The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) and its two subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee, deal with international co-operation in the peaceful uses of outer space at their annual sessions in Vienna. The Committee was established by the UN General Assembly in 1959 according to Resolution 1472 (XIV); Germany is a Member State since 1973.

UNCOPUOS is to facilitate the peaceful international uses of outer space, to promote the exploration of outer space and in particular to further develop the law of outer space; as of today UNCOPUOS has prepared five treaties on outer space including the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 which commits Signatory States to certain basic rules when exploring and using outer space.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) provides secretariat services to the UNCOPUOS and its two subcommittees, maintains the United Nations register of objects launched into outer space and promotes the development of indigenous capabilities in developing countries.

UNOOSA also supervises the UN-SPIDER (United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response) Programme. By providing up-to-date satellite maps to national and international decision makers and aid organizations in the event of disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, UN-SPIDER enables timely relief measures. UN-SPIDER took up work in 2007 and has offices in Bonn, Germany, as well as in Beijing.

Germany is a major contributor to the further development of the law of outer space and has for example launched initiatives for the mitigation of space debris and the liabilities of launching states.

UNOOSA in the World Wide Web:

UNOOSA

DLR - German Aerospace Center

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DLR is Germany's research center for aeronautics, space, transportation and energy. It cooperates with OOSA and maintains large-scale research facilities:

Read more on the Website of DLR