Dr K Kasturirangan, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sahba) and former Chairman of ISRO, has been awarded the prestigious Alan D Emil Memorial Award for International Cooperation by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), Paris. The award was presented to Dr Kasturirangan by the President of IAF, Mr Marcio Barbose on October 8, 2004, at a function held during the 55th International Astronautical Congress at Vancouver, Canada. The award is in recognition of Dr Kasturirangan's contribution for furthering greater international cooperation in astronautics.

Dr Kasturirangan has played a significant role in not only furthering the Indian space programme but also in promoting international cooperation in astronautics. He has held key positions and contributed significantly to several international fora like the International Astronomical Union and the International Academy of Astronautics. He has chaired prestigious international committees such as the International Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), Panel for Space Research in Developing Countries of the international Committee on Space Research and the UN-ESCAP committee meetings that led to the adoption of the `Delhi Declaration' by the Ministers of the region in 1999. He was also the Chairman of the Governing Board of the UN Centre for Space Science & Technology Education (UN-CSSTE) from 1995-2003.