According to the National Space Research Program adopted by the National Security Council (NSC) in 2005, Turkey was to develop a national high-altitude aircraft in 2008 and to start a Turkish astronaut training program in 2008. With the decision taken in 2005, Turkish astronauts were to be sent into space as of 2015 and studies on the design and production of spaceships were to be carried out in the 2020s.
The Turkish Space Agency was established by Presidential Decree on December 13, 2018. The Agency, affiliated to the Ministry of Industry and Technology, was established in Gebze in January 2019. “National Space Program Workshop” called "The meeting was organized.
2 TELESCOPES PURCHASED AFTER 3 YEARS
The agency's first acquisition, “Space Program Strategy and Roadmap Consultancy Project Service” was. In 2020, 2.5 million TL came out of the state coffers. The second purchase of the agency was the purchase of 86 items of stationery and office supplies. 102 thousand 118 TL was paid for stationery. In the second year of its establishment, the agency rented a VIP vehicle for 1 million 62 thousand 919 TL 68 kurus. In the same year, a tender was held for the installation of name tags on the doors of the rooms in the agency's building.
‘Signage and door nameplate purchase’ TL 30,529 was paid for this work. During this period, the Agency made a second stationery purchase and bought 206,600 TL of new stationery. Between May 1, 2021 and December 31, 2023, the agency procured 5 vehicles, one of which is VIP, and 2 drivers, the fuel of which will be covered by the agency. TL 1,062,919.68 was paid for this work. The agency, which was established to carry out space-oriented studies, spent on many expenses but did not buy a telescope. Last month, 3 years after its establishment, the agency decided to buy a telescope. It bought 2 optical telescopes for 876,436 TL.
NOT TO THE MOON BUT TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
India aims to become the fourth country to land a rover on the Moon. India sent its Chandrayaan-3 unmanned spacecraft to the Moon in July. If the mission is successful, India will become the fourth country after the United States, the Soviet Union and China to make a controlled landing on the Moon. For 2023, a hard landing on the Moon was also planned.
In December 2022, responding to a parliamentary question by CHP Niğde MP Ömer Fethi Gürer, Mustafa Varank, then Minister of Industry and Technology, announced that the National Space Program Strategy Document did not include a manned mission to the Moon between 2022 and 2030. Another statement supporting this statement came at Teknofest, which was organized before the presidential elections. Speaking at the event where the first Turkish space travelers were announced, Varank stated that they will not go to the Moon but to the International Space Station. Varank, “They will carry out these experiments on a 14-day space mission on the International Space Station. Until now, the number of countries conducting these research and experiments on the International Space Station was 20. With the completion of this mission, hopefully our country will be among these countries.’ He said.