Azerbaijan announces date for next satellite launch

The Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Space Agency (Azercosmos), Sameddin Asadov, has announced that the country plans to launch a new optical observation satellite into space in 2026.

According to Report, the satellite will be launched by Azercosmos, which operates under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport.

Azerbaijan is successfully developing the national space industry. This is an adequate response of the country to modern global challenges and trends and its progress towards the goal set by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The State Programme on Establishing and Developing the Space Industry in the Republic of Azerbaijan was adopted in 2008. This document laid the foundation for the new space history of Azerbaijan.

In 2010, Azercosmos Open Joint Stock Company was established in order to launch, manage and operate satellites.

After another 3 years, a historic event took place for the country: in 2013, Azerbaijan’s first satellite, the Azerspace-1 telecoms satellite, was launched into orbit.

Soon after, further steps were taken to develop the space sphere: in 2014, the Azersky remote Earth observation satellite was launched, and in 2018, the Azerspace-2 telecoms satellite was put into orbit.

Azerbaijan became the first space country in the region and a full member of the international "space club."

The satellite operator Azercosmos has been operating as the Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan since 2021 by order of President Ilham Aliyev. Today, the Agency is the official representative of the country in the world space arena.