World Taekwondo Makes History as Its Official Flag Reaches Space Ahead of Astana 2027

The historic launch took place on July 14 from the legendary Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as part of the official one-year countdown to the 2027 World Taekwondo Championships, scheduled to be held in Astana from July 5 to 13, 2027. The initiative was organized by the Kazakhstan Taekwondo Federation under the leadership of its President, Kudrat Shamiyev, in collaboration with World Taekwondo.

The project represents far more than a ceremonial gesture. By carrying its institutional flag beyond Earth’s atmosphere, World Taekwondo links one of humanity’s greatest achievements—space exploration—with the values the organization has long promoted worldwide: peace, friendship, respect and limitless human potential.

«This is a moment that transcends sport,» World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue said after witnessing the launch at Baikonur.

«Today, Taekwondo transcends terrestrial boundaries. By sending our flag into space, we are not only celebrating the one-year countdown to our flagship championships in Astana, but we are also sending a universal message of hope, peace, and limitless human potential. We are deeply honored to be one of the first International Sports Federations to achieve this extraordinary feat.»

From Earth to orbit

The World Taekwondo flag lifted off aboard Soyuz MS-29, launched at 19:47 local time from the world’s oldest and largest operational spaceport.

The mission is commanded by Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov, accompanied by flight engineer Anna Kikina and NASA astronaut Anil Menon, reflecting the international character of one of today’s most significant space missions. While in orbit, the crew is expected to photograph the World Taekwondo flag before it returns to Earth next year.

According to World Taekwondo, the returned flag will carry an official certification confirming its journey through space and will become the official ceremonial flag of the 2027 World Taekwondo Championships in Astana, transforming it into one of the event’s most meaningful historical artifacts.

Joining a select group in sports history

The achievement places World Taekwondo alongside a very small group of global sports organizations that have connected their identity with space exploration.

Previously, the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic flag traveled to space as part of the Sydney 2000 Olympic celebrations, while FIFA sent official match balls to the International Space Station. World Taekwondo now becomes one of the few international governing bodies to send its official institutional flag into an active orbital mission.

A symbolic ceremony at the birthplace of human spaceflight

The countdown to launch was accompanied by a series of official events at Baikonur Cosmodrome, a site forever linked with the history of space exploration as the launch point of Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering flight in 1961.

Among the day’s highlights, World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue formally presented the organization’s flag to legendary cosmonaut Sergey Krikalev, symbolically entrusting him with Taekwondo’s participation in the mission before the spacecraft departed for orbit.

The international delegation also inaugurated a new Taekwondo sports facility for the local community and unveiled a monument depicting a Taekwondo athlete holding a globe—an image designed to symbolize peace, unity, friendship and humanity’s pursuit of new horizons.

A powerful statement ahead of Astana 2027

With exactly one year remaining until athletes from around the world gather in Kazakhstan for the next World Championships, the space mission delivers a powerful global message about the ambitions of both the host nation and World Taekwondo.

Rather than simply launching a flag, the organization has created a lasting symbol that will return from orbit carrying a unique place in the sport’s history. When it is unveiled in Astana next year, it will represent not only the road to another World Championships, but also World Taekwondo’s continuing effort to position itself as a modern, globally connected federation willing to push the boundaries of sport far beyond the competition arena.

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