The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has unveiled an ambitious 10-year space programme, a first for the country that highlights Ankara’s plans to compete with other countries both on the world stage and beyond. Other missions include sending Turkish astronauts into space, building a Turkish spaceport, and developing sophisticated satellite and meteorology technology. “I hope that this roadmap, which will carry Turkey to the top league in the global space race, will come to life successfully,” the president said. The successful expansion of the Turkish space agency (TUA) would make the country one of just a handful worldwide capable of space exploration. Publicity stuntThe state-owned rocket and missile manufacturer Roketsan announced it had successfully test-launched a sounding rocket into space in November last year.

Source: The Irish Times February 10, 2021 18:10 UTC