Turkey’s space ambitions soar with Somalia site but limitations continue
Building the space base is a good development, but to reach its goals, Turkey needs to allocate more financial and human resources to realize a full-fledged space program.
Turkey has the technological prowess and geopolitical connections to advance its space program, but making real progress will require it to bolster its budget, bring in new domestic stakeholders and engage international friends to support its plans, which include a base in Somalia for launching rockets and satellites.
Reports of Turkey’s space port plans in Somalia began attracting attention in recent months, after the program made international headlines, including in Bloomberg and The Economist.
Experts who spoke to Al-Monitor underlined that although Turkey’s space program is on the right track, more money and training are needed to catch up with Brazil, China, the European Union, India and Japan and the United States — the players it aspires to join in the big leagues. Turkey also needs to partner with nations that have not explored space but need access to it.
Turkey's program
