Azerbaijan Space

The first Russian rockets to be fired into space next year from a space centre in distant South America were Saturday to begin the long voyage to the launch site from Saint Petersburg.

Two Russian Soyuz rockets, the mainstay of its space programme, were later Saturday to leave the northern city by ship bound for the French overseas department of French Guiana ahead of their expected launch next year.

Packed in containers on board the French vessel Le Colibri, they will arrive 15 days later ahead of the first planned launches next year of Soyuz rockets from France's launch site in French Guiana.

"We are in line for the first launch in the second quarter of next year," the chief executive of French aerospace firm Arianespace Jean-Yves Le Gall told AFP.

Didier Coulon, the head of the project at the European Space Agency (ESA), said the first launch could take place as early as April.

Finally confirming the project is ready after a string of delays, he said that the first satellite to be launched by a Soyuz from French Guiana will be the Hylas telecommunications satellite of British firm Avanti Communications.

The satellite will deliver broadband and corporate data network services across Europe, according to the company.

Two other such launches are planned in 2010 -- the Pleiades Observation Satellite and a launch of two satellites in Europe's Galileo programme.

The first Soyuz launch had been envisaged in 2009 but was delayed due to hold-ups in the delivery of the infrastructure that the rocket needs in order to function. France and Russia signed a deal on the launches back in 2003.

The move to French Guiana is a major step for Russia, which has mostly relied on the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan from where the first man-made object and the first astronaut were launched into space.

Launching Russian rockets so close to the United States is likely to send a strong message about Russia's continued role in space.

It brings several other advantages for Moscow, including reducing dependence on Baikonur, which has been the subject of periodic disputes with Kazakh authorities.

French Guiana's closeness to the equator also enables heavier payloads -- three tonnes compared with 1.7 tonnes from Baikonur -- as launches can gain extra momentum from the Earth's own spinning motion.

Ex-Soviet Azerbaijan's flagship carrier AZAL said Wednesday it had ordered four new Boeing airplanes for its growing fleet, including two of the US company's 787 Dreamliner long-haul jets.

Boeing and Azerbaijan Airlines have finalized an order for two Boeing Next-Generation 737-900ERs and two 767-300ERs. The order is valued at $449 million at list prices. One of the 767s is a substitution for a previously ordered 787, as reflected today on Boeing's Orders and Deliveries Web site.

"Two Boeing 767s will be delivered to Azerbaijan in 2011-12. The date for the arrival of the two more Boeing 787s is not yet known," Azerbaijan Airlines spokesman Maharram Safarli told AFP. He refused to disclose any financial conditions of the deal.

"These airplanes have proven their quality internationally. Most importantly, Boeing's conditions are more acceptable to us," he said.

AZAL has expanded in recent years amid a major economic boom in energy-rich Azerbaijan. The company's last big purchase was of four Airbus A-319 passenger airliners in 2005.

Boeing launched the Dreamliner program in April 2004 and the highly anticipated long-haul aircraft is seen as key to the US aerospace giant's future. But the project has been plagued by repeated delays, with Boeing announcing the fifth postponement earlier this year.

Boeing is facing stiff competition in the aviation market from Airbus, a unit of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company.

Mustafa b. Ali al-Muwaqqit al-Salīmī was another essential Ottoman polymath scholar [19]. He was well-known in the second half of the 16th century as an astronomer, mathematician, geographer, clock-maker (sa'atji) and muwaqqit (timekeeper). He made valuable contributions in the fields of astronomy and geography, producing many books of which those on making and using astronomical instruments are particularly important. These books were used as textbooks in madrasas, and some of them were copied until the middle of the 19th century.
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He was initially timekeeper at the Yavuz Selim Mosque in Istanbul and later became the Chief Astronomer (munajjimbashi) for ten years. He took astronomy courses and became muwaqqit at the Sultan Selim Mosque Muwaqqithana. He wrote most of his works while holding this post. He invented a new instrument for astronomical observation called the "rub-i āfākī" (horizontal quadrant).

There are 24 works which are definitely known to have been written by him; three in Arabic, the rest is in Turkish. By writing in the Turkish language about astronomical matters, he was aiming to make astronomical works accessible in this language who was becoming the scientific language of the Ottoman Empire. He also produced new and original solutions to astronomical problems. Therefore, his ideas became widely diffused among astronomers, muwaqqits and other educated people. In particular, his book explaining astronomical instruments was very popular among those interested in astronomy. In addition to astronomy, he also wrote three treatises of geography: Hallu Dā'irati Mu'addil al-Nahār, I'lam al-‘Ibād fī A'lām al-Bilād I'lām al-‘Ibād fī A'lām al-Bilād and Kifayāt al-Wakt li Ma'rifat al-Dā'ir wa Fazlihī wa al-Samt [20].

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By the late 1990s, NASA had used the space shuttle to launch 15 voyages of the Spacelab module, all considered successful. In 1998, as the U.S. Decade of the Brain neared its end, the last and, many said, the most complex Spacelab flight was ready. It would be dedicated to exploring the effects of weightlessness on the brain and nervous system through more than two dozen experiments that had been planned over six years. The 16-day Neurolab flight crowned the Spacelab series. Physician-astronaut Jay Buckey, Jr., one of the seven Neurolab crew members, and science writer Elizabeth Lasley, bring it all down to earth.

After I flew on the 1998 Neurolab Space Shuttle mission, people often asked me, “Why would you want to study the brain in space?” and “What did you learn?”

Kazakhstan is now developing new ambitions in space as part of the programme "A New Kazakhstan in a New World".

One of the goals of this programme – launched ten years ago by the President of the Kazakh Republic, Mr Nursultan Nazarbayev – is to provide the country with the most advanced technology and to develop Kazakhstan’s own industrial expertise. Astrium, the European leader in space technology, is offering the Kazakhs its know-how via a strategic and technological partnership that will help the country fulfil its space ambitions.

Iran has kicked off a 12-year project to send an astronaut into space, just days after putting its first home-built satellite into orbit, Iran's English-language satellite news channel Press TV reported on Thursday.

"The program's preliminary needs, assessments and feasibility studies have been carried out," head of the Iranian Aerospace Organization Reza Taqipour said on Wednesday.

The Aerospace Organization had drawn up a comprehensive plan for the project and various academic and research institutions must play to carry out a successful space mission by 2021, he said.

"China and India managed to send an astronaut to space in a 15 year program. We see ourselves taking the same path, but we hope to reach that goal in a shorter period," he added.

On Feb. 3, Iran's Omid (Hope) lightweight telecommunications satellite was sent into space by the Iranian-produced satellite carrier Safir 2.

Equipped with two frequency bands and eight antennae, Omid would transmit information to and from earth while orbiting the planet 15 times a day.

After orbiting for one to three months, Omid would return to earth with data that would help Iranian experts send an operational satellite into space.

In February 2007, Iran joined the international space-faring community when it successfully tested a rocket that went into space as part of its planned drive to launch five satellites into orbit by 2010.

Iran has been pursuing a space program for the past few years. In October 2005, Iran's first satellite (the Russian-made Sina-1) was put into orbit by a Russian rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.

The use of the space information to provide the solutions necessary for improving Azerbaijan’s economy is considered to be the priority for activities of the Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency (ANASA). Space images covering the whole territory of Azerbaijan over recent years and data collected during previous years are used for this purpose.

In the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, ANASA had an opportunity to carry out full-scale aerial photography of nearly the whole territory of Azerbaijan using an MSF-6 camera on board an AN-30 laboratory plane. For this reason, the data archive of Azerbaijan contains information dating back many years.

Taking into account an intensive development of production and investigation into new carbon sources, a project carried out by ANASA in which remote sensing data and geological-geophysical research into the oil reserves of the Shemakha-Gobustan area were used should be highlighted. The analysis of the results allows the development of maps of tectonic intensity at different depth levels and, indirectly, the prediction of oilfields and gas fields.

Aerospace information is the only possible source of information for the study of disaster processes such as landslides and land flows. These processes are very important in the mountain areas of Azerbaijan, which account for up to 50 per cent of the country. ANASA developed a method for the registration of such processes, and on this basis maps of landslides, land flows and other disasters have been created.

Disasters caused by seismic activity occur in Azerbaijan, where experts have shown that earthquakes with a force of up to 7 or 8 on the Richter scale are possible. The last strong earthquake, with a force of 6.5 on the Richter scale, was observed on 25 November 2001 several tens of kilometres from the capital of Azerbaijan. For this reason, ANASA has developed and prepared for production a three-dimensional seismometer with wide frequency (2x10-4-40 Hz) and dynamic (110-120 Db) range that allows the user to register very weak seismic signals (10-2 µm) in analogue and digital form.

In addition, ANASA developed a number of sensors, such as thermometers, compasses and digital sensors of wind speed and direction, for the collection of remotely sensed data. These include a portable device (with a weight of up to 2 kg) for source search and capacity measurement of doses of gamma radiation in the range of 0.005-2.0 mR/h. The device allows the mapping of radiation conditions along a certain route, with individual radiation measurements georeferenced using the Global Positioning System (GPS).

In 2001, ANASA, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), carried out a project using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and images taken during 1998 and 1999 with a thematic mapper on the Land Remote Sensing Satellite (Landsat-5) on the creation of land-cover/ land-use maps on a scale of 1:50,000 covering the whole territory of Azerbaijan. Those maps, as well as archived data from aerial photography, are the basis of an activity conducted in ANASA on mapping degradation of arid areas of the Caspian Sea coastal zone, including the formation of salt crusts.

On the basis of land-cover/land-use maps in one of the southern areas of Azerbaijan with a subtropical climate, the Lenkoran district, work has been carried out to study the dynamics of land-cover/land-use changes and reveal the reasons for those changes. Certain trends, including decreasing areas of woodland, sharp changes in agricultural areas and other land-cover/land-use types, have been identified. Moreover, urbanization of land most suitable for agriculture has also taken place.

The Caspian Sea plays a huge role in maintaining vital activities of Azerbaijan as a whole. It is not only a source of marine products and energy resources such as oil and gas but it is also one of the major factors influencing Azerbaijan’s climate. Changes in the level of the Caspian Sea influence the level of groundwater and lead to swamping in the coastal zone. For this reason, the Caspian Sea receives the steadfast attention of ANASA experts.

The information and communication technology (ICT) industry, which has been declared a priority area for development, has stepped out at a qualitatively new level. At a time of global financial and economic downturn, when the economic “giants” of the world are cutting back on many large-scale projects, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed a resolution to introduce hi-technology into the establishment of a space industry.

The groundwork has been done!

To dispel any doubts, let’s say at the very outset that Azerbaijan has been moving towards such global changes for a long period and the basis exists for the formation of a highly-technological IT sector in the country. Here is a basic example: the number of PCs per 100 people has reached eight in the first half of 2009 alone. According to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), there were seven Internet users per 100 people as of 1 July. Back in 2003 there was a total of 123,000 PCs in Azerbaijan, in 2007 there were 323,000 and, according to a State Statistical Committee report on the prospects for Azerbaijan’s economic development to 2013, there will be 906,000 PCs in Azerbaijan in 2013. The proportion of families with an Internet connection will reach 50 per cent, compared with 8 per cent in 2003 and 28 per cent in 2007. The report stresses that there is a market for IT products and services in Azerbaijan, state-of-the-art services have been introduced (distance learning, IP-telephony, digital TV etc). The volume of investment in ICT has risen by 2.9 times since 2003, the import of equipment by 3.4 times, ICT products and services by 3.5 times.

The listing of activities to be implemented to enhance the population’s access to ICT could be continued. For example, the creation of innovative techno-parks, a regional innovation zone, the national super-computer centre and information and marketing stations for the introduction of electronic commerce, not to mention the forthcoming implementation of a global information exchange project, the “Trans-national Eurasian information super-artery”, which will contribute to high-quality communication between West and East, while 20 countries from Europe and Asia will obtain easy access to the ICT, with the prospect of the unfolding of a new trans-national, gigantic information network in the region.

“Long-term plans!” sceptics would say. However, the future is impossible without the past, and Azerbaijan certainly has the experience. The country has things to be proud of, including in the space industry. Of course, no rockets have been produced in Azerbaijan, but in 1974 the National Aero-space Agency began functioning within the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and its specialists contributed much to the glorious pages of USSR space science. A scientific production association was established within the agency in 1981 while soon after independence the Azerbaijan national aero-space agency was set up within the association. According to a presidential decree dated 27 September 2006, the agency was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence Industry of the Azerbaijan Republic. The key directions of the agency’s activities today lie in the implementation of state policy in the area of space research of the Earth, to develop and implement national aero-space programmes, to coordinate and participate in activities undertaken as part of international space projects and to utilize technological achievements in the interests of Azerbaijan’s economic development and security.

There are several departments within the agency – the Institute of space research into natural resources, the scientific research institute of aero-space information science, the institute of the environment, the experimental space instrumentation plant, the special design and technology bureau and the special design bureau on space instrumentation. These are not just grand names. For example, the experimental space instrumentation plant which produced devices and equipment used on Salyut and Mir spacecraft for the study of space, surface and subsurface resources, and in dealing with the implications of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. Today the plant produces space science instrumentation from technical and technological documentation developed by the agency. It also produces various consumer goods and provides a large scope of services.

In other words, there is a certain foundation for the establishment of another sector and, consequently, new high-technology, expensive and marketable export products, jobs and opportunities for the country to enter the honourable list of countries engaged in the development of space resources. Of course, the establishment of a space industry will take a matter of years. The state programme for the establishment and development of a space industry stipulates a number of measures for the organization of hi-tech production in the country. From 2009-2013, for example, Azerbaijan is to embark upon the assembly and production of VSAT satellite receiving and transmitting stations and other terminals, satellite receivers of different types and functions (Internet, direct TV, GPS etc.), the production of an element base and other equipment. From 2010-2011, equipment will be purchased to receive and process information from satellites, while from 2011-2012 the country will put national satellites onto orbit. The training of national personnel will also be organized with the participation of foreign specialists.

The MCIT is already stepping up activity in this direction by establishing the appropriate infrastructure. The ministry is currently considering the prospect of establishing a regional centre for space navigation systems which would play a crucial role in the development of a satellite navigation system intended for processing information about the movement and condition of different facilities. The resources of the AzerSpace national satellite will be used in the project.

The key objective of the state programme is to increase the competitiveness of new satellites, boost their commercial viability, establish fixed satellite systems, regulate prices for services provided via the new satellites, improve the satellite services infrastructure etc. The creation of a space industry and the receipt and processing of space information in Azerbaijan will be handled by the agency, while the management and operation of the telecommunications satellite will be entrusted to the AzerSpace OJSC. Under the new resolution, the MCIT is to coordinate the execution of the state programme. These measures are to be financed from the state budget and other legitimate sources (domestic and external investments, loans, grants etc). In other words, foreign investors can also contribute to the establishment of the space industry.

December 2011

From 2011-2012, Azerbaijan plans to launch two telecommunication satellites. The International Telecommunications Union has allocated three orbital positions to Azerbaijan, of which two are intended for the country’s domestic needs and one for international use.

The first satellite, says Ali Abbasov, Minister of Communication and Information Technology, will be launched in December 2011. Following a tender process, the US Orbital Sciences Corporation will tackle the production and launch of the satellite into orbit. The project is valued at a total of AZN 164 million. Of this amount, AZN 86-87 million is the cost of the satellite, AZN 16 million goes to the main and reserve systems of satellite management, AZN 40 million is for the preparation and launch of the rocket and AZN 18 million is for comprehensive insurance. Production of the satellite is expected to commence in the US this month. It will be monitored by Azerbaijani specialists. Personnel will be trained at the same time. It is not yet known which launch site will be used but, according to Abbasov, Azerbaijan has been “offered the option of launching the national satellite from the Baikonur cosmodrome, using a Soviet rocket carrier”.

The national satellite’s coverage area will include a part of Europe and Asia. By entering the international satellite market, Azerbaijan will be engaged in satellite television and radio broadcasting services, Internet, data transmission, international telephone traffic etc.
It is no secret that only 15-20 per cent of satellite resources will be used by Azerbaijan, while the rest will be sold. It is not difficult to calculate that 80 per cent of satellite resources will be delivered to international markets and the main task now is to find buyers. Talks are currently under way and they have apparently been quite successful. “Experts and consultants from consulting companies are engaged in the talks. This allows us to hope that all 80 per cent of the satellite’s resources will be marketed,” the minister said.

A preliminary order for the acquisition of 40 per cent of satellite resources has already been placed by Malaysia, while the other 40 per cent are still open for bidding. Abbasov is convinced that AzerSpace is a commercially viable project, with a payback period of five to seven years; over the subsequent 15 years it will be bringing in pure profit. Before then the country has to create the appropriate infrastructure and train personnel so that Azerbaijan can service the satellites itself. Who knows, Azerbaijan may host a cosmodrome at some time in the future…

In fact, back in February President Aliyev told the US CNBC channel, “Azerbaijan is on the threshold of establishing its own space industry.” He pointed out that the activities envisaged in the ICT sector will enable Azerbaijan to enter a new phase of development. “As is known, the future belongs not to oil and gas but to technological development. Reserves of oil and gas will sooner or later be depleted, while knowledge and technology will always dominate the world. Today, the leading countries of the world are those investing in the ICT sector and possessing the most advanced technological capacities,” Aliyev explained.

The president added that techno-parks and regional innovations also form part of the state programme.

“We are prepared for initial state investment. Of course, we would welcome foreign and local investment as well but, to give impetus to this initiative, we need to make the necessary preparations and create an infrastructure to attract investors. We have to look attractive for potential investors in the ICT sector, as we have with the energy sector,” Aliyev said.