It has been 55 years since the first human space flight

Today - April 12, is considered one of the most remarkable days in the history of mankind. On 12 April 1961, the first human spaceflight took place. Today, the world marks the Day of Aviation and Cosmonautics. Yuri Gagarin became the first man to conquer space. After Yuri Qaqarin 431 astronauts from 32 countries flew into space.

Among people who have developed cosmonautics Azerbaijani Kerim Kerimov takes a special place. He took an active part in the development of spacecraft and sending the first man into space. It is no coincidence that Kerim Kerimov was awarded the highest order of the former USSR following the successful completion of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's historic flight into space.

Today, the development of space industry in our country is considered one of the main priorities. The foundation for development of the space industry in Azerbaijan was laid by the national leader Heydar Aliyev. Thus, the South-East Center for explorations of natural resources was created in 1974 in Baku, which received and processed space data using special space equipment. The same year, the Exclusive Space Instrument Engineering Design Bureau for carrying out space research activities, which served as a basis for the creation of the space industry in our country, was established under Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.

In August 2009, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree “On approval of the State Program on establishment and development of space industry in the Republic of Azerbaijan”, which marked a new stage in the development of the space industry in the country. On 3 May 2010, President Ilham Aliyev signed decree # 885 “On creation of Azercosmos Open Joint Stock Company under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies” for the development, launch into orbit, operation and exploitation of telecommunication satellites.

On 8 February 2013, Azerspace-1, a telecommunication satellite operated by Azercosmos OJSC, was launched into orbit from Kourou, the Space Center of French Guiana in South America. At present, Azerspace -1 is being used for the provision of TV & radio broadcasting and telecommunication services, as well as voice, video, data, mobile communication services.

Consistent measures have been taken in Azerbaijan for the development of space industry. Thus in 2014, an agreement between Azerbaijan and France was signed within the framework of strategic cooperation between the two countries in the space industry, under which Azersky, an earth observation satellite, was transferred to the Azerbaijani side.

And Azercosmos began providing earth observation satellite services as well. Today, Azersky is being used in a wide range of areas, including defense, security, emergencies, exploration of natural resources, navigation, environmental protection, urban planning, agriculture, tourism and others.

Azercosmos’ future plans, along with widening the range of services, expanding geography of activities and attracting new customers, include meeting the growing demands in the field of network services and providing efficient services in Europe, Central and South-West Asia, Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa countries with the use of Azerspace-2 satellite, the launch of which is scheduled for 2017.