Azerbaijan, Baku, July 9 / Trend /
Academic Arif Pashayev was made the chairman of the Azerbaijani Space Affairs Council, the Communications and IT Ministry reported today.
Azerbaijan's space industry has attracted significant attention from across the world in recent years. Especially worthy of note were President Ilham Aliyev's decrees establishing a space industry, envisaging the launch of a telecommunications satellite into orbit, and approving a state space industry program.
The program aims to launch the Azerspace satellite into orbit. The Azercosmos Company was established by presidential decree to handle the project May 3, 2010.
The ministry has already signed a contract with the Orbital Sciences Corporation to produce the satellite.
The project's total cost together is around $200 million.
The International telecommunication Union has allocated a location for Azerspace at 43.2 and 58.5 and 96 degrees east. The satellite will be equipped with three beams directed at Europe, Asia and Africa, which will allow the country to act as a transit country in broadcast channels.