World Space Week (WSW) is an annual holiday observed between October 4 and 10 in more than 95 nations throughout the world. World Space Week is officially defined as “an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition.”

The United Nations General Assembly chose the dates based on recognition of two key events in space history – the launch of Sputnik 1, the first manmade Earth satellite, on October 4th, 1957; and the signing of the Outer Space Treaty on October 10th, 1967.

World Space Week is considered the largest annual space event on Earth.