Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Jan. 22 / Trend H. Hasanov /
A Turkmen delegation headed by chairman of the National Space Agency under President Alladurdy Atayev is in Cannes on a working visit till January 25, an official Turkmen source said today.
According to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov's decree, the trip was made to analyse and evaluate the work within the 'Constructing and launching the Turkmen national artificial satellite system into space'.
According to the contract signed in 2011 with the Turkmen government, the French Thales Alenia Space started constructing Turkmenistan's first national satellite.
The Chinese industrial company Great Wall has signed a contract with Thales. According to it, China will help Turkmenistan to launch its first communication satellite.
It is planned to be launched in 2014 from the Chinese Xichang space centre with the help of a Changzheng-3B rocket carrier.
This is the first satellite in the region to be launched by Turkmenistan. This will enable making a significant breakthrough in the field of telecommunications, communication and other applications such as the Internet and mobile communication.
According to some estimates, the country's astroclimatic conditions are among the best in the world to conduct the observation. In particular, the transparency of the atmosphere, favourable wind regime and lighting allows more than 2000 hours of observation of space objects a year.
An artificial satellite is expected to be used to meet the objectives set for the country's economy. In particular, it will be possible to monitor agricultural lands, conduct research for the needs of the oil and gas complex and carry out environmental monitoring from space.