ITU joined the global community in celebrating this year's World Space Week under the theme Space Unites the World. Since the 1960s, ITU has ensured that radio spectrum and satellite orbits are available for space activities that bring social and economic benefits to the world.

World Space Week, which runs annually from 4 to 10 October, has grown into the largest public space event on Earth since being established by the United Nations in 1999 “to celebrate each year at the international level the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition".  The dates were chosen in recognition of the 4 October 1957 launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, opening the way for space exploration, and the 10 October 1967 signing of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.

Through the work of the ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRCs) and ITU-R Study Groups, ITU maintains the regulatory framework to ensure space services keep pace with technological developments. Next year's WRC-19, to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from 28 October to 22 November 2019, will have a special focus on space issues.

Additionally, ITU's role as supervisory authority of the international registration system for space assets under the space protocol will be a topic of discussion at the 2018 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference taking place in Dubai from 29 October to 16 November 2018.

“ITU was pleased to join the global community in celebrating how 'Space Unites the World' during this year's World Space Week. ITU's role to ensure access to, and efficient use of, spectrum and orbit resources supports the achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and creates a world united by space," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.

 "To allocate frequencies for space applications, the ITU Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits (both geostationary and non-geostationary), contain a set of detailed technical provisions and regulatory procedures that ensure an efficient and equitable access to spectrum/orbit resources," said François Rancy, Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau.

​For more information, please see the ITU News article ITU's contribution to a world united by space.