Human Spaceflight Committee (2024-2027)

Committee Members  

Objective/scope of the committee

The Committee deals with the overarching aspects of human spaceflight, including governmental and commercial human spaceflight initiatives, design, research, development, utilisation, operations and management, as well as associated robotic and support technologies and activities. The Committee addresses past (Skylab, Mir, Shuttle…), present (ISS, Tjangong, Soyuz, MPCV, and commercial suborbital projects…), and future endeavours; and encompass both government and private sector initiatives.

The Human Spaceflight Committee cooperates with other IAF committees, the IAA, IISL, and the Association of Space Explorers (ASE). Special emphasis will be applied to the international character of human spaceflightand the fostering and enhancement of international cooperation.

Symposiums/sessions at the iac

The Committee organizes the Symposium on Human Spaceflight (HSF), encompassing 8 half-day sessions ranging from governmental to commercial orbital and suborbital HSF activities, HSF technologies, astronauts training, and HSF-robotic joint activities. The symposium features 4 joint sessions with other technical symposia, offering the audience the best insight into adjacent and related topics as well, and for several years has involved young graduates worldwide to join a virtual session in the frame of the Workforce Development/Young Professionals Programme Committee (WD/YPP). The HSF Symposium also co-organises since 2009 the only joint session of the IAF with the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) on the framework of international collaborative space activities.