Azerbaijan also aspires to become a space power

Azerbaijan's space industry has been very busy this year. On January 12, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Digital Development and Transport announced that the country has secured an orbital slot for its satellites. T he Ministry revealed that the C and Ku frequency bands used by the Azerspace-1 satellite, positioned in the 46 degrees East orbital slot, have been officially placed under Baku's authority. Then broadcasts via Azerbaijani satellite begin. A significant step forward for a country that thirty years ago was relatively poor.

Why this spatial development

Why is Azerbaijan, a relatively small country with 10 million inhabitants, developing its space industry? The reasons are different:

• Enhance international reputation: Space exploration is seen as a way to increase the country's prestige on the international stage and position itself as a regional leader in science and technology. The aim is to project a positive image, also from a perspective linked to the country's position on the international stage;
• Diversifying the economy: Azerbaijan, rich in hydrocarbons, wants to reduce dependence on this sector and the development of the space sector can create new economic opportunities and jobs. We want to exploit the resources provided by nature, i.e. oil and natural gas, to increase the preparation of the country's workers and avoid the famous "Dutch evil"
• Stimulating research and development: The space industry can spark innovation in various sectors, from information technology to aerospace engineering. Azerbaijan does not want to become a country solely of oil profiteers, rather it wants to take advantage of the void left in the sector by Russia

The first successes of a nascent industry

The country has already made some progress in the development of its aerospace industry. There are organizational and technological steps that are necessary to create an aerospace industry and the Caucasian country is taking them, thanks to its financial resources :

• Creation of a space agency: In 2015, the Azerbaijan Space Agency ( Azercosmos) was established to coordinate the country's space activities.
• Launch of the first satellite: In February 2023, Azerbaijan launched its first communications and Earth observation satellite, Azerspace-1, for civilian telecommunication purposes. But Baku does not want to develop only the civil sector in the use of space. On October 3, Azerbaijan's space agency Azercosmos purchased two multispectral electro-optical spy satellites from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for around $120 million under the Azersky-2 program. This will increase its military and strategic capacity vis-à-vis its neighbors, and this does not only mean Armenia, the traditional adversary, but also Iran.
• Signing cooperation agreements: Azerbaijan has collaborated with space agencies of Israel, Turkey, China and SpaceX to develop its space capabilities. The collaborations with Turkey are important, with which the country shares Turkish ethnicity and a notable political closeness. Collaboration with Ankara has been intense on large infrastructure projects and telecommunications systems that aim to improve connectivity and facilitate the movement of goods and people between the two countries. There are various collaboration agreements with SpaceX: Azercosmos is a reseller of Starlink services , and will also use the American launcher for its own projects.

Future goals

• Launching new satellites: The country plans to launch more satellites for communications, Earth observation and navigation.
• Sending astronauts into space: Azerbaijan aspires to send its astronauts into space in cooperation with other space agencies. In this he is discussing to participate in the Chinese project linked to the establishment of a lunar base, i.e. the project competing with that of NASA, Artemis.
• Becoming a regional hub for space industry: Azerbaijan wants to attract foreign investment and become a center of excellence for space technology in the region.

However, the journey is not easy. There are many obstacles to overcome:

• Financing: The development of the space sector requires a significant investment of financial resources, which are linked to the country's ability to raise financial resources
• Skills: Azerbaijan needs to develop the skills and training necessary to support a growing space industry. We will need to invest heavily in universities to overcome this problem
• International cooperation: Azerbaijan will need to collaborate with other countries to access the technologies and skills it needs. The problem is that not all programs are compatible. The country will have to make choices, it cannot keep its feet in all boots. The commitment with Russia has already become lighter, but China's choice of the lunar program already indicates a certain direction of development.

---

---

The article Azerbaijan also aspires to become a space power comes from Economic Scenarios .

---

This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/anche-lazerbaigian-aspira-a-diventare-una-potenza-spaziale/ on Thu, 21 Mar 2024 16:22:03 +0000.