25 February 2010 Issue

The Academy was founded in 1960 by most of the famous space pioneers such as Oberth, Von Karman, Von Braun, Halley, Van Allen, Keldish, Sänger, Draper, Mueller, Gagarin, Sedov, Broglio, Curien, etc. On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, a Space Agencies Summit will be held on 17 November 2010 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington DC with the primary support of Lockheed Martin Corporation and EADS Astrium with the exclusive partnership of Space News.  The IAA Board of Trustees has identified four main topics:  Climate Change / Green Systems, Disaster Management / Natural Hazards,  Planetary/Lunar Exploration, Human Spaceflight. The attempt is to reach a broad consensus on international cooperation and coordination at the highest level in those four areas and eventually consider new concrete initiatives of cooperation. It is the Academy intent to avoid any duplication of on-going efforts (e.g., Global Exploration Strategy, Group on Earth Observations) but rather to foster closer and broader international coordination across the four topics areas to strengthen the effectiveness and support of global space activities.

On February 6th 2010 in Bangalore, India, the new IAA President, Dr. Madhavan Nair, chaired the inaugural function of the International Academy of Astronautics permanent presence in India with the opening of an office to host the new Branch devoted to the secretariat of the IAA standalone conferences worldwide. Dr. Jean-Michel Contant was the Chief Guest. The IAA has sigificantly grown during the last few years with 21 regional meetings, stand alone symposia and conferences and symposia in 2009 totaling gathering of over 4000 participants. In 2009 the Academy had two meetings in Darmstadt, Germany, two conferences in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, then Granada, Spain, Paris, France, Yaounde, Cameroon, Vienna, Austria, Berlin, Germany, Moscow, Russia, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, Tsukuba, Japan, Aosta, Italy, Goa, India, Toronto, Canada, Graz, Austria, Bucharest, Romania, Daejon, South Korea, Limassol, Cyprus, Abuja, Nigeria and Baikonour, Kazakhstan.  No need to say that time is arrived to have a specialized department of the Academy devoted to the management of this activity which was anticipated in the strategic plan of the organisation. The Academy is grateful to the Astronautical Society of India and to ISRO for the support of this activity. 

Today Feb 9 in Bangalore a meeting gathering all Indian experts and Academicians involved in the preparation of the Summit of Heads of Space Agencies will be held under chairmanship of IAA President Madhavan Nair. A dinner chaired by Chairman ISRO will follow.

The International Academy of Astronautics celebrating 50 years will have a blooming activity and development. After the opening of the Bangalore Branch we are pleased to announce recent confirmation of a second Branch in China in the coming months and of two new permanent antennas in Africa: Tunis and Yaounde. This infrastructure will be at the service of the members together with the current 33 regional secretaries (see http://iaaweb.org/content/view/139/238/).

On 25-26 January 2010 the Academy was invited by the Royal Society, London, UK, to participate to the first discussion meeting on the Detection of extra-terrestrial life and the consequences for science and society.  On January 26th, Lord Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society (RAS) and Dr. Jean-Michel Contant, Secretary General IAA announced in London the Second IAA-RAS Symposium on Searching for Life Signatures, to be held at The Royal Society Kavli Centre, Milton Keynes, UK, October 4th-7th 2010. Dr John Zarnecki and Dr. Claudio Maccone are going to chair the scientific program committee. With this events, 2010 appears to be a major milestone in the recognition of the search for extraterrestrial scientific community. The IAA which was since 1971 the first international organisation to recognize and host this community is particularly pleased.
 

Registration form is available to attend the Academy Dinner to be held on Monday March 22, 2010.

The Newsletter about the 3rd IAA Regional Conference Space for Africa, Abuja, Nigeria is available.

Corresponding Members and Full Members 2009 were inducted on October 11th, 2009 in Daejeon, Korea South, during the Academy Day dinner ceremony.

Annual report 2009 is now available.

The International Academy of Astronautics announce election results and release composition of the new Board of Trustees for the Period 2009-2011 (click here). New Trustees biographies are available.

Dr Madhavan Nair elected new President of the IAA was inducted on October 11th, 2009 in Daejeon, Korea South (see Press Release PR-09-02).

The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), has elected 104 new members, many of whom will be inducted on October 11, 2009 during the Academy Day in Daejeon, Korea.

The Study entitled "Dealing with the Threat to Earth from Asteroids and Comets" will be officially unveiled during the official dinner of the Academy in Goa, India, on the occasion of the Low Cost Planetary Missions Symposium on 1st September 2009. The book was printed courtesy of the Indian Space Agency (ISRO). The study chaired by Ivan Bekey was composed of: Jonathan Campbell, USA, Clarke Chapman, USA, Eric Choi, CANADA, Mark Cintala, USA, Lee Clarke, USA, Bill Cooke, USA, Liara Covert, CANADA. Richard Crowther, UK, Dan Durda, USA, George Friedman, USA, Albert Harrison, USA, Syozu Isobe, Japan, Gregg Maryniak, USA, Dan Mazanek, USA, Allessandro Morbidelli, FRANCE, Volodymir Prisniakov, UKRAINE, Evan Seamone, USA, A. Taylor, USA, Richard Tremayne-Smith, UK, Ron Turner, USA, Harvey Wichman, USA, Makoto Yoshikawa, JAPAN, Anatoly Zaitsev, RUSSIA.

The IAA will be co-sponsor of the second Global Space Summit to be held in Washington DC on 12 and 13 November 2009 (see announcement). The First Global Space Summit held in Beijing in April 2008 and attended by Dr Brian Dailey and Dr Jean Michel Contant issued a declaration as enclosed.

As proposed by Prof. Matsuo and Prof. Ninomiya, a Japan Regional Meeting  of IAA at the occasion of ISTS conference in Tsukuba was held during the week of July 6, together with IAA Astronautical Lecture on the same day.

2nd announcement is now available for the 6th IAA Symposium on Low Cost Planetary Missions, 31 August- 4 September 2009, Goa, India.

New 20 languages Space Dictionaries available Free of charge:   Free Download or online access at http://iaaweb.org/content/view/362/510/

The University Nebraska Lincoln, College of Law Space and Telecom, hosted a two-day conference 23-24 April 2009, on Near Earth Objects: Risks, Responses and Opportunities - Legal Aspects, under leadership of Academician Frans von der Dunk, (Social Sciences). Astronauts Rusty Schweickart, Chairman of the Board of the B 612 Foundation and Dr. Thomas D. Jones presented an ASE NEO Report recently published. Dr. Jean-Michel Contant presented the new IAA Study entitled “Dealing with the Threat to Earth from Asteroids and Comets” that received great attention from the audience. He announced during the presentation that every conference participant will receive a copy of the hard cover book to be printed in India, courtesy of ISRO.
The College of Law Space and Telecom has initiated this year a new master in Space Law and on this occasion the Academy showed appreciation to bring this new high level space education in Nebraska (http://spaceandtelecomlaw.unl.edu).

An IAA ambitious study on a major project for establishing an International Aerospace System is undertaken with Prof. Menshikhov as Project Leader and a symposium on "Space & Global Safety of Humanity" on November 1-4, 2009 in Cyprus will help to start the work. Any person interested to the subject is welcomed to paticipate, either member of the Academy or non-member. We are very pleased to have partners in the symposium especially the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics and the International Association "Znanie". The Academy is willing to engage the United Nations in the project that fit particularly their goals and plans.

John Mankins and Nobuyuki Kaya are preparing the first Solar Power Satellite Workshop to be held in Toronto, Canada from 8 to 10 September 2009. The workshop results will contribute materially to the completion of the ongoing IAA Commission Study Group SG-11, “International Assessment of Solar Energy from Space”.

130 members and their guests were presents at the dinner on 16 March. Dr. Jean-Pierre Marec received the Engineering science award and the following members and corresponding members were introduced: Masato Nakamura CM1 Japan, Mrs. Rumi Nakamura CM1 Japan, Nicolas Thomas CM1 UK,  Andre Vargas CM1 France, Richard Brook CM2 UK, Olexander Novykov CM2 Ukraine, Michel Tognini CM2 France, Anatoly Karpov CM4 Russia, Efim Malitikov CM4 Russia,  Michel Blanc M1 France, Genevieve Debouzy M1 France, Christos Zerefos M1 Greece, Paolo Teofilatto M2 Italy, Sergei teselkin M4 Russia.    

On 25 December 2008, a Regional Meeting of the International Academy of Astronautics was held in Moscow, Russia with 62 participants. Prof. Vienamin Malyshev congratuled participants and presented certificates to the newly elected Russian members of IAA.  Dr. Georgii Polistchuk, General Designer and General Director of Lavochkin Association presented a lecture entitled "New space investigations in Russia".

Eutelsat and CNES Space Agency France are joining the IAA Supporting Donor program together with JAXA the Space Agency of Japan, the Polet JSC Company, Russia, IHI Corporation, Japan. The Supporting Donor is a special class of membership to recognize individuals or organizations who are recognized as having contributed to the Academy through donations, gifts and bequests. The Academy is grateful for the support to its activities. As to now, the 2008-2009 Supporting Donors list is as follows: Lockheed Martin corp., EADS Astrium Space Transportation, ESA, CALT-China, JAXA Japan, ISRO, Arianespace, EADS Astrium Satellites, SAFRAN, Polet JSC Air company, Aerospace Corp., Yuzhnoye, CAST, China, Dassault, France, DLR, IHI corp. Japan.

Commission VI is conducting a survey to help shape the future agenda for space by ascertaining the understanding and expectations of the public, particularly youth, regarding space activities. The survey is being distributed as widely as possible to diverse groups including high schools and universities; art, cultural and heritage organizations, as well as the public at large. Commission VI would like to solicit the assistance of IAA members in helping to formulate the future through recognition of the positive impacts of space activities upon society by distributing the invitation below throughout their organizations and among family and friends. Please assist the International Academy of Astronautics in assessing the status of the space arena with respect to your expectations.
                    Go to:   www.space-expectations.org
Fill in the survey   ---   Enjoy the feedback --- Invite your family and friends to participate. Participate in the Celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of Spaceflight!

The most recent issue of Acta Astronautica is now available: Volume 64, Issues 9-10 of May-June 2009. Titles of papers published in Acta Astronautica are available in the Acta Astronautica Data Base section. IAA members are entitled for a special subscription rate for their Journal.

We have lost mail contact with the following members. Any information is welcomed.

Obituary