Azercosmos teams up with Italy’s Leaf Space to boost satellite operations

Azerbaijan's Space Agency, Azercosmos, has entered into a new cooperation agreement with the Italian company Leaf Space.

This agreement includes the installation of a 3.7-meter diameter antenna operating in the S/X band at the Main Ground Station of the Baku Teleport, Azercosmos told Caliber.Az.

This advanced system enhances the capabilities for processing and transmitting critical data from various satellites, monitoring satellite networks, and tracking space devices.

The multifunctional teleport of Azercosmos serves clients across Europe, Asia, and Africa, providing services for Virtual Network Operators (VNO), small antennas (VSAT), as well as data transmission and communication services.

This antenna installation marks Leaf Space’s second successful investment initiative in Azerbaijan. Notably, in 2022, the company had already set up an S/X band antenna at the Baku Teleport.

Azercosmos is Azerbaijan’s primary satellite operator and the first of its kind in the Caucasus region.

It offers satellite imagery and geoinformation services and is also a significant exporter of satellite services. In 2020, Azərkosmos exported satellite services to 30 countries.

From January to November 2023, satellite services were exported to 48 countries. The top five countries for exported services in 2023 were the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, the UAE, Germany, and Nigeria.

On January 12, 2024, Azerbaijan registered its own orbital position at 46° east longitude. The management of the C and Ku frequency bands utilized by the Azerspace-1 satellite was registered and transferred to Azerbaijan from Malaysia. This marks Azerbaijan's first and only orbital position as of January 12, 2024.

Plans are underway for the launch of the Azersky-2 satellite in 2026, along with the deployment of Azersky 2A and Azersky 2B satellites into orbit.

On April 5, 2024, the company will unveil a platform for monitoring climate change from space, the first of its kind in Azerbaijan.

A new website, Climate Report, will feature satellite-collected information about Azerbaijan's territory.

During the 29th UN Climate Change Conference (2024) scheduled for November in Baku, a summit of space agencies will be organized with the involvement of Azərkosmos.

By Tamilla Hasanova