Become a Charter Member

The International Charter: Space and Major Disasters welcomes space agencies to join as members, contributing Earth Observation data and expertise to support disaster response.

What is a Charter Member?

Charter Members are space agencies that contribute EO data, operational support, and governance expertise to the Charter. To join, organizations must meet specific criteria and complete an approval process.

Requirements

  1. 01

    Be a national or international space agency

  2. 02

    Have operational Earth Observation (EO) satellites with the capability to support disaster response

  3. 03

    Be able to allocate personnel for Charter governance and operational activities

Responsibilities

New Charter Members play a crucial role in the Charter’s operations and must be prepared to contribute in various ways, including:

  • Satellite Data Provision: Ensuring timely access to EO imagery for Charter activations
  • Operational Support: Participating in the emergency response workflow, including satellite programming and data distribution
  • Project Management: Providing support for data processing, interpretation, and delivery to end users
  • Governance Participation: Engaging in the Charter Board to help shape policies and manage procedures in the Executive Secretariat

To ensure operational readiness, new members undergo a probationary period where they contribute as a Data Contributor for six months before full membership acceptance.

Open information package

Registration process

  1. 01

    Application
    Please submit the letter of intent from the space agency to the Executive Secretariat, which coordinates Charter operations, at ExecutiveSecretariat@disasterscharter.org.

  2. 02

    Evaluation
    The Charter and the Board will evaluate the application. If approved, the Board will grant authorization to proceed with the integration process.

  3. 03

    Integration
    The new member’s satellite resources will be integrated into the Charter’s Operational System (COS-2), enabling them to serve as a Data Contributor.

  4. 04

    Final decision
    After one year of temporary membership, the Board will make a final decision on full membership status.

Are you a private space system operator?

You can apply to become a Data Contributor and help provide timely, high-quality EO data for disaster response.

Learn more