[CMC] Updated Proposal for Hosting the 2026 CCSDS CMC Meeting

[Asmar, Sami W (US 4200)]

Dear Xiongwen,

Since your request to the CMC to reconsider participating in a meeting in China, I have sent an inquiry to all delegates to check if they can support the meeting in-person, at your invitation.  The results were as follows:

NASA: No (you also received a message directly from NASA)
ESA: No
CSA: No
JAXA: No
UKSA: No
Russia: No (due to workload, regardless of meeting location)
Brazil: No (due to funding constraints, regardless of meeting location)

I have not heard back from 3 European members, but I understood they will follow ESA's decision. The answers considered the date flexibility you offered.

Because I, as CMC Chair, am funded by NASA and NASA declined, I also cannot attend.

As far as an online option, that usually works best if there is a majority in-person with a few people online.  If everybody is online, I would not find that to be an effective meeting because the time zones for each member vary a lot and will impose a hardship on us; we would not be able to accomplish all the work we have on the agenda.

To minimize travel and cost, most of the participating members prefer to have the CMC and CESG meetings back-to-back at the same location as the plenary technical meeting this Spring, like we did last Spring.

With the CMC poll as shown above and the preference described here, sadly, we cannot plan on the meeting this year to be hosted by CNSA.  We highly appreciate the very kind invitation and ask that you pass our gratitude to the agency.

Best,
Sami


From: he xiongwen <hexw501 at hotmail.com>
Date: Monday, December 15, 2025 at 7:12 AM
To: Asmar, Sami W (US 9100) <sami.w.asmar at jpl.nasa.gov>
Cc: CMC at mailman.ccsds.org <CMC at mailman.ccsds.org>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Updated Proposal for Hosting the 2026 CCSDS CMC Meeting

Dear Sami,

Thank you very much for the in-depth discussions and valuable suggestions you and the CCSDS representatives previously shared regarding the hosting of the meeting. We have relayed these considerations to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

According to the rotational hosting principle for the CMC meeting (the schedule is attached), it is CNSA’s turn to host the meeting next year. We believe that fulfilling this hosting obligation as planned is an important responsibility of CNSA as a member organization. Currently, we have prepared the corresponding budget and venue arrangements (tentatively scheduled at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu).

At the same time, in response to your concerns regarding the tight timeline in April and travel costs, we have discussed with the space administration and would like to propose the following new options for your consideration:

a.Adjust the meeting dates: We suggest postponing the meeting to a period between June and August, allowing ample time for government approval processes.

b.Introduce an online participation option: The meeting will simultaneously provide an online attendance channel to accommodate representatives who are unable to attend in person due to approval or travel constraints.

China has always attached great importance to and actively participated in CCSDS affairs, and we are committed to promoting the application and development of standards. We firmly believe that hosting this meeting in China will bring value to all member organizations.

We kindly request that you and the representatives review the above new proposals and provide feedback on your preferred meeting dates.

We look forward to friendly consultations with you to jointly finalize the arrangements.

Sincerely,
Xiongwen He
CCSDS SOIS Deputy Area Director
CCSDS Chief Representative of China Academy of Space Technology (CAST)

________________________________
发件人: Asmar, Sami W (US 9100) <sami.w.asmar at jpl.nasa.gov>
发送时间: 2025年11月26日 7:09
收件人: ‪‪‪he xiongwen‬‬‬ <hexw501 at hotmail.com>
抄送: CMC at mailman.ccsds.org <CMC at mailman.ccsds.org>
主题: Re: CNSA’s intention to host the upcoming CCSDS Management Council (CMC) meeting


Dear Xiongwen,

Thank you for extending the CMC an invitation to host our meeting in the Spring of 2026 in China.  Please extend our appreciation to CNSA.

As the NASA Delegate as well as the CMC Chair, I have taken two steps in this regard.  I consulted our US government to check if the US Delegation can travel, and I have also consulted with a couple of the leading agencies who are members of the CMC about their ability to travel to China for this meeting.

US government officials shared guidelines about travel to China for a multi-lateral meeting. The visit would require a lot of justification to show the meeting is mission-critical for the agency and for CCSDS and might not receive final approval until very late in the timeline.  This means no guarantee for approval and no time for a back-up plan, which is risky for planning the meeting.

Our colleagues from other CMC member agencies also expressed similar reservations and could not guarantee receiving approvals from their governments.  They prefer we try this in the future since they find it very challenging to plan it for next April.

In the US, we had a budget cut for the standards effort that would force us to be more conservative in planning funds for international travel.  Since the technical meeting will be in the US, all participants would save on their funds by also having the management meeting at the same location.

With these considerations now better understood, we sadly cannot accommodate your invitation at this time.  We hope to try again in the future.

Please share with CNSA the CMC’s appreciation for the invitation as well as appreciation for the excellent participation of CNSA in the CCSDS work in general and the support of standards for interoperability that all space users benefit from.

Best regards
Sami



From: ‪‪‪he xiongwen‬‬‬ <hexw501 at hotmail.com>
Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2025 at 6:13 PM
To: Asmar, Sami W (US 9100) <sami.w.asmar at jpl.nasa.gov>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] CNSA’s intention to host the upcoming CCSDS Management Council (CMC) meeting

Dear Secretariat Sami Asmar,

I am Xiongwen He, Deputy Area Director of the CCSDS SOIS Area. On behalf of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), I am writing to communicate with you regarding CNSA’s intention to host the upcoming CCSDS Management Council (CMC) meeting.

In accordance with the established practice of rotating hosting responsibilities among member organizations, it is China’s turn to host the CMC meeting next spring. CNSA is very willing to undertake this responsibility, as it is an obligation of CNSA as a CCSDS member organization. Previously, in 2018, CNSA successfully hosted the CMC meeting in Beijing.

Next year, April 24 marks China’s Space Day, and the China Space Conference will be held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. This event will invite space colleagues from around the world to discuss the future of space exploration. To facilitate better communication and participation, CNSA proposes scheduling the CMC meeting around April 24 and warmly welcomes all CMC members to attend. We would like to consult with you on this matter.

We look forward to your reply. Thank you!

Sincerely,
Xiongwen He
CCSDS SOIS Deputy Area Director
CCSDS Chief Representative of China Academy of Space Technology (CAST)

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