Türkiye pursuing determined goal of becoming strong, respected global space player: Erdoğan

Türkiye will resolutely stick to its space ambitions until it becomes a strong, respected player in the global space ecosystem, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Monday.

Speaking at the opening of the 77th International Astronautical Congress in Antalya, on the Turkish Riviera, Erdoğan highlighted Türkiye's progress in satellite technologies and lunar exploration while calling for broader international participation in space activities.

"We will not deviate from our goal until we make Türkiye one of the strong and respected actors in the global space ecosystem," he said.

Never allowing itself to lag in the space race, Türkiye has made significant progress in a short time despite hurdles and difficulties, Erdoğan said.

He announced that production, assembly, and integration activities for the lunar spacecraft developed under Türkiye's Lunar Research Program have been completed.

The spacecraft weighs about 3.5 tons and has a domestic production rate exceeding 80%, which Erdoğan called "a source of great pride."

The president also highlighted Turksat 6A, Türkiye's domestically developed communications satellite.

"Turksat 6A has also affirmed Türkiye's engineering capabilities, industrial infrastructure, human resources, and confidence in space technologies," he said.

Erdoğan said TEKNOFEST, Türkiye's major aerospace and technology festival, which just wrapped up last week in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa, had drawn applications from more than 730,000 teams from across the country's 81 provinces and 97 countries worldwide.

Turning to Türkiye's spaceport project in the African nation of Somalia, one of Ankara's allies, Erdoğan said it aims to strengthen the country's access to space while contributing to the development of Africa's space ecosystem.

- Space race cannot be confined to few countries

Erdoğan stressed that the space race cannot be a competition of only a few countries and criticized efforts to weaponize space.

"Space is not made up of spoils to be seized by whoever gets there first," he said. "Weaponizing space and turning it into an instrument of an arms race, in particular, is profoundly wrong."

Erdoğan voiced hope that the congress, which Türkiye is hosting for the first time, would benefit participating countries and humanity's shared future.

The gathering brings together the international space community in Antalya through Friday. Anadolu serves as global communication partner for the event.