The Satellite is the Property of the Republic of Armenia: The Ministry of High-Tech Industry Provides Details on Controversial Urdaneta

On May 25, 2022, the satellite launched into orbit from the spaceport in Cape Canaveral, USA, by SpaceX is the property of the Republic of Armenia. This information was confirmed by the Ministry of High-Tech Industry in response to a written inquiry from Sputnik Armenia.

On May 26, during a government meeting, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that Armenia’s first space satellite had been launched into Earth’s orbit by a SpaceX spacecraft. Since then, various opinions have emerged claiming that the satellite does not belong to Armenia or that it will not resolve any serious issues.

Sputnik Armenia sent a written inquiry to the Ministry of High-Tech Industry seeking clarification on several details. It should be noted that the ministry did not respond to all questions, qualifying some as confidential.

For example, according to the ministry, it is not public information why all decisions regarding the satellite's launch were made under confidentiality, or when the process for obtaining permission from member countries of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) began for the satellite's launch. The question arises as to whom the Armenian government has kept this process secret from, especially since all ITU member states, including Turkey, had to provide their permission to launch the satellite.

This question, in fact, remains unanswered.

The Ministry also considered it confidential information regarding how much was paid for the acquisition of the satellite and what the anticipated monthly service costs would be. The former head of the Armenian Defense Industry Committee, Avetik Kherobyan, stated that the project's cost was approximately $5 million. However, the ministry remained silent on these figures, only stating that funding had been provided from the Armenian state budget.

Meanwhile, the ministry reported that discussions regarding the acquisition of the satellite began in October 2021.

“The satellite's space photographs can be utilized in agriculture, environmental protection, emergency situations, and several other sectors, including scientific purposes. The satellite will operate on a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 500 kilometers,” the response we received stated.

We also inquired why Armenia is not on the list of ten beneficiary countries for the program. The satellite developed by Satlantis was launched under the German Exolaunch company’s Transporter-5 program. In response, it was stated that operations were conducted under confidentiality, and the Armenian side requested that no publications be made. It should be added that later, Satlantis made this fact public.

Additionally, there were rumors that funding for the project was provided by Santander Bank, and possibly Armenia took a loan from the bank. However, the ministry denies this information, stating they had no dealings with the bank.

The Ministry adds that according to specialist evaluations, the satellite is unique in its weight-quality ratio and is among the best in the world.

It should be noted that the former chairman of the Armenian Defense Industry Committee believes that Armenia will acquire other satellites in the future, and organizations will participate in competitions to send payloads into space. In the near future, it will also be possible to launch already designed and prepared payloads into orbit using another company’s rocket.