Country dossier · VAT
Holy See
Active satellite user
A sourced snapshot of Holy See's posture in space — capability, institutions, orbital assets, law and people. Every figure carries its primary source; gaps are shown honestly, never filled with invented data.
Open Holy See in the interactive workspace →Capability tier
Active satellite user
Launches to orbit from its own territory: noLaunch sites on record: 0Nationals who have flown: 0
Space agency
Specola Vaticana (Vatican Observatory)
· established 1891
The Specola Vaticana is a ground-based astronomical research institute, not a space agency. The Holy See has no national space agency.
Satellites (owner state)
No operational satellites attributed to this state in GCAT.
Source: GCAT · General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (J. McDowell) · May 2026 snapshot
Ground stations
No principal ground stations indexed for this country yet.
Source: ALL IN SPACE curated ground-station dataset (operator-sourced)
Space budget
No published space budget indexed for this country.
National strategy
Vatican City has no national space programme; Vatican Observatory operates as a scientific institution
International space law
| Instrument | Status |
|---|---|
| Outer Space Treaty 1967 | Signed only |
| Rescue Agreement 1968 | Not a party |
| Liability Convention 1972 | Not a party |
| Registration Convention 1975 | Not a party |
| Moon Agreement 1979 | Not a party |
| Artemis Accords 2020 | Not a signatory |
Source: Status of international agreements relating to activities in outer space (1 January 2026)
Launch sites
No launch infrastructure.
Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation
Astronauts
No nationals have flown in space on record.
Milestones
- 1891Specola Vaticana (Vatican Observatory) established
Notable missions and contributions
- Vatican Observatory (1891)
- VATT telescope (Arizona)
- Gregorian calendar reform
- Pontifical Academy of Sciences