Cooperation among the CIS states in the field of exploring and using outer space is developing simultaneously in both multilateral and bilateral formats. The central sectoral mechanism is the Interstate Space Council, established to coordinate joint activities, develop priorities, and prepare interstate programmes and projects. The Council includes the heads of the competent authorities of six states that are parties to the relevant Agreement: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The Council is accountable to the CIS Council of Heads of Government and interacts with the CIS Executive Committee and other sectoral bodies of the Commonwealth.
The basis of modern multilateral cooperation consists of two 2018 documents: the CIS Convention on Cooperation in the Field of Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes and the Agreement on Joint Activities of the CIS Member States in the Field of Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes. They establish the legal and organizational foundations for cooperation, including the remote sensing of the Earth (RSE), satellite communications, time and navigation coordination support, manned flights, the space services provision, the personnel training, the scientific and technical cooperation, and the harmonization of regulatory and technical approaches.
In recent years, the Council’s practical agenda has focused on creating interoperable services and infrastructure. The key areas include: the use of GLONASS signals and the development of the ground based navigation infrastructure; the exchange and joint use of remote sensing data; the regulatory and technical support for joint projects; the space debris and near Earth space monitoring; the use of astrophysical observatories; fundamental research on the Sun, the ionosphere, the Earth’s magnetic field, planets and small bodies; specialists training; and the coordination of positions on certain issues of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space. At the 6th meeting of the Interstate Space on September 25, 2025, in Minsk, it was decided to establish a separate working group on remote sensing, expand work on the navigation support, fundamental research, and personnel training. Under the leadership of the Council, the formation of the Interstate Program of Cooperation in the Field of Providing and Using Space Products and Services for the period up to 2030 continues.
The bilateral cooperation between Russia and Belarus remains the most important parallel area. It is based on the Union State programmes and includes joint research and development work, as well as the use of an integrated Russian-Belarusian remote sensing system. The experience of manned spaceflight is of additional importance: the Belarusian cosmonaut flight on the ISS Russian segment is considered in the CIS as a practical example for possible further cooperation, including space biology and medicine.
Russia-Kazakhstan cooperation has a unique infrastructure basis — the jointly operated Baikonur complex. In addition, the key project is the developing Baiterek space rocket complex, based on Kazakhstan’s ground infrastructure. On April 30, 2026, the first test launch of Soyuz 5/Sunkar spaceship took place from the Baiterek complex. The project is building a modern technological base for future launch services and is one of the largest practical examples of space cooperation within the CIS.
Furthermore, direct contacts are developing between specialized organizations from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other states within the CIS. They include the areas of remote sensing, space monitoring, and scientific research.
The CIS space cooperation has a two-tier architecture: the multilateral Council forms a common legal, programmatic, and technological framework, while the most capital intensive and mature projects are currently implemented mainly through bilateral channels. The most promising areas for further multilateral cooperation appear to be remote sensing and “digital” space services, the navigation, monitoring of hazardous natural and man-made processes, the space weather and fundamental research, the personnel training, as well as the manned missions medical and biological support. An important task for the near term remains to translate the accumulated bilateral competencies into compatible interstate services and projects that are accessible to a wider range of the CIS states.