Kazakhstan is considering expanding its international Earth observation satellite constellation to 14 satellites. This was announced by Zhaslan Madiev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Development and Artificial Intelligence of Kazakhstan, during the international Space Days Kazakhstan forum. By 2030, Kazakhstan plans to establish a constellation of nine satellites.
It will include six Kazakhstani satellites, along with spacecraft from Mongolia, the Republic of the Congo and Nigeria. In the future, other countries may also join the project, turning it into a broader international space cooperation programme. Kazakhstan is also developing the KazSat-3R communications satellite, which is expected to replace the existing KazSat-3.
The government has allocated more than 10 billion tenge for the development of the new spacecraft. The assembly and testing of satellites are carried out at a specialized facility in Astana. This infrastructure is helping Kazakhstan strengthen its domestic engineering capabilities and develop expertise that can be used in international space projects.
Earth observation satellites can provide valuable data for agriculture, environmental monitoring, emergency response and urban planning. For a large country like Kazakhstan, satellite imagery is particularly useful for monitoring vast territories, tracking natural resources and detecting wildfires or other environmental changes. An interesting fact is that Kazakhstan is home to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, one of the world's most famous space launch facilities.
It was from Baikonur that Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space in 1961. Today, Kazakhstan is seeking to build on this space heritage by developing its own satellite technology and strengthening its position in the international space industry. Here we are to serve you with news right now.
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