Israel to Assist Azerbaijan in Launching Two Satellites into Space

Azerbaijan plans to launch two optical observation satellites into space in 2026 and 2028. This was announced to journalists by the head of Azerbaijan's space agency (Azercosmos), Sameddin Askerov, according to TASS.

“A contract was signed between Azercosmos and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the creation of Azerbaijan's new satellites during the 74th International Astronautical Congress held in Baku last year. Under the Azersky-2 project, two satellites will be created. They will be Earth remote sensing satellites equipped with advanced electro-optical devices,” he stated.

According to him, IAI will design, assemble, integrate, and test the first satellite with the participation of Azerbaijani specialists. “IAI will provide all necessary ground systems for the management and operation of the Azersky-2 system in Azerbaijan,” Askerov noted.

He added that the launch vehicle that will carry the first satellite into orbit will be announced in the coming months. Azerbaijan put its first communication satellite Azerspace-1 into orbit in February 2013, followed by the launch of the Earth remote sensing satellite Azersky in July 2014 (which concluded its work a year ahead of schedule in April 2023), and the communication satellite Azerspace-2 in September 2018.