3 yıl önce

'Turkiye aims to strengthen its presence in space'

Serdar Huseyin Yildirim, head of the Turkish Space Agency, says the country will be stepping up space efforts for both the interests of its own and its fraternal countries.

AA

Turkiye intends to send its national space vehicle to lunar orbit no later than 2024.

Serdar Huseyin Yildirim, head of the Turkish Space Agency, has said Turkiye aims to strengthen its presence in space.

Speaking at a conference, titled Future in Space, Space in Future, held on Saturday at Azerbaijan Technical University in the capital Baku, Yildirim said: “Investment in space studies is not a luxury, but a need.”

“Our aim is to strengthen Turkiye's presence in space,” Yildirim told the conference, adding that this is for the interests of both Turkiye and its fraternal countries.

Yildirim said that Turkiye is a bit late in space-related issues, but added that the country is currently moving fast and capable of solving the problems on the way.

“If you are not powerful in space, you can’t be powerful in the world,” he stressed.

Cooperation among the stars

Informing the conference that the preliminary design of the national space vehicle that will go to the moon has been completed, Yildirim said Turkiye intends to send this two-ton vehicle to lunar orbit no later than 2024 in agreement with one of the international launch companies.

The conference was organised by the Azerbaijani office of Turkiye’s Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MUSIAD) in collaboration with Azerbaijani universities.

“Together with our own flag, we will take the flags of friendly and fraternal countries, primarily Azerbaijan, into space,” Yildirim told the conference.

He also participated in another conference titled The Space Age and the Turkish World organised by the Caucasus Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies (QAFSAM), at the Caspian University.

Speaking about the strategic importance of operating in space, Yildirim said: "The great powers once colonised some territories on the Earth. The same thing can happen in space.”

“Let's all work together in space. Let's not compete. When a union is formed, it will also serve world peace,” he proposed.

SOURCE: AA