COSPAR Assembly in Istanbul Cancelled
“The most recent events in Istanbul, involving a coup from a faction of the national army against the Turkish government on 15 July, require us to cancel the 41st COSPAR Assembly. This is a difficult and sad decision, taken in consultation with the Executive Director of the COSPAR Secretariat and in consideration of the advice spontaneously expressed by several Bureau and Council members as well as COSPAR officers and Main Scientific event Organizers. It also reflects the sense of responsibilities of the President, Bureau and Secretariat of COSPAR.”
NASA-sponsored Travel to 41st Committee on Space Research Scientific Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey, NASA
“The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) is holding its 41st Scientific Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey, from July 30 to August 7, 2016. As with previous meetings of this biennial international conference, a significant number of NASA employees and contractors have made tentative plans to attend including representatives from your organization. However, based on current US. Department of State guidance regarding offical travel to Turkey, the Administrator has determined that the Agency will not sponsor or process travel for the 2016 COSPAR conference in Istanbul by NASA civil servants or contractors, including those at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.”

Turkey Travel Restrictions Not Binding on Grantees, NASA
“You may have seen the NASA memo stating that, based on State Department warnings, official travel by NASA civil servants and contractors will not be sponsored or processed by the Agency. Thus, no NASA civil servants or NASA contractors will be going to COSPAR. However, this prohibition does not bind those who would travel on grants from NASA or cooperative agreements with NASA.”
28 killed in suicide attack at Istanbul airport, USA Today
“At least 28 people were killed and 60 injured Tuesday in an attack at Ataturk International Airport by three suicide bombers who blew themselves up, Istanbul Gov. Vasip Sahin said.”
Turkish President Erdogan declares coup attempt over, CNN
“As dawn broke in Istanbul on Saturday, Turkey’s largest city, it was still unclear whether an attempt by the military to wrest control from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been successful. A defiant Erdogan addressed crowds in the city, telling them that the coup had been quashed. “The government is in control,” he told supporters.”

Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member...

18 replies on “COSPAR Has Been Cancelled”

  1. It should be noted that the State Department warnings are mainly for the southeast and the Syrian border, although they include Izmir where I spent some pleasant days. There is no direction to specifically avoid Istanbul, which is the site of the conference.

    For the US to skip out on a major conference when the other major powers consider it reasonably safe is a snub to Turkey, most of whose educated citizens are quite secular and still think highly of the US. Relations between the US and Turkey remain critical and this conference could be a positive influence.

    The State Department has travel warnings for about a third of the world, including Europe itself, and the information they provide is useful and reasonable. But they do not say that Americans should not go to Istanbul, and State Department personnel and their families stationed there are not leaving, nor are American tourists.

    Max Bernstein, SMD lead for research has issued a separate letter making it clear that NASA grantees are free to attend the conference if they wish: http://science.nasa.gov/res…

    By chance I was in Turkey when Apollo 11 landed. I remember a Turkish man who spoke a little English and noticed I was American pointing excitedly at the Moon and saying “Neil Armstong! Neil Armstrong is on the Moon!” In that moment we were all just human beings, proud and excited at what we had accomplished.

    2. That’s the warning for US citizens traveling to Turkey. However, the State Department also said they had `restricted official travel to Turkey to “mission-critical” travel only.’ So it looks like NASA is following the State Department’s lead, and has also decided that COSPAR isn’t “mission-critical.” That may be an over-reaction, but it would be an over-reaction by State, not NASA.

    3. I’m sorry, were you saying something about safety in Istanbul?

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…

      Seems to me that NASA is putting the safety of it’s employees, not to mention the second guessing and arm chair quarterbacking it would endure after the fact (let alone the congressional inquiry) if something bad where to happen, ahead of making some sort of public relations solidarity statement. Appears to have been a good idea.

      1. I did not notice NASA banning travel to France or Belgium. Equally horrible terrorist attacks took place in Paris and Brussels within the last year. Just because terrorists have committed atrocities in a country is not a reason to blacklist that country. Admittedly, there may be other reasons, and reasons which apply to Turkey but not France and Belgium. But the tragedy at the Istanbul airport isn’t proof of that.

        1. Seriously? There are lots of reasons that the Turks are currently in the bulls-eye, mostly due to geography.

          1. There are a lot of reasons to worry about safe travel in Turkey. But the fact that one terrorists mass murder occurred is not sufficient. If that is sufficient proof, as some people seem to be saying, that we should avoid a place, then Paris and Brussels should also be on the list (along with New York and Orlando.) Clearly that’s unreasonable. So let’s talk about the actual reasons, and not one particular attack.

          2. Orlando is hardly a cross-roads for terrorists in an out of Syria, though; a fact surely part of the equation.

            It is certainly true that the world has over-reacted to terrorism; ordinary people in the west have an extremely low chance of being harmed by these morons. But in this case- a place rife with terrorist movement and credible chatter- they are probably correct.

    4. Sorry, Daniel, but from what we’ve read the separation of ISIL components from the rest of the population of Turkey seems far from adequate. Direct military attacks against NATO assets, that can be tracked back to regular forces, seems to be the practice by ISIL. But that does not preclude irregular force cells from killing people. Wahhabists are in a state of war with the rest of the world and special travel restrictions have always been put in place in times of war.
      I’m very sorry about the impact that could have on peaceful Muslims. Companies and government agencies who sponsor travel by their employees are responsible for their safety in various ways and need to decide what level of risk they feel comfortable with.

      1. “…the separation of ISIL components from the rest of the population of Turkey seems far from adequate.”

        Indeed, sir. And more widely than just Turkey, I’d say.

      1. I think I would call it a safe and spineless decision. Whether or not that is “wise” is a matter of opinion.

        1. On balance I find myself in the same camp. The fear of terrorism is far beyond any reasonable assessment of the likelihood of being a victim; the same over-reaction can be said about our reaction to terrorism.

          1. To some extent, that depends upon where you stand. Certainly if you’re within the US, fear tends to outweigh actual risk. Turkey is on the front lines of a hot war. They have been quietly acquiescent to the use of their territory by Daesh/ISIS/ISIL for year as a refuge and marketplace. That easy access has been cut off in recent months and Daesh is inclined to exact a cost. Risk in Turkey is in no way equal to risk in the US. (And yes, State tends to overstate risk. All the same, Turkey is different.)

  5. COSPAR is the first week of August. If they knew something about yesterday’s tragedy, either it isn’t relevant to the COSPAR travel restrictions or their timing was off by a month.

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