Turkey seeks to develop Space port in Somalia

ANKARA, Turkey - The Republic of Turkey is in talks with three countries in a bid to develop a Spaceport in Somalia and a rocket to carry out lunar landings, the head of space agency said, as Ankara continues to explore opportunities in the Horn of Africa nation.

For almost a decade, Turkey is turning out to be a dependable development friend of Somalia, but her inroads have often met criticism from a number of elites, key among them top opposition leaders in Somalia.

Serdar Huseyin Yildirim, head of the Turkish Space Agency, made his comments to the Sputnik news agency on the sidelines of the Global Space Exploration Conference, held in St Petersburg between the 14 and 18 of June 2021, state media reported.

The top space agency leader, however, did not mention the other countries that Turkey is currently engaging in over the long-term project meant to explore the space. Turkey is one of the countries that is competing to show prowess in terms of technology.

“We could work with Russia in many areas, on the spaceport, on rocket engines," he said. "We discussed the possibility of Russia providing assistance in the construction of our spaceport. They have a great deal of experience in this area, both in launch pads and spaceports themselves."

Reports indicate that Turkey has set aside close to $1 billion for the construction of the spaceport in Somalia as part of her process to explore the space. It will be one of the largest investments in the country by Turkey in the country.

According to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, this is aimed at carrying out a “hard” landing on the Moon in 2023, the centenary of the founding of modern Turkey. The Turkish leader has been working closely with Mogadishu since his first trip to the country in 2011.

This mission would allow Turkish scientists to gain experience for a soft landing in 2028 followed by the carrying out of scientific experiments and the deployment of an exploration vehicle.

According to Yildirim, Turkey had held talks with the Centre for Operation of Space Ground-Based Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Russian space agency Roscosmos, and more detailed planning may begin in the next year, once the location of the spaceport is finalized.

Turkey launched its space agency in December 2018. In 2020, it announced the testing of a rocket developed by defense contractor Roketsan. It is also planning to send a Turkish astronaut to the International Space Station, and launch satellites to set up its own global positioning system.

In an interview with Sputnik last year, Yildirim indicated that the country’s space agency was working on nearly 30 separate projects and that it has held talks with about 20 countries on space cooperation, including Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia, Japan, China, Pakistan, India, and Azerbaijan.

Ankara has been a major financial and security partner of Somalia in recent years and the intended project will boost the relationship further. The European nation is responsible for training and equipping the Somali National Army's GorGor troops and the Haramcad police officers.

GAROWE ONLINE