How Much Money Did Armenia Pay for the Satellite, and Who Manages It? Details

The former head of Armenia's Defense Industry Committee, Avetik Kirobeyan, is confident that images obtained from the satellite will not be available to others, apart from Armenia.

The process of purchasing the space satellite by the Armenian government should be positively assessed, as the expansion of research in space will have a significant impact on us, Kirobeyan stated in an interview with Sputnik Armenia.

"There are great opportunities for utilizing the images received from our satellite for environmental protection, agriculture, and other purposes. The project's cost amounted to approximately $5 million," he said.

According to Kirobeyan, the satellite was developed by the Spanish company 'Satlantis,' which was paid for by Armenia, and the intention is to acquire full usage rights for it in the near future.

Additionally, 'SpaceX' provides similar services for about a million dollars for individual payloads, but that fee does not cover the costs of constructing and subsequently operating the satellite.

"The price of the satellite comprised about half of the total cost of the project, including ground monitoring, management station, and operations of the satellite, as well as services related to launching it into orbit," Kirobeyan detailed, noting that the timeframe for the purchasing process was quite short, having been organized very recently, with the government decision dated April 15.

Judging by the technical specifications, according to Kirobeyan, this concerns a telescope with two objectives capable of observations in several infrared domains. Based on its dimensions, it cannot have high resolution, which means that it cannot compete with satellites that can provide images with centimeter-level precision.

"I do not believe that the satellite can be used for military purposes. Although it is somewhat possible, the satellite is not designed for generating high-resolution maps. Its optics do not possess such capabilities," he stated.

Kirobeyan added that such projects can take more than a year. However, given when the government allocated funding for the project and how long the purchasing process took, it can be said that the deal for the satellite was completed even at the last moment of its construction.

"The Armenian government has already acquired the satellite with a well-prepared level. 'SpaceX' also requires several months to provide such services, which means it is necessary to arrange the launch at least 4-5 months in advance, and the payload, in turn, is prepared over months and years," Kirobeyan noted.

According to him, management of the satellite is carried out by 'Satlantis,' and control has not yet been transferred to the Armenian side, which can take months, even until the end of the year, because it will require significant time until the satellite is fully operational, and even the instruments need to go through calibration time before the received images can be utilized.

"Those images will not be available to others apart from Armenia because the satellite will fully belong to our state," Kirobeyan said.

The satellite will remain in orbit for about four years, as it has been deployed at a fairly high orbit of about 500-550 km, where the atmosphere is quite thin.

The former head of the Defense Industry Committee is convinced that Armenia will acquire other satellites in the future, organizations will participate in competitions to send payloads into space, and in the near future, it will be possible to launch payloads that have already been designed and prepared locally into orbit using other companies' rockets. The Ministry of High-Tech Industry has already allocated funds for the creation of the infrastructure necessary for the design and operation of such a satellite.