World Space Congress Opens in Turkey Amid Orbital Weapons and AI Satellites

The 77th International Astronautical Congress opened in Belek, Antalya, with over 10,000 participants from NASA, ESA, ISRO, CNSA and JAXA. It is the first IAC held while the Pentagon has confirmed US weapons are deployed in orbit, and days after Google launched its Project Suncatcher AI satellite.

• 77th IAC runs October 5–9 in Belek, Turkey, with 10,000+ registered participants
• First congress held after Pentagon confirmed on-orbit US space control weapons
• Turkey signed the Artemis Accords on August 31, 2026, becoming the 71st nation
• Turkey's AYAP-1 lunar mission will launch no earlier than June 2027 on Falcon 9