and participated in a cyclone and oil spill emergency simulation in Mozambique.

Across these efforts, the goal is the same: turning satellite data into practical information that helps countries make informed decisions, reduce risks, and save lives.

📢 Want to learn more about how space technology strengthens disaster risk reduction? Join our new webinar series!

Together with the African Association for Geospatial Observation (AGEOS), we are launching Space for Resilience: Geospatial Intelligence for Disaster Management and Emergency Response. The first session explores how Earth observation and geospatial intelligence can help countries better understand risks before disasters strike.

📅 13 October 2026 | 14:00 Tunis time (UTC+1)
🔗 Register: https://arcg.is/0e5CC13

12/10/2026

🇹🇷🇺🇳 IAC2026Antalya, World Space Week and the UN/International Astronautical Federation Workshop on kickstarting a Space Economy were all a blast! Here are some of our highlights:

☎️ Presenting the UN Satellite Operators Contact Hub (SOCH) to industry leaders and space situational awareness providers. As of 28 September, we’ve seen account requests from 36 operators, across 21 countries, representing 1503 satellites. If you’re an operator interested in providing your point of contact for conjuction risks, register here: http://soch.unoosa.org/

🤝 New partnership and capacity-building opportunities with:

1️⃣🛰 Starlab Space on an open call for interest to capture demand for microgravity R&D opportunities aboard Starlab’s space station in the post-ISS era. Deadline: 31 January 2027: https://lnkd.in/eC8XVwts

2️⃣🇦🇪 The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre مركز محمد بن راشد للفضاء on our third Payload Hosting Initiative. Applications for PHI-3 are open until 6 April 2027. More info: https://lnkd.in/eVYWc6Cn

3️⃣🌍 Nebex to cooperate on Access to Space for All, opening pathways for emerging spacefaring nations and addressing unmet demand for space data, infrastructure, and services globally.

🇨🇭 The decision by the IAF General Assembly to host the 2029 International Astronautical Congress in Geneva, Switzerland. While Vienna and COPUS are the home of international space diplomacy for the peaceful uses of outer space, we are regular visitors to the Geneva-based space security events such as United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)’s Outer Space Security Conference and UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)’s Conference on Disarmament. We look forward to showcasing the work of COPUOS and working with Switzerland to make 2029 a success.

📆🌌 We celebrated World Space Week, declared by UNISPACE III in 1999. Read the UN News article explaining UNOOSA’s work to support countries with space science, technology, law and policy: https://lnkd.in/eepSfPG5

🇺🇳 The 33rd UN/IAF workshop ‘Space Economy Opportunities for Emerging Nations: Advancing Socio-Economic Resilience through Space Technologies and Applications’ ran from 3-4 October and brought together important stakeholders from the Global South, many of whom have helped their country take the first giant leap into using space solutions for national challenges. Do you want to kickstart your own country's space economy or ecosystem? See takeaways from the conference here: https://lnkd.in/ex2F3Bn2

08/10/2026

Day 4️⃣ of IAC2026 touched on areas where the United Nations and COPUOS, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, has stepped up in recent years.

🇺🇳 Director Aarti Holla-Maini updated the international space sector on the following work.

📡 The Expert Group on Space Situational Awareness, established in 2025, which is working on two critical recommendations:
1️⃣ sharing contact information on operators and other SSA systems; and
2️⃣ sharing the minimum need information for collision risk analyses (e.g., trajectory, including ephemeris; planned manoeuvres, etc).

The EG SSA is deliberating a mechanism or platform for states to discuss best practices and coordination. This is precisely why UNOOSA developed the UN Satellite Operator Contact Hub (soch.unoosa.org) so that operators know who to contact in the case of a collision risk.

🌔 Lunar activities, where COPUOS is delivering on 3️⃣ fronts:
1️⃣ the Chair of the working group on the legal aspects of space resources has recently circulated a draft set of principles to be negotiated in 2027;
2️⃣ ATLAC, the Action Team on Lunar Activities, is assessing models for future discussion among States;
3️⃣ the International Committee on GNSS, of which UNOOSA is also the Secretariat, is developing expert practices on lunar positioning, navigation, and timing.

🌊On disaster management and climate resilience, UNOOSA is:
1️⃣ assisting States to become authorised users of the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters; and
2️⃣🇹🇴🇬🇭🇹🇹🇧🇷 bringing digital twin technologies to Commonwealth nations, such as Tonga, Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, and Brazil. These innovative technologies are helping emergency management agencies to plan smarter and act faster.

🚀🌌🇧🇸 We met states keen to kickstart their space ecosystems, space agencies, and fast-track implementation of the outer space treaties and national space laws.

🇺🇸 A meeting with the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of State and the Federal Aviation Administration addressed a wide range of space issues, including SSA developments, integrating space activities into airspace frameworks, and making COPUOS a stronger and more efficient body for promoting international cooperation on space.

🇯🇵🇰🇪🇬🇹🇲🇺🇲🇩🇸🇻 A meeting with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) addressed the impact of the Access to Space for All KiboCube programme, which has assisted Kenya, Guatemala, Mauritius, Moldova and the upcoming mission of El Salvador; along with JAXA-UNOOSA cooperation in a post-ISS era.

UNOOSA and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre مركز محمد بن راشد للفضاء(MBRSC) also launched a new call for applications for the third round of the Payload Hosting Initiative (PHI), which offers teams worldwide the opportunity to send innovative technologies into orbit.

Applications for PHI-3 are open until 6 April 2027. For info, see: https://shorturl.at/Puu0S

07/10/2026

Day 3️⃣ of the IAC2026 saw plenary sessions; meetings with space agencies, international organisations, industry leaders, and the Space4Ocean Alliance; media interviews; and an intersessional meeting of COPUOS.

🇺🇳🌐🇧🇷🇿🇦 Director Aarti Holla-Maini moderated Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization’s IAC Plenary Event on fostering cooperation across regional space organisations alongside European Space Agency - ESA, APSCO, Agência Espacial Brasileira, and South African National Space Agency. It discussed the value of regional cooperation at a time of global division, while recognising the need for multilateralism given overwhelming collective action problems including space sustainability, climate change, food security, etc. It also showcased UNOOSA’s work to enhance States’ capacities in becoming authorised users of the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters; developing space law and treaty ratification; and enabling access to satellite data for diverse sustainable development priorities.

🇦🇺🇸🇬🇸🇮 Bilaterals with Enrico Palermo of the Australian Space Agency and Le Na Ngiam of the National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS) discussed opportunities to enhance collaboration in onboarding satellite operator Points of Contact in the UN Satellite Operators Contact Hub (UN-SOCH) (soch.unoosa.org); the need to ensure registration of objects launched into outer space; bringing space traffic coordination expertise to the Asia-Pacific region under Singapore’s upcoming Chairmanship of ASEAN; and the Space4Oceans Alliance. It was also great to meet colleagues from the Slovenian Space Office, especially with Slovenia as vice-chair of COPUOS.

♀️ We delivered UNOOSA’s poster session on the Space4Women Landmark Study in the Global Space Sector, which has mapped trends in women’s representation in the space sector. To read all 3 phases of the study, see: https://www.unoosa.org/unoosa/en/ourwork/topics/spaceforwomen/study-gender-equality-space.html.

Want solutions for mainstreaming gender in your own space sector, see our 2024 Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit: https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/SpaceforW

06/10/2026

🇺🇳🇹🇷🌌 UNOOSA’s participation at the IAC2026 in Antalya is 🔥. Days 1 and 2 showcased our continued our engagement at IAC Sydney with small island states by hosting a joint exhibition with the Maldives Space Research Organisation called the “Space Island”. 🇲🇻🏝

🛰 Director Aarti Holla-Maini provided the International Astronautical Federation’s Space Security Committee with a timely update on the launch of UN-SOCH (the UN Satellite Operators Contact Hub – soch.unoosa.org), launched in early September. As of 28 September, we’ve seen account requests from 36 operators, across 21 countries, representing 1503 satellites.

🇱🇺🇪🇸🇮🇹🇨🇳🇺🇸 Meetings with the new CEO of the Luxembourg Space Agency Ruy Pinto, VAST Space, Juan Carlos Cortes from the Spanish Space Agency, Star.Vision, the Chair of COPUOS Ambassador Mario Cospito and the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana advancing key workstreams including the Expert Group on Space Situational Awareness and the Working Group on Space Resources, through COPUOS, and seizing new opportunities to enable access to space and very high-resolution imagery for sustainable development.

🌐 We signed a collaboration agreement with Nebex to cooperate on Access to Space for All, opening pathways for emerging spacefaring nations, and address unmet demand for space data, infrastructure, and services globally.

🔬We announced a new partnership with Starlab Space, including an open call for interest (see here: https://www.unoosa.org/unoosa/en/ourwork/access2space4all/Starlab/Starlab.html), to capture demand for R&D opportunities aboard Starlab in microgravity in the post-ISS era. Deadline: 31 January 2027.

🇬🇧🇧🇷🇿🇦 The Director gave a keynote speech and moderated a Special Session focused on Global Space Cooperation in a Regionalised Space Economy alongside UK Space Agency, the ESA - European Space Agency, Brazilian Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.

🇺🇳 The Director said: “Regionalisation cannot become fragmentation. Mini-lateral and regional arrangements should complement - not substitute for - a shared international framework. Without that common foundation, we risk developing parallel approaches to issues that are inherently global. The United Nations has a unique role in this ecosystem by keeping States together at the same table.”

If you are at the IAC, come and see us at E1-10.

04/10/2026

🇺🇳🇹🇷🌍 Our annual pre-IAC 2026 UN/ IAF Workshop wrapped up today. With a focus on ‘Space Economy Opportunities for Emerging Nations: Advancing Socio-Economic Resilience through Space Technologies and Applications’, our 33rd joint workshop went to the heart of how to kickstart a space economy!

🔑 Here are some of the takeaways:

1️⃣ Space doesn’t have to start with a national satellite, it starts with identifying the national challenges, then converting available data into services for society, for instance to allow governments to take decisions for agriculture, water management, disaster management, etc.

2️⃣ Scaling and replicating existing best practices, from other countries, is where international cooperation can have real-added value and help countries “leapfrog”.

3️⃣ Many national and local stakeholders experience similar challenges (governments not understanding the role space can play, or lack of demand or finance). The creation of national “space clusters” – joint industry, civil society, academia – are platforms to help grassroots space activities coordinate, collectively advocate, and support one another.

4️⃣ When looking at which start-ups to fund to cross the "valley of death" and become a commercial company, the key criteria is to make sure they solve a real-world problem and know their first customer by name.

5️⃣ Understanding the demand is key: work with the future users to make sure the offer will be specifically adapted to the local context: one-size-does-not fit all.

6️⃣ When communicating to investors, talk about the problem you solve, not the technology.

7️⃣ The true end goal is not to be the first space initiative in your country, but to not be the last.

Finally, happy World Space Week (4-10 October) and we look forward to seeing all of you at the IAC at our booth E1-10.

02/10/2026

🇰🇪🇺🇳🌌🚀 To close out Impact Week part one, UNOOSA touches down in Kenya! Read our carousel to hear from Kenya Space Agency Legal Officer Nyangere Rachael Olore about how UNOOSA’s Technical Advisory Mission and Access to Space for All partnerships onboard the International Space Station kickstarted Kenya's space ecosystem.

“Space shouldn’t just be a subject or an issue that is discussed by advanced countries. It affects our daily lives.” - Rachael Olore

🔗 To read the full story of the partnership between Kenya and UNOOSA from 2018 onwards, see our 2023 Annual Report:https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/annualreport/UNOOSA_Annual_Report_2023.pdf

01/10/2026

Today, as part of UNOOSA’s Impact Week, we’re looking at our role in helping prevent collisions in orbit.

Swipe through our carousel to discover the “UNOOSA Hotline” and how the Office acts as a trusted, neutral bridge to connect Member States and satellite operators when coordination matters most.

As our orbits become more crowded and close approaches more frequent, effective international coordination is vital to keeping space safe and sustainable for everyone.

📖 Read the full impact story in our 2025 Annual Report:https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/annualreport/UNOOSA_Annual_Report_2025.pdf

🛰️ Are you a satellite operator? Sign up for our new Satellite Operator Contact Hub and help strengthen coordination to keep our shared orbits safe: https://soch.unoosa.org/

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

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