A Turkish space agency to coordinate aerospace works and manage international relations will be launched this year, Turkey’s Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank announced Tuesday, according to the daily Hürriyet.
Turkey to launch space agency this year: Tech minister https://t.co/VxG320a9u8 pic.twitter.com/iaHPChqhsr
— Hürriyet Daily News (@HDNER)
Noting that Turkey has already produced observation satellites, Varank boasted that “the Turkish Space Agency will be founded this year as set out in the 100-day action plan. Work to form its organization will be completed as soon as possible.”
“Priority targets of the agency are to guide and coordinate the Turkish space sector, and manage international relations [concerning space] through a single desk,” Varank added, declaring that the new agency will pave way for the establishment of a competitive indigenous industry.
Uydu Fırlatma Sistemi (UFS), Turkey’s spaceport, whose construction was begun in 2013, is currently in the pre-conceptual design phase. The Space Group Command of the Turkish Air Force, which is also in the design stage, will operate the spaceport when it is completed.
According to Hürriyet, the UFS will be capable of launching low-Earth-orbiting satellites into an altitude of 310 to 430 miles. The budget for the launch system’s infrastructure, including the electronic system, is $100.
A research center for optical systems will also start operating under the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey.
The common denominator to the Hürriyet reports is that none of these systems, save for five or so satellites, actually exist.
