INTRODUCTION

Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (China) (Affiliated to the United Nations) (RCSSTEAP for short) was established in November 2014. The Centre is located at Beihang University, Beijing, China. The Centre, as an education and training entity supported by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), seeks to contribute to the implementation of “Programme on Space Applications” promoted by COPUOS and to the enhancement of the education and training level as well as application capacity of space science and technology in the Member States of the Centre through capacity building, information communication, training programmes, etc.

Since its establishment, the Centre has adhered to the concept of “Down to the Earth while Aiming High”, taken “Cultivating high-level, innovative and international talents in space technology applications” as its mission, persisted in the development strategy of “Openness, Innovation and Inclusiveness”, and made unremitting efforts to realize the vision of “Promoting the peaceful use of space technologies for the benefit of all mankind”.

The Director shall take responsibility for the Centre under the leadership of the Governing Board. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China (MIIT) is the leading organization of the Centre, while China National Space Administration (CNSA) is the Centre’s operational guiding organization, and Beihang University is the Centre’s host organization. Since its establishment, the Centre has held six (6) Governing Board Meetings and three (3) Advisory Committee Meetings.

The main education and training fields of the Centre include Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (RS&GIS), Satellite Communications, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Micro-satellite Technology, Space Law and Policy, Space Science and Environment, Space Project Management, etc. As of September 2025, the Centre has trained four hundred and sixty-five (465) MASTA&DOCSTA participants for forty (40) developing countries. Those participants, mainly recommended by Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), RCSSTEAP Member States, space-related agencies and government departments, are the professionals or the backup talents in related fields in their home countries. While utilizing degree education resources, the Centre has actively expanded its cooperation and jointly organized short-term training programmes with other organizations. The Centre has organized more than thirty (30) short training programmes with over two thousand (2,000) participants from more than seventy (70) countries.

Relying on Beihang’s disciplinary advantages and international academic experience, the Centre recruits teachers globally. Since 2015, the Centre has invited a total of more than thirty (30) international experts and over one hundred and forty (140) domestic experts to give lectures to the participants, which were taught in English. The Centre has established extensive cooperation with space industries. A variety of internships and hands-on opportunities are provided to the participants.

At present, the Centre has ten (10) Member States including Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Peru, and Venezuela.