Azerbaijan Loses Its First Remote Sensing Satellite 'Azersky'

The first remote sensing satellite of Azerbaijan, 'Azersky', has completed its mission a year ahead of schedule during its ninth year of operation. According to a statement from the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, communication with the satellite was cut off today, April 20th.

The satellite operator 'Azerkosmos' and the manufacturer tried to restore communication with it, but their efforts were unsuccessful. The ministry noted that the satellite was insured for 45 million manats (approximately 26.5 million USD), and work has already begun to claim the insurance amount.

“Since the launch of the satellite's commercial operations, it has generated 105 million manats (over 60 million USD). Additionally, satellite imagery worth 150 million manats (over 88 million USD) has been provided to various state agencies and institutions. Thus, the economic effect of the satellite has been 1.5 times higher than the investments,” reported Baku's media outlets.

Currently, a possible reason for the interruption in data exchange with the satellite is considered to be its collision with a small piece of space debris or a meteorite. Such a collision could have disrupted the satellite's power supply.

'Azersky' was one of three satellites owned by Azerbaijan. Additionally, the country has two communication satellites, 'Azerspace-1' and 'Azerspace-2'.