ArmCosmos

ArmCosmos, commonly known as the Armenian Space Agency, is an Armenian private agency responsible for the development of Armenia's commercial space industry, coordinating domestic activities, identifying opportunities and facilitating international space engagement, on behalf of the Government of Armenia. Its headquarters are located in Yerevan, Armenia.

ArmCosmos
Agency overview
Formed31 May 2013 (2013-05-31)
JurisdictionArmenia
HeadquartersYerevan, Armenia
Parent departmentMinistry of Transport and Communication[1]

History

In 2013, Gagik Grigorian, head of the Ministry of Transport and Communication announced the creation of ArmCosmos, a company to facilitate launching Armenia's first commercial satellite, named ArmSat[2], into orbit.[1]

The government first announced plans to launch an Armenian satellite in April 2012 when senior officials from Russia’s Federal Space Agency, also known as Roscosmos, visited Yerevan and met with Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan. A government statement announced that the two sides expressed readiness “to take necessary measures to put the project into practice.”[1]

Currently, six of the 15 Post-Soviet republics have launched their own satellites since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.[3]

Budget

The initial cost for Armenia's space program was $250 million USD, with part of the sum to come from private investors, as announced by government officials.[3]

Goals
See also: List of government space agencies § Expected and proposed future space agencies

Armenia currently has the right for two orbital positions for telecom satellites in the Geostationary orbit allocated to Armenia.[3][4] Since 2013, ArmCosmos has been conducting negotiations with the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to plan for the prospective launch of Armenia's first satellite. Once negotiations are completed with the ITU, talks will be conducted with respect to the designing and construction of the satellite.[4]

Cooperation

Armenia is a member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization.

In September 2013, Armenian government officials met with German Ambassador Rainer Morel. The Ambassador stated that, "We are ready to cooperate not only in communications but also other fields related with the project" and expressed hope that German companies will also show interest in the satellite program.[5]

Russia, Armenia’s main regional ally, may also lend money for the venture and help manufacture the ArmSat satellite.[6]

The American University of Armenia announced it's interest in the program and launched the Armenian Student Aerospace Team (ArmSat) student club. The ArmSat student club is working on developing both hardware and software systems.[7]

In 2017, India announced its intentions to build an Earth observation satellite for Armenia, as well as train Armenian scientists in the use of the system and handling and interpreting its data. An agreement was finalized following former Indian Vice-President's Hamid Ansari's meeting with former President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.[8]

In October 2019, government ministers from Armenia and Georgia met to discuss a range of economic and technical cooperation proposals, among them satellite communications. Both Caucasus countries acknowledged that there is “untapped potential” and pledged to collaborate on ambitious projects.[9]

Cooperation with the Eurasian Union

The Eurasian Union announced plans to create a joint remote earth sensing system by integrating space and ground-based capabilities of its member states, to include Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The project involves the creation of a commercial company that will integrate both space and ground-based systems and provide satellite imaging to global customers by 2019.[10]

Cooperation with the European Space Agency
See also: Enlargement of the European Space Agency § Possible future cooperation

Armenia also cooperates and participates in certain programs of the European Space Agency (ESA). In 2016, Armenia joined the ESA's Earth Observation for Eastern Partnership initiative. This move brought new perspectives to develop cooperation opportunities between the ESA and Eastern Partnership countries. The project aims to achieve an increase in the uptake of satellite-based environmental information and promotes regional cooperation and knowledge exchange. The project is further endorsed by the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.[11] Other project members include Georgia, Moldova and Poland.[12]

Recent developments

In October 2019, the Government of Armenia approved a bill on creating a national law on space activities. The bill will provide companies with tax privileges until 2030, will encourage space activities to be developed in Armenia and will enable Armenia to carry out its own space programs, including launching Armenian spacecrafts and satellites into space.[13][14]

See also

References
  1. "Armenia Plans Satellite Launch". «Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան.
  2. "Satnews Publishers: Daily Satellite News". www.satnews.com.
  3. "Armenia to Launch Its First Satellite". www.spacedaily.com.
  4. "Armenia to send satellite to space". news.am.
  5. "German companies are interested in Armenian telecommunications sphere". armenpress.am.
  6. "Armenia & Azerbaijan: A Caucasus Space Race is On! | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org.
  7. "ArmSAT Launches 'Rockets' into the 'Space' of Science". March 12, 2020.
  9. Sheldon, John (October 29, 2019). "Armenia And Georgia Discuss Satellite Communications Collaboration". SpaceWatch.Global.
  13. "Armenian Government aims BEYOND sky-high, announces future space program plans and creates new law". armenpress.am.
  14. "Armenia President signs law on space activity". news.am.
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