IAF Global Space Leaders Summit 2026

About the IAF Global Space Leaders Summit

The IAF Global Space Leaders Summit is a closed-door meeting for heads of space agencies and national space offices. The 2026 session takes place on 6 October in Antalya in conjunction with the 77th International Astronautical Congress. The International Astronautical Federation convenes the summit for leaders carrying direct responsibility for national or institutional space programmes.

The format differs from the wider IAC. It brings invited agency chiefs together for strategic dialogue, official statements or round-table exchange rather than open conference registration. The purpose is to strengthen partnerships and discuss governance, exploration, sustainability and cooperation at leadership level. Because conversations are closed, no public agenda or delegate route should be inferred beyond what the IAF publishes. The federation traditionally presents participating agency heads with its Space Leader’s Pin, a recognition rather than a credential. The timing allows leaders attending IAC to meet in a smaller setting, but an IAC pass does not establish access. Professionals interested in the themes should use the public congress programme unless their organisation receives an invitation. Current IAF information controls eligibility, schedule and published outcomes.

Event history and organiser

The International Astronautical Federation launched the Global Space Leaders Summit in 2024. At the inaugural session, participating agency heads delivered official statements to their counterparts. The 2025 edition moved to a round-table format under a global space-governance theme, showing that the meeting can adapt while retaining its closed leadership setting. Antalya hosts the 3rd annual session during IAC 2026. The IAF, founded in 1951, is the organiser and uses its international membership network to convene agency and institutional leaders. The IAC host organisations and venue support the surrounding congress but should not be described as independent organisers of this summit without specific evidence. Earlier summit reports are useful for understanding the initiative’s development and themes; they do not establish the confidential discussion or participant list for 2026. The event’s short lineage and restricted format make precise relationship language essential: it is an IAF leadership meeting held in conjunction with IAC, not an open additional conference track.

Topics and themes

The summit gives agency heads space to discuss issues that require institutional authority and international coordination. Its verified purpose points to leadership themes rather than a public technical programme.

• Global governance: agency leaders can compare approaches to rules, responsibilities and coordination as national and commercial activity expands.
• International cooperation: direct dialogue supports partnerships, compatible programmes and shared responses to challenges that cross national boundaries.
• Exploration: leaders can place national ambitions within wider mission architectures, scientific goals and opportunities for agency collaboration.
• Sustainability: responsible operations and long-term access to space require policy commitments alongside technical debris and traffic-management work.
• Institutional leadership: the summit creates a confidential senior peer setting for discussing priorities, organisational change and the role of public agencies in a changing sector.

Who should attend?

The intended participants are heads of space agencies, leaders of national space offices and other senior officials invited by the International Astronautical Federation. It is not a general delegate event, exhibition or public leadership conference. IAF institutional representatives may support the meeting where authorised, but ordinary federation membership or IAC registration does not imply access. Government teams interested in placing an eligible principal should follow direct federation communications rather than a public ticket route. Space-company executives, researchers, students, journalists and policy analysts should look to the broader IAC programme for accessible sessions on governance, exploration and cooperation. The summit can still matter to those audiences because the IAF may publish reports or outcomes after the meeting. Readers should distinguish those authorised outputs from speculation about private discussions or attendance.

Practical information

The summit takes place in Antalya on 6 October during IAC 2026. Its official page does not offer general public registration because the meeting is closed and invitation-only.

Eligible organisations should use direct IAF instructions for the venue, timing and credentials. Other readers can monitor the federation’s site for any authorised report or public outcome after the summit.