Austrian Space Forum honors former Senior Supervisor of the Conferences of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

On Saturday, 16. December 2023, the Austrian Space Forum (Österreichisches Weltraum Forum, OeWF) honored Niklas Hedman with the Polar Star Award – the Austrian Space Award®.
“With the Polar Star Award, we pay tribute to personalities in space research and space applications for their exemplary commitment and special role model effect. This year’s award is the fifteenth and I believe that we could not have chosen a more worthy recipient than Niklas Hedman,” explained Willibald Stumptner, president of the Austrian Space Forum at the award ceremony in Vienna.

Polar Star Award Ceremony, f.l.t.r.: Laudator Rudolf Albrecht, Awardee Niklas Hedman, OeWF-President Willibald Stumptner (Photo: OeWF)

In his laudatory speech Rudolf Albrecht, Senior Scientific Advisor to the Austrian Space Forum, stressed Niklas Hedman’s professional, diplomatic and above all solution-oriented approach to complex situations: “As the secretary of the conferences of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space – which is basically the senior supervisor of these conferences – Niklas Hedman has played a decisive role in the coordination of space related UN activities for more than a decade. He has been leading the proceedings with a high degree of professionalism. When the position of Director of UNOOSA became unexpectedly vacant he delayed his retirement by more than one year to guide UNOOSA through the difficult period without a director.
Niklas Hedman navigated COPUOS through a number of difficult situations: During his term of acting Director the geopolitical situation deteriorated rapidly, which necessitated considerable caution and diplomatic skill to make sure that the COPUOS conferences did not fail.”

Rudolf Albrecht furthermore highlighted Niklas Hedman’s invaluable support of the “Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society” initiative by assisting in the attempt to achieve international consensus: “In recent years the science of astronomy has come under threat from a very large number of satellites which are being launched into low earth orbit. Spearheaded by the International Astronomical Union the astronomers among the COPUOS member states have been trying to mitigate the impact of these activities. It is obvious that this can only be done by reaching a consensus at the level of all COPUOS members. Niklas Hedman has been extremely helpful in implementing these measures.”

Niklas Hedman accepted the Polar Star Award with delight: “I am deeply honored to receive the 2023 Polar Star Award of the Austrian Space Forum. It is indeed great that such an award exists to showcase and promote all the work and commitment by people in the space community and civil society in a broad range of areas, like space science and technology and their applications, space law and policy, social sciences and humanities, and outreach. I have committed many years to diplomacy and multilateralism in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space and I am very happy that those efforts are being acknowledged.”

About Niklas Hedman
Niklas Hedman worked in the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) from 2006 to 2023. He was Acting Director of UNOOSA from March 2022 until September 2023, and before that Chief of the Committee, Policy and Legal Affairs Section of the Office. Mr. Hedman served for 18 years as Secretary (Senior Supervisor) to the intergovernmental Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and Legal Subcommittee. Before joining the United Nations in 2006 he worked in the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, representing Sweden to COPUOS for 10 years. Upon his retirement from the United Nations, Mr. Hedman is presently Vice-Chair of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Panel on Planetary Protection.

ABOUT THE AUSTRIAN SPACE FORUM
The Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) is a private space research institution, as ESA’s first Ground Based Facility in Austria we operate a vertical treadmill to simulate different gravity-levels, and a network for spaceflight specialists, business/industry and people interested in space. We conduct Mars Analog Missions on a regular bases, involving scientists and institutions from all over the world. The OeWF is playing a leading role in two international Cube-Sat missions that detected space debris in Near Earth Orbit from 2022 to 2024. We cooperate with international research institutions and companies and are in constant dialog with the media and decision makers. With 250 members from 20+ nations, the Austrian Space Forum focuses on scientific excellence, starts, shapes and networks careers and has been inspiring people all over the world since 1998. https://oewf.org

MEDIA CONTACT
Mag. Monika Fischer
Media Officer
Austrian Space Forum
Tel: +43 699 1213 4610

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