Abstract Terminology is a key issue for a better understanding among people using various languages. Since 1986, when the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) multilingual terminology database committee on astronautics was formed, the committee and its successor IAA study groups on the IAA multilingual space dictionary have made a continuous effort to construct a multilingual dictionary database on astronautical terms. In 2002, the dictionary was computerized using a database server and some recent internet technologies. The database is accessible from all over the world via the internet. You can search for terms at your home and office using a web browser installed on the computer with an internet connection. Since then, the number of terms and languages included in the database has increased. The current version includes about 3500 terms in 22 languages. The flexibility of the database enables the addition and the revision of new terms without much effort. The computerization has also demonstrated another possibility to utilize the database. When total of four paper books about the multilingual space terminology were published on the 50th anniversary of IAA in 2010, one of the lexicon books was edited by a computer program which accessed to the database. In this paper, the authors present the current status of the IAA multilingual database as well as the future possibilities on the utilization of the database.

Highlights • IAA multilingual astronautical terminology database including 3500 terms in 22 languages has been highly computerized. • The authors edited one of the lexicon paper books published in 2011 by using the computer program to access to the database. • The future possibilities with the utilization of the database system are illustrated in the paper.