United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is an office of the U.N. Secretariat that promotes and facilitates peaceful international cooperation in outer space. It works to establish or strengthen the legal and regulatory frameworks for space activities, and assists developing countries in using space science and technology for sustainable socioeconomic development. The Office was established in 1958 to assist and advise the "ad hoc" Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), which was established by the UN General Assembly to discuss the scientific and legal aspects of exploring  and using outer space to benefit humankind. The Committee became permanent the following year, with UNOOSA undergoing several structural changes before its relocation in 1993 to the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria. As the secretariat of COPUOS, the Office is responsible for helping implement the major international treaties, legal principles, and General Assembly resolutions that together comprise space law. Other duties include advising governments and nongovernmental organizations on space law; maintaining a registry of vessels and objects launched into space; convening forums to discuss various space-related matters; and sponsoring programmes that provide access to space technology. History. In  1957, the launching of "Sputnik 1" prompted a global conversation and debate on the legal, scientific, and political implications of space exploration. On 13 December 1958, the following year, the "ad hoc" Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was established by the General Assembly in its resolution 1348 (XIII), beconing a permanent body within the General Assembly. They soon met for the first time to discuss a peaceful and legally ordered approach to space exploration. Concurrently, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) was created as a small expert unit within the UN Secretariat in  New York to assist the Committee in its work. In 1962, UNOOSA was moved to the Department of Political and Security Council Affairs (DPSCA), where it was transformed into the Outer Space Affairs Division. In 1967, the Outer Space Treaty, which had been developed by COPUOS, entered into force, creating the first international legal framework governing the conduct of space activities. In 1992, the Outer Space Affairs Division changed to its current form as the Office for Outer Space Affairs, remaining within Department for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding (which succeeded the DPSCA). The following year, UNOOSA was relocated to its  current headquarters at the United Nations Office at Vienna. At the start of the 21st century, UNOOSA undertook several initiatives and programs to fulfill its mandate of promoting widespread and peaceful international involvement in space. In 2005, the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG) was established to promote compatibility, interoperability and transparency between all the satellite navigation systems, particularly for developing nations. The following year, the UN-SPIDER programme was created to provide an accessible platform for developing states to use space-based technologies for disaster management and emergency response. Two offices were established (in Bonn, Germany and  Beijing, China) to further the programme's work. In 2009, Japanese astronaut Takao Doi became Chief of Space Applications. In 2010, the Human Space Initiative was launched to further UNOOSA's mission of providing developing countries with access to the use and exploration of space. In March 2014, the UN Secretary-General appointed the current Director of the Office, Simonetta Di Pippo of Italy, who had previously served as Director of Human Spaceflight at the European Space Agency. In September 2015, pursuant to the Human Space Initiative, UNOOSA partnered with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to launch the "KiboCUBE