World's Space Agency Leaders Discuss Common Goals at Summit

The heads of 27 space agencies from countries all over the world ?met today (Nov. 17) at a summit in Washington to discuss the future of space exploration.

NASA administrator Charlie Bolden was among the speakers at the Heads of Space Agencies Summit, organized in honor of the 50th anniversary of the International Academy of Astronautics, a group that aims to foster the development of astronautics for peaceful purposes.

The summit brought the agency leaders together to discuss international cooperation in four areas: human spaceflight, robotic space exploration, climate change and disaster management.

After the event, Bolden noted that the space agencies are concerned by "issues almost all countries are grappling with, such as changing national priorities and stagnant budgets. NASA has been actively working with many of the space agencies attending the summit to further our common understanding of exploration and establish global partnerships."

Other notable speakers were Abdul A.P.J. Kalam, the former president of India; Leonid ?Kuchma, the former president of Ukraine; and Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu, chairman of the United Nations' Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

"NASA recognizes that exploration beyond low-Earth orbit will involve the coordination, cooperation and support of other countries," Bolden said. "I can assure you that as we look to the future, international cooperation will continue to be a cornerstone of NASA's exploration activities."

Five major space agencies ? from the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada ? have worked ?together to build the $100 billion International Space Station. The station is the product of cooperation among 15 different countries in all.Astronauts and cosmonauts have been flying missions to it for just over 10 years during its construction, which began in 1998 and is due to be completed in 2011.

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