Turkish President: We Have Made Significant and Rapid Progress in the Space Race

Istanbul, Oct 5 (KUNA) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that his government will not allow Turkey to lag behind in the space race, noting that the country has made significant progress in this field in a short time despite obstacles and challenges. He made these remarks during a speech at the opening of the International Astronautical Congress, organized by the International Astronautical Federation at the Nest Convention Center in Antalya, southern Turkey. The event is coordinated by Turkey’s Ministry of Industry and Technology and co-hosted by the Turkish Space Agency and the Istanbul Defense and Aerospace Industries Consortium (SAHA Istanbul).

Erdogan stated that the Turksat 6A satellite has demonstrated Turkey’s engineering capabilities, industrial infrastructure, human resources, and confidence in space technologies. He added that Turkey has completed production, assembly, and integration activities for a spacecraft developed under its lunar exploration program. The lunar spacecraft weighs approximately 3.5 tons and is 80 percent locally manufactured.

The Turkish president emphasized that militarizing space and turning it into a tool for an arms race is highly wrong. He continued, “Through our space project in Somalia, we aim to enhance Turkey’s access to space and contribute to the development of the space ecosystem on the African continent.” In this regard, he said, “We have begun construction of a spaceport in Somalia and are continuing our work with determination to implement this strategic project.”

He affirmed that his government will not deviate from its goal of making Turkey one of the strongest players in the global space ecosystem. He noted that enhancing humanity’s presence in space simultaneously makes life on Earth “safer, more prosperous, and more sustainable.” He explained that science and technology form the foundation of human progress in fields such as communications, security, economy, transportation, agriculture, and disaster management, and that space is one of the most important areas where scientific and technological developments are directly reflected.

Erdogan said that, in principle, Turkey believes the space race cannot be a competition limited to a few countries and that “space is not a prize to be seized by the first to arrive.” He stated that Turkey has today become one of the few countries that designs, develops, manufactures, tests, and operates its own satellites in space. He stressed that producing satellites alone is not enough to have a presence in space; it is also necessary to possess the capability to access it.

The 77th International Astronautical Congress, which brings together space sector specialists from around the world to discuss the most prominent issues and files related to the field, kicked off on Monday. The event is held under the theme “The World Needs More Space,” based on the principle of the peaceful use of space. (End) T.A. / H.S. S.