Turkey is ready to set up a national space agency

Turkey's Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Ahmet Arslan has said that Turkey is ready to set up a national space agency, the Turkish Space Agency, soon, as the draft bill will go to Parliament for further debate and voting.
 
"We continue our efforts for the realization of this significant project under the prime ministry of Binali Yıldırım. This space agency will pave the way for the development of existing infrastructure and capabilities in the space field," he said.
 
"We are examining the space agencies of different countries such as the American Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Japan's Aerospace Research Agency (JAXA), the German Aerospace Research Center (DLR) and the France Space Studies Center (CNES), which became the base for the formation of the draft bill," he added.
 
Minister Arslan also highlighted that Turkey has been conducting a meeting with the German and Japan Space Agency for developing cooperation programs.
 
As a part of these talks, we signed a deal paving the way for common experiments to be conducted. In 2017, we will let our satellite orbit the world," he said.
 
"We are starting the support process for projects including the national aircraft engine development," he added.

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