The Space Congress is a proposed decentralised global conference dedicated to building a practical legal and governance framework for a new form of Space Commons. It is designed as a network of regional gatherings, stitched together by a shared platform called The Substrate, and animated by a new Space Law Committee (IAF)–inspired community.
The goal is to support coalitions of states that do not yet operate major space programmes, allowing them to pool resources, co-finance commons-based space projects, and participate meaningfully in shaping the rules of the orbital and cislunar economy.
# Purpose The Space Congress has three primary purposes: - Provide a **commons-based governance framework** that allows smaller or emerging space actors to cooperate on shared infrastructure and services. - Create a **global conversation layer** that connects legal experts, policymakers, engineers, artists and citizens in an ongoing, participatory process rather than a one-off conference. - Serve as the public launchpad for a Space Law Committee and related working groups that can interface with bodies such as UNOOSA, IISL and International Astronautical Federation.
Rather than competing with existing institutions, the Space Congress aims to act as a bridge between established space law forums and new actors looking for practical entry points.
# The Substrate The Substrate is the membership-based organisation and digital platform that underpins the Space Congress. It has four core roles: - **Membership and governance** A cooperative structure where members include states, academic institutions, civil-society groups and individual fellows. The Substrate holds the rules of the game and the shared charter for the Space Congress. - **Event mesh and publication layer** A platform for connecting regional gatherings, streaming assemblies, and publishing outcomes as living documents, podcasts, transcripts and visualisations. - **Training and capacity-building** A home for workshops, clinics and toolkits that help participants understand space law, project finance, standards and governance options for commons-based projects. - **Legal R&D for the Space Commons** A laboratory for drafting, testing and refining frameworks for shared orbital infrastructure, resource utilisation, data commons and cooperative ownership models.
# Strategic Focus On Non-Spacefaring States A distinctive aim of the Space Congress is to support **national states without established space programmes** or with only minimal space capabilities. The Congress and the Substrate together should: - Offer clear **onboarding paths** for ministries, regulators and universities in emerging space nations. - Provide model **legal instruments, MoUs and governance templates** that make it easier to form cross-border public–commons partnerships. - Help states collaborate to finance and manage **Commons-based project partnerships**, rather than competing to build isolated national programmes. - Create a shared narrative where participation in space is framed as a **commons stewardship role**, not only a commercial or military race.
# Role Of The Space Law Committee The Space Congress will serve as the launch venue for a new Space Law Committee embedded in or closely partnered with the IAF and IISL ecosystem. This committee will: - Anchor the Congress in academically robust space law and public international law. - Curate and validate governance game scenarios, ensuring that every fictional or speculative case is grounded in real treaties, customary law and national legislation. - Maintain relationships with existing institutions such as IISL, UNOOSA and national space agencies, and channel insights from the Space Congress back into more formal processes. The committee functions as both a **guardian of rigour** and a **bridge to institutions**.
# Phases Of Bootstrapping Bootstrapping the Space Congress can be approached in several overlapping phases. - **Exploration And Alignment** Identify core allies among space lawyers, governance theorists, activists, engineers and cultural practitioners. Circulate a short concept note for the Space Congress and Substrate, and align with existing initiatives in space governance and commons-based infrastructure. - **Research Fellowships 2026–2027** Fund a first cohort of **Space Congress Fellows** who will attend key conferences in 2026 and 2027 (including UNOOSA-related events, IISL colloquia and IAF congresses). Fellows act as field researchers, recording conversations, running small side-events, and producing interviews and podcasts that build the narrative lead-up to the Space Congress. - **Popularisation And Storytelling** Launch a podcast and media series that follows the fellows on their journey. Use accessible formats to introduce key issues such as debris, space traffic management, space resource utilisation and space data rights. Invite guests from established institutions and emerging communities. - **Regional Pilot Gatherings** Host small regional assemblies in a few partner locations, preferably in states without large space programmes. Use these pilots to test the governance game mechanics, remote participation tools and documentation templates that will later scale into the Space Congress format. - **Substrate Minimum Viable Platform** Implement a minimal version of the Substrate platform that can: - Register members and fellows - Host agendas and documents for assemblies - Publish podcasts, essays and transcripts - Capture decisions and proposals as structured, linkable records - **Design Of The Governance Game** Develop the core mechanics of the governance game that will structure Space Congress sessions. Draw on hard science-fiction archetypes, AI-augmented scriptwriting and structured deliberation, making sure each scenario is anchored in real law and technology.
# Governance Game And Assemblies The Space Congress is not just a sequence of panels but a multi-day governance game. Key characteristics: - **Provocations** Each day of the Congress starts with curated provocations: panels, keynotes, short films or performances that frame a specific governance challenge. - **Assemblies** Participants then split into assemblies, both on-site and remote, to deliberate using game mechanics that include roles, missions, constraints and decision points. - **Substrate Integration** Every assembly produces structured outputs stored on the Substrate: proposed principles, minority reports, legal questions, and project ideas suitable for commons-based implementation. - **Feedback To Institutions** Selected outputs are summarised and packaged as briefs that can be shared with IISL, UNOOSA, IAF committees and national delegations, giving the Congress a direct but informal channel into existing processes.
# Training And Capacity-Building The run-up to the Space Congress should be used to build capacity among participating states and organisations. The Substrate can host: - Short **introductory courses** on space law, project finance, licensing and safety. - **Clinics** where teams from emerging space nations bring real questions and receive guidance on legal frameworks and partnership options. - **Scenario writing workshops** that train participants to express governance challenges through narrative, code and legal structures. Training materials and workshop outputs become part of a public or semi-public knowledge base on the Substrate, forming the backbone of an emergent Space Commons curriculum.
# Membership And Participation Participation in the Space Congress ecosystem happens at several levels: - **Members Of The Substrate** States, institutions and individuals who subscribe to the shared charter and contribute to governance, funding and content. - **Fellows And Field Researchers** Early cohorts who travel, document and synthesise where space governance is heading in practice. - **Regional Hosts** Organisations that host local assemblies and pre-Congress gatherings, experimenting with hybrid formats and feeding their experience back into the design of the main event. - **Allied Institutions** Bodies such as UNOOSA, IISL, IAF committees and universities, which may not be members but act as partners, co-host events or participate in specific strands.
# First Concrete Steps To move from idea to reality, the following steps are recommended: - Draft a concise **Space Congress and Substrate concept note**, including the focus on non-spacefaring states and commons-based projects. - Identify and invite a **core founding circle** of legal scholars, practitioners and institutional partners willing to act as interim stewards. - Define the **first fellowship call** for 2026–2027, including target conferences, expected outputs and a simple application process. - Build a basic **online presence** for the Space Congress and Substrate, enough to host concept documents, calls, and early media. - Design and run at least one **pilot assembly** or governance game session at an existing space or governance event, documenting what works and what needs to change. - Begin a **dialogue with UNOOSA, IISL and IAF** to ensure that the Space Congress is seen as complementary and collaborative from the start.
# See - Space Congress - The Substrate - Space Law Committee - Space Commons - UNOOSA - International Astronautical Federation - International Institute Of Space Law
# Sources
- unoosa.org 
- iisl.space
- iafastro.org