The 77th edition of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), the premier space event, will bring together more than 10,000 space professionals in Türkiye next year, marking a historic turning point for the country's space vision.
Yusuf Kirac, chair of the Turkish Space Agency (TUA), told Anadolu that the country has made significant progress in line with its national space program announced in 2021.
"It is significantly important for a country to have strategic independent access to space, which is why we're building a spaceport in a third country, which we hope to have made ready in the first months of 2027," he said. "The first phase will be completed in about a year and a half, and we want to make it to a global launch center, such as Cape Canaveral."
Kirac stated that the event will be held on Oct. 5-9, 2026, in the southwestern Turkish city of Antalya.
"We expect over 10,000 participants and around 50 astronauts at the event, which has been held every year without interruption for 77 years — the IAC has some 604 members, including space agencies like NASA and private companies," he said.
He urged academics and young people to participate in the congress, as it would grant them a chance to publish their articles and to meet the owners of high-level companies participating in the event.
"At the event, the world will gather in Türkiye to discuss space," he said. "We are trying to achieve the same that we started in the defense industry, where Türkiye's progress in the last 20 years has been incredible — to be strong in space is to be strong in future wars, which is why we focused on this both in the civilian and military sense, as we would like to see the success of our defense industry replicated in the space sector in 10-15 years."
Kirac stated that around 4,500 articles were presented at the previous edition of the congress held in Sydney this year, expecting more to be presented next year in Türkiye.
"We wish to break the record in the number of articles presented," he said.
"We wish to see Turkish scientists and students submit the highest number of articles to date, and while these seem to only do with the aerospace field, articles can be concerning space law, space history, and even nutrition — what will astronauts eat in space, perhaps," he added.
