Seventy-five years on, the International Astronautical Congress needs a grand reset

The genesis: from founding vision to institutional drift

The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) debut happened at La Sorbonne University in Paris, from 30 September to 2 October 1950. Organised by Alexandre Ananoff, it was a historic gathering where the foundational discussions for the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) began. The IAF itself was formally organised at the second congress in London in 1951.

Born in 1910 in Tbilisi, Georgia, the Russian–French IAC founder-organiser Ananoff authored the book “L’Astronautique” (“Astronautics”) (1950) and advised fellow author Georges Prosper Remi, otherwise known as Hergé, for the book “Explorers on the Moon”, an addition to “The Adventures of Tintin” series. Through papers, Ananoff shared his efforts in promoting space. He shared Konstantin Tsiolkovsky’s contributions to astronautics with the public in the late 1920s and his analysis of the Sputnik launch in a French magazine in 1957.

Seventy-five years on, I wonder what Ananoff would make of the new behemoth that the IAC has become. In recent years, the IAC has become a distressing affair for an IAC veteran of 25 years like myself, given the growing costs, crowds and censorship.

I started attending the IAC in the late 1990s. Back then, a turnout of 2,000-3,000 delegates for an IAC was regarded as a success. In the past decade, that number has tripled, if not quadrupled. The IAC is starting to feel more like a trade fair, less a conference. On the opening day of the 2024 IAC in Milan, I saw a volunteer break down from the stress of the registration overload and machine malfunctions. With more than 11,200 delegates from 120 countries, the 2024 Milan IAC beat the 2022 Paris IAC record of over 9,300 delegates from 110 countries.

Skyrocketing fees

The registration fee has increased steadily to €1,000–2,000 for regular delegates. For retirees and young professionals it is between €700–800. Add airfare, hotel and meals and it costs upward of €3,000–4,000.This is the (semi-) annual salary for delegates from certain geographies.

To protest, I stopped paying regular registration fees starting 2022 and attended as Press because I am also a columnist. At 2022 Paris IAC, I reached out to then IAF President and asked: “Why don’t we lower the fees given the exponential increase in attendance?”. I got a dismissive response, as if it were a non-issue.

Narrow focus, diminishing dialogue

There is an overt programming bias towards science and technology. Arts and humanities’ sessions are pushed out to the periphery. If astronautics is to thrive and if we are to work towards an equitable and sustainable future, we cannot treat non-tech areas with disdain.

In the early 2000s, I used to co-chair IAC sessions. I found the quality of abstracts to be mediocre. With no peer review, no quality control, it has deteriorated further. Moreover, in the recent editions of the IAC, IAF introduced ‘late-breaking abstracts’ to rake up submissions beyond the deadline. This is less about advancing space research and development, more an attempt to amplify attendance with disregard for rigour and intellectual heft.

Rewarding power over principle

In 2023 and again in 2025, the IAF flagship award was given to billionaires. Their net worth is an obscene percentage of the entire planet’s wealth. Why reward the uber-rich who meddle in elections, monopolise, and litter orbits? If IAF finds corporations producing innovative tech, it should felicitate the teams and team leaders within these companies who create that innovative tech rather than their oligarch-owners.

‘Space for all’ is an empty slogan if we pander to just billionaires and powerful nations. The IAF is facing growing criticism for putting up thematic veneers – for instance sustainability, resilience – while actively censoring topics. It is akin to ‘spacewashing’ – making token gestures while discouraging deep discussions. Delegates keen on discussing sensitive, yet relevant topics – such as space militarisation, war profiteering, colonial practices, extractive and exploitative visions of space futures – are pushed out or silenced. This has led to curation of IAC side (counter-) events.

Time for a grand reset

In 2014, at the 65th IAC in Toronto, I recall talking about rising registration costs with an elder colleague, a former recipient of the Allan D. Emil Memorial Award. He shared my concern and remarked “unfortunately, the IAF is losing its soul. It is turning into a money-making enterprise.” The decay crept in more than a decade ago.

The IAC needs a grand reset if it wants to stay relevant and be an inclusive global platform to promote “astronautics for all”. The IAC, and by extrapolation the hosting organisation, the IAF, need to reclaim their roots and rediscover why they were created in the first place.

At the European level, agencies, institutions and policymakers could help guide this reset by supporting measures that enhance equitable participation, such as tiered registration fees or targeted travel support for underrepresented regions. European actors should lead efforts to ensure access to international space forums is not restricted by nationality or politics, reaffirming the principle of ‘space for all’ and supporting multilateral cooperation.

The views expressed in this #CriticalThinking article reflect those of the author(s) and not of Friends of Europe.