Contents

List of government space agencies

This is a list of government agencies engaged in activities related to outer space and space exploration.

The name given is the English version, with the native language version below. The acronym given is the most common acronym: this can either be the acronym of the English version (e.g. JAXA), or the acronym in the native language. Where there are multiple acronyms in common use, the English one is given first.

The date of the founding of the space agency is the date of first operations where possible. If the space agency is no longer running, then the date when it was terminated (i.e. the last day of operations) is given. A link to the Agency's primary website is also given.

Capabilities of the space agencies

Color legend

The capabilities of the space agencies are color-coded as follows:

Space agency		Country	Founded	Terminated	Capabilities of the space agency				Ref(s)
Name	Initialisms/Acronym				Astronauts	Operates Satellites	Sounding Rockets capable	Recoverable Biological Sounding Rockets capable
Belarus Space Agency		Belarus	2010	—	No	No	Yes	No	[1]
Spanish: Asociación Centroamericana de Aeronáutica y el Espacio (Central American Association for Aeronautics and Space)	ACAE	Costa Rica	2010	—	No	Yes	No	No	[2]
Aeronautics and Space Research and Diffusion Center[citation needed] (Spanish: Centro de Investigación y Difusión Aeronáutico-Espacial)	CIDA-E	Uruguay	5 August 1975	—	No	No	No	No	—
Mexican Space Agency (Spanish: Agencia Espacial Mexicana)	AEM	Mexico	30 July 2010	—	Yes	Yes	No	No	—
Algerian Space Agency French: Agence Spatiale Algérienne Berber: Tafullut Tadzayrit n Tallunt Arabic: الوكالة الفضائية الجزائرية	ASAL	Algeria	16 January 2002	—	No	Yes	No	No	—
Asia Pacific Multilateral Cooperation in Space Technology and Applications[citation needed] (Chinese: 亚太空间技术应用多边合作会议)	AP-MCSTA	International  China  Pakistan  Thailand	February 1992	—	No	Yes	No	No	—
Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (Japanese: アジア太平洋地域宇宙機関会議)	APRSAF	International  Australia  Bangladesh  Brunei  Bhutan  Canada  Cambodia  China  France  Germany  India  Indonesia  Japan  Laos  Malaysia  Mongolia  Myanmar  Nepal  New Zealand  Pakistan  Philippines  Russia  Singapore  South Korea  Sri Lanka  Thailand  United States  Vietnam	1993	—	No	Yes	No	No	—
Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (Chinese: 亚太空间合作组织)	APSCO	International  Bangladesh  China  Indonesia  Iran  Mongolia  Pakistan  Peru  Thailand  Turkey	28 October 2005	—	No	Yes	No	No	—
German: Agentur für Luft- und Raumfahrt (Aeronautics and Space Agency); also Austrian Space Agency; (Austrian Solar and Space Agency 1977–1987)	ALR	Austria	12 July 1972	—	No	No	No	No	[3][4]
Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Milli Aerokosmik Agentliyinin (Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency)	AMAKA	Azerbaijan	21 February 1974	—	No	Yes	No	No	—
Dutch: Belgisch Instituut voor Ruimte-Aëronomie French: Institut d’Aéronomie Spatiale de Belgique (Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy)	BIRA IASB BISA	Belgium	25 November 1964	—	Yes	No	No	No	[5]
Spanish: Agencia Bolivariana para Actividades Espaciales (Bolivarian Agency for Space Activities)	ABAE	Venezuela	1 January 2008	—	No	Yes	No	No	[6]
Portuguese: Agência Espacial Brasileira (Brazilian Space Agency)	AEB	Brazil	10 February 1994	—	Yes	Yes	Yes[7]	No	[8]
UK Space Agency	UKSA	United Kingdom	1 April 2010	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[citation needed]
Bolivian Space Agency[citation needed]	ABE	Bolivia	2012	—	No	Yes	No	No	[9][10][11]
Bulgarian: Българска академия на науките (Space Research Institute, Solar-Terrestrial Influences Institute) Bulgarian Space Agency	ИКИ-БАН SRI-BAS ИСЗВ-БАН STIL-BAS	Bulgaria	1987	—	Yes	Yes	No	No	[12]
Canadian Space Agency French: Agence spatiale canadienne	CSA ASC	Canada	1 March 1989	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	[13]
China National Space Administration (Chinese: 国家航天局)	CNSA	People's Republic of China	22 April 1993	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[14]
Spanish: Comisión Colombiana del Espacio (Colombian Space Commission)	CCE	Colombia	18 July 2006	—	Yes	Yes	No	No	[15]
Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing[citation needed]	CRISP	Singapore	1995	—	No	Yes	No	No
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation	CSIRO	Australia	1926	—	No	Yes	No	No	[16]
Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems	CCSDS	International Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) British National Space Centre (BNSC) Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) China National Space Administration (CNSA) Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt (DLR) European Space Agency (ESA) Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Russian Federal Space Agency (RFSA)	1982	—	No	No	No	No	—
Committee on Space Research	COSPAR	International  Argentina  Armenia  Australia  Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Brazil  Canada  China  Republic of China (Taiwan)  Czech Republic  Denmark  Egypt  Spain  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  India  Indonesia  Iran  Israel  Italy  Japan  Mexico  Netherlands  Nigeria  Norway  Pakistan  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Russia  Slovakia  South Africa  Sweden  Switzerland  Thailand  Turkey  Ukraine  United Kingdom  United States European Space Agency UNESCO	1958	—	No	No	No	No	[17][17][17]
Croatian: Hrvatska svemirska agencija (Croatian Space Agency[citation needed])	HSA CSA	Croatia	October 2002	—	No	No	No	No	[18]
Czech: Ministerstvo dopravy České republiky (Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic - Space Technologies and Satellite Systems Department[citation needed][19])	[6] Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic	Czech Republic	2003[citation needed]	—	No	No	No	No	[19]
Danish: Danmarks Rumcenter (Danish National Space Center)	DRC DNSC	Denmark	1 January 1968	31 December 2006	Yes	No	No	No	[citation needed]
Danish: Dansk Rumforskningsinstitut (Danish Space Research Institute)	DRKI DSRI	Denmark	1 January 2005	31 December 2006	No	Yes	No	No	[citation needed]
Danish: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet – Institut for Rumforskning og -teknologi (Technical University of Denmark – National Space Institute)	DTU Space	Denmark	1 January 2006	—	Yes	Yes	No	No	[20]
European Space Agency (French: Agence spatiale européenne) (German: Europäische Weltraumorganisation)	ESA ASE EWO	Austria  Belgium  Czech Republic  Denmark  European Union  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Ireland  Italy  Luxembourg  Netherlands  Norway  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Spain  Sweden  Switzerland  United Kingdom	31 May 1975	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[21][22]
Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Thai: สำนักงานพัฒนาเทคโนโลยีอวกาศและภูมิสารสนเทศ)	GISTDA สทอภ	Thailand	3 November 2002	—	No	Yes	No	No	[23]
German: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center)	DLR	Germany	1969	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	[24]
Hungarian: Magyar Űrkutatási Iroda (Hungarian Space Office)	MŰI HSO	Hungary	January 1992	—	No	Yes	No	No	[25]
Indian Space Research Organization (Hindi: भारतीय अंतरिक्ष अनुसंधान संगठन)	ISRO इसरो	India	15 August 1969	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[24]
Greek: Ινστιτούτο Διαστημικών Εφαρμογών και Τηλεπισκόπησης (Institute for Space Applications and Remote Sensing)	ΙΔΕΤ ISARS	Greece	1955	—	No	Yes	No	No	[citation needed]
Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial	INTA	Spain	1942	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	[26][27][28]
Iranian Space Agency (Persian: سازمان فضایی ایران)	ISA	Iran	2003	—	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	[29][30][31]
Israeli Space Agency (Hebrew: סוכנות החלל הישראלית)	ISA סל"ה	Israel	April 1983	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	[citation needed]
Italian Space Agency (Italian: Agenzia Spaziale Italiana)	ASI	Italy	1988	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	[32][33]
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Japanese: 宇宙航空研究開発機構)	JAXA	Japan	1 October 2003	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	[34]
National Space Agency (KazCosmos); Kazakh Space Research Institute	NSA (KazCosmos); SRI	Kazakhstan	1991	—	No	Yes	No	No	—
Korean Committee of Space Technology (Korean: 조선우주공간기술위원회)	KCST	North Korea	1980s	2013	No	Yes	Yes	No	[35][36][37]
National Aerospace Development Administration (Korean: 국가우주개발국)	NADA	North Korea	2013	—	No	Yes	Yes	No	[38]
Korea Aerospace Research Institute (Korean: 한국항공우주연구원)	KARI	South Korea	10 October 1989	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	[citation needed]
Lithuanian Space Association[citation needed]	LSA	Lithuania	2007	—	No	Yes	No	No	[39]
Malaysian National Space Agency (Malay: Agensi Angkasa Negara)	ANGKASA	Malaysia	2002	—	Yes	Yes	No	No	[40]
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	NASA	United States	1 October 1958	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[41]
National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (Arabic: الهيئة العامة للاستشعار عن بعد وعلوم الفضاء)	NARSS	Egypt	1994	—	No	Yes	No	No	[42]
French: Centre National d’Études Spatiales (National Center of Space Research)	CNES	France	19 December 1961	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	[43]
Spanish: Comisión Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Aeroespacial (National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development)[citation needed]	CONIDA	Peru	11 June 1974	—	No	No	Yes	No	—
Spanish: Comisión Nacional de Investigaciones Espaciales (National Commission for Space Research)	CNIE	Argentina	1961	1991	No	No	Yes	Yes	[44][45]
Spanish: Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (National Space Activities Commission)	CONAE	Argentina	28 May 1991	—	No	Yes	Yes	No	[44]
Indonesian: Lembaga Antariksa dan Penerbangan Nasional (National Institute of Aeronautics and Space)	LAPAN	Indonesia	27 November 1964	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	[citation needed]
National Remote Sensing Center of Mongolia[citation needed]	NRSC	Mongolia	1987	—	No	No	No	No	[46]
French: Centre national de télédétection (Arabic: المركز الوطني للإستشعار عن بعد) (National Remote Sensing Center of Tunisia)[citation needed]	CNT	Tunisia	1988	—	No	No	No	No	—
Uzbek State Space Research Agency (UzbekCosmos)	USSRA (UzbekCosmos)	Uzbekistan	2001	—	No	No	No	No	[7] [47]
Ukrainian: Національне космічне агентство України (National Space Agency of Ukraine)	НКАУ NSAU	Ukraine	2 March 1992	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	[8]
National Space Organization (Chinese: 國家太空中心)	NSPO	Republic of China (Taiwan)	October 1991	—	No	Yes	Yes	No	[48]
National Space Research and Development Agency	NASRDA	Nigeria	1998	—	No	Yes	No	No	[citation needed]
Dutch: Stichting Ruimteonderzoek Nederland (Netherlands Institute for Space Research)	SRON	Netherlands	1983	—	No	No	No	No	[citation needed]
Norwegian: Norsk Romsenter (Norwegian Space Centre)	NRS NSC	Norway	1987	—	No	Yes	Yes	No	[49]
Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Urdu: پاکستان خلائی و بالا فضائی تحقی‍قاتی کمیشن)	SUPARCO سپارکو	Pakistan	16 September 1961	—	No	Yes	Yes	No	[citation needed]
Portuguese: Gabinete do Espaço da FCT (FCT Space Office)[citation needed]	[50] FCT SO	Portugal	2009	—	No	No	No	No	—
Romanian: Agenţia Spaţială Română (Romanian Space Agency)	ASR ROSA	Romania	1991	—	Yes	Yes	No	No	[citation needed]
former Egypt Remote Sensing Center	EASRT-RSC	Egypt	1971	1994	No	No	No	No	[42]
French: Centre Royal de Télédétection Spatiale Berber: Ammas Amrrukan n Tallunt (Arabic: المركز الملكي للإستشعار البعدي الفضائي) (Royal Centre for Remote Sensing)[citation needed]	CRTS	Morocco	December 1989	—	No	No	No	No	—
Russian: Федеральное космическое агентство (Russian Federal Space Agency)	ROSCOSMOS	Russia	c.1992	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[citation needed]
Sri Lanka Space Agency[citation needed]	SLSA	Sri Lanka	2010 (Proposed)[needs update]	—	No	Yes	No	No	[51]
Turkish: TÜBİTAK Uzay Teknolojileri Araştırma Enstitüsü (TÜBİTAK UZAY) (TUBITAK Space Technologies Research Institute)	TÜBİTAK UZAY	Turkey	1985	—	Yes	Yes	No	No	—
Russian: Советская космическая программа (Soviet space program)	СССР	Soviet Union	ca. 1955	ca. 1991	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[citation needed]
Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization	SPARRSO	Bangladesh	1980	—	No	No	No	No	[52]
Polish: Centrum Badań Kosmicznych PAN (Space Research Centre)	CBK-PAN SRC	Poland	1977	—	Yes	Yes	No	No	[citation needed]
South African National Space Agency	SANSA	South Africa	2011	—	No	No	No	No	[53]
Space Research Institute of Saudi Arabia[citation needed] (Arabic: معهد بحوث الفضاء)	KACST-SRI	Saudi Arabia	—	—	No	Yes	No	No	—
Vietnamese: Viện Công nghệ vũ trụ (Space Technology Institute)[citation needed]	CNVT VAST-STI	Vietnam	20 November 2006	—	Yes	Yes	No	No	[54]
Swedish: Rymdstyrelsen (Swedish National Space Board)	SNSB	Sweden	1972	—	No	Yes	Yes	No	[citation needed]
Swiss Space Office	SSO	Switzerland	—	—	No	No	No	No	[citation needed]
Turkmenistan National Space Agency		Turkmenistan	2011	—	No	No	No	No	[55]
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs	UNOOSA	United Nations	13 December 1958	—	—	—	—	—	[56]
United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space	UNCOPUOS	Albania  Algeria  Argentina  Australia  Austria  Belgium  Benin  Bolivia  Brazil  Bulgaria  Burkina Faso  Cameroon  Canada  Chad  Chile  China  Colombia  Cuba  Czech Republic  Ecuador  Egypt  France  Hungary  Germany  Greece  India  Indonesia  Iran  Iraq  Italy  Japan  Kazakhstan  Kenya  Lebanon  Libya  Malaysia  Mexico  Mongolia  Netherlands  Nicaragua  Niger  Nigeria  Pakistan  Peru  Philippines  Poland  Portugal  South Korea  Romania  Russia  Saudi Arabia  Senegal  Sierra Leone  Slovakia  South Africa  Spain  Sudan  Sweden  Switzerland  Syria  Thailand  Turkey  United Kingdom  United States  Ukraine  Uruguay  Venezuela  Vietnam	12 December 1959	—	—	—	—	—	—
United & Independent Space Agency (in formation)	UISA	International	1 May 2013 (Expected)	—	No	No	No	No	—
Space Technology Institute[citation needed]	STI	Vietnam	2006	—	No	No	No	No	[57]

List of space agencies with launch capability

Space agency		Country	Founded	Terminated	Capabilities of the space agency					Ref(s)
Name	Acronym				Launch capable	Multiple Satellites Launch capable	Developed & Deployed Cryogenic Rocket Engines	Operates Extraterrestrial Probe	Recoverable Satellites capable
China National Space Administration (Chinese: 中华人民共和国国家航天局)	CNSA	People's Republic of China	22 April 1993	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[14]
European Space Agency (French: Agence spatiale européenne) (German: Europäische Weltraumorganisation)	ESA ASE EWO	Austria  Belgium  Czech Republic  Denmark  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Ireland  Italy  Luxembourg  Netherlands  Norway  Portugal  Poland  Romania  Spain  Sweden  Switzerland  United Kingdom	31 May 1975	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	[21][22]
Iranian Space Agency (Persian: سازمان فضایی ایران)	ISA ISA	Iran	2003	—	Yes	No	No	No	No	[58]
Israeli Space Agency (Hebrew: סוכנות החלל הישראלית) (Arabic: وكالة الفضاء الإسرائيلية)	ISA סל"ה	Israel	April 1983	—	Yes	No	No	No	No	[citation needed]
Korea Aerospace Research Institute (Korean: 한국항공우주연구원) (Hanja: 韓國航空宇宙硏究院)	KCST	North Korea	1980s	—	Yes	No	No	No	No	[citation needed]
Korea Aerospace Research Institute (Korean: 한국항공우주연구원) (Hanja: 韓國航空宇宙硏究院)	KARI 항우연	South Korea	October 1989	—	Yes	No	No	No	No	[citation needed]
Indian Space Research Organization (Hindi: भारतीय अंतरिक्ष अनुसंधान संगठन)	ISRO इसरो	India	15 August 1969	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[59]
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Japanese: 宇宙航空研究開発機構)	JAXA	Japan	1 October 2003	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[34]
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	NASA	United States	1 October 1958	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[41]
French: Centre National d’Études Spatiales (National Center of Space Research)	CNES	France	19 December 1961	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	[43]
Ukrainian: Національне космічне агентство України (National Space Agency of Ukraine)	НКАУ NSAU	Ukraine	2 March 1992	—	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	[citation needed]
Russian: Федеральное космическое агентство (Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos))	ROSCOSMOS RFSA	Russia	ca. 1992	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[citation needed]
Russian: Советская космическая программа (Soviet space program)	СССР	Soviet Union	ca. 1955	ca. 1991	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[citation needed]

List of space agencies with manned spaceflight capability

Space agency		Country	Founded	Terminated	Accomplished tasks by the Space Agency					Ref(s)
Name	Acronym				Manned Spaceflight capable	Manned Space launch capable	Spacewalk capable	Space Rendezvous and Docking capable	Operates Space Station
China National Space Administration (Chinese: 中华人民共和国国家航天局)	CNSA	People's Republic of China	22 April 1993	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[14][60]
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	NASA	United States	1 October 1958	—	Yes	No (since 2011)	Yes	Yes	Yes	[41]
Russian: Федеральное космическое агентство (Russian Federal Space Agency)	ROSCOSMOS RFSA	Russia	ca. 1992	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[61]
Russian: Советская космическая программа (Soviet space program)	СССР	Soviet Union	ca. 1955	ca. 1991	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[61]

List of achievements of space agencies with lunar landing capability

Space agency		Country	Founded	Terminated	Accomplished tasks by the Space Agency					Ref(s)
Name	Acronym				Circumlunar Manned Spaceflight	Unmanned Moon Soft Landing	Unmanned (automated) lunar rover operation	Automated Lunar sample return mission	Manned Moon Landing and sample return
China National Space Administration (Chinese: 中华人民共和国国家航天局)	CNSA	People's Republic of China	22 April 1993	—	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	NASA	United States	1 October 1958	—	Yes	Yes	No[62]	No[63]	Yes	[41]
Russian: Советская космическая программа (Soviet space program)	СССР	Soviet Union	ca. 1955	ca. 1991	No	Yes	Yes[64]	Yes[65][66]	No	[67]

Expected and proposed future space agencies

Space agency		Country	Possible expected date of foundation	Current status	Ref(s)
Name	Acronym
Pan-Arab Space Agency	PASA	Arab League	—	At proposal stage	[68]
African Space Agency	AfriSpace	African Union	—	At proposal stage	[69][70][71][72]
South American Space Agency		South America	—	At proposal stage	[73]
Philippine Space Agency	PSA	Philippines		At proposal stage	[74]
Sri Lanka Aeronautics and Space Agency	SLASA	Sri Lanka		Immediate goal is to construct and launch two satellites. Sri Lankan Telecommunications Regulatory Commission has signed an agreement with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd to get relevant help and resources.	[75][76]

Budgets

The annual budgets listed are the official budgets for national space agencies available in public domain. The budgets are not normalized to the expenses of space research in different countries, i.e. higher budget does not necessarily mean more activity or better performance in space exploration.^[77][78] Note also that budget could be used for different projects: e.g. positioning system GPS is maintained from US defence budget, while ESA's money is used for developing European Galileo positioning system. The data for authoritarian countries are unreliable. For European contributors to ESA, the national budgets shown are separate from their contributions to ESA.

Country/ region	Agency	Budget (in millions of US $)	Year
United States	National Aeronautics and Space Administration	17,800[79]	FY 2012
Russia	Russian Federal Space Agency	5,600[80]	2013
Austria  Belgium  Czech Republic  Denmark  European Union  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Ireland  Italy  Luxembourg  Netherlands  Norway  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Spain  Sweden  Switzerland  United Kingdom	European Space Agency	5,510[81]	2013
France	French Space Agency	2,500[82]	2012
Japan	Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency	2,460[83]	FY 2010
Germany	German Aerospace Center	2,000[84]	2010
Italy	Italian Space Agency	1,800[85]	2014
China	China National Space Administration	1,300 (Euroconsult) [86] 500 (official)
India	Indian Space Research Organization	1,100[87][88]	2013-14
Canada	Canadian Space Agency	488.7[89]
United Kingdom	UK Space Agency	414[90]
South Korea	Korea Aerospace Research Institute	366[91]	FY 2007
Brazil	Brazilian Space Agency	275[92]	2011
Ukraine	State Space Agency of Ukraine	250[93]
Argentina	Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales	180[94]	2014
Iran	Iranian Space Agency and Iranian Space Research Center	72 + 67 = 139[95]	2014-15
Spain	Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial	135[96]	2009
Netherlands	Netherlands Space Office	110[97]
Sweden	Swedish National Space Board	100[98]	2011
Pakistan	Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission	75.1[99]	2010-11
Switzerland	Swiss Space Office	10[100]
Mexico	Mexican Space Agency	8.34[101]
World	All space agencies (Total of listed budgets)	About 41,800

World maps

Countries with Extraterrestrial Probes

Space Launch capable countries

Countries with Sounding Rockets

Satellite operating countries

Countries with Astronauts

See also

• List of private spaceflight companies

References