Türkiye aims to achieve first contact with the moon as part of its national space programme in 2023, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday. “The first rough landing will be made on the moon with our national and authentic hybrid rocket that shall be launched into orbit in the end of 2023 through international cooperation,” Erdogan said, detailing a two-phase mission. Erdogan did not elaborate further on the cooperation. Last month, Erdogan spoke to Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk on possible cooperation in space technologies with Turkish companies. Speaking in an event in Ankara, Erdogan announced a programme with 10 strategic...
Türkiye in International Media
Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. founder Elon Musk held a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday to discuss cooperation in space technology, according to a statement by the Turkish presidency. Erdogan and Musk also talked about other areas of collaboration between the Turkish state, Turkish private institutions and Musk’s companies, the statement said, without providing further details. Türkiye’s Turksat 5A satellite was launched on January 8 with a SpaceX rocket. Musk visited Türkiye in November 2017 to discuss satellite plans with Erdogan in person.
Türkiye has so far vaccinated 1.04 million citizens during the first week of its nationwide mass inoculation program against COVID-19, the Turkish Health Ministry announced on Wednesday. The vaccination process started across the country on Jan. 14 with the vaccines developed by Chinese company Sinovac. Over 1 million healthcare workers were among the first group to get vaccinated, followed by citizens living and working in nursing homes, disabled care centers, and care homes. In the country's biggest city of Istanbul, with a population of 16.5 million, nearly 6,000 residents living and working in nursing homes and disabled care centers have taken their vaccines...
SpaceX launched a Turkish communications satellite into orbit late Thursday, reported Anadolu Agency. The technology company’s Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the US state of Florida, carrying the Turksat 5A satellite. The satellite will settle into orbit in four months and start service in the second half of 2021, according to Türkiye’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, which said the nation’s frequency and orbit rights are guaranteed for the next 30 years. The mission marks the first launch in 2021 for SpaceX. Speaking ahead of the launch,...
An international yacht race kicked off on the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul on Thursday, marking the 97th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye. The race, organized for the first time this year by the Istanbul Offshore Yacht Racing Club under the auspices of the Turkish presidency, started off the Dolmabahce Palace along the shores of Bosphorus on the European side of the city with a ceremony. A minute's silence was held to honor Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, who lost his life in 1938. The teams attended the ceremony at their respective yachts...
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Wednesday that Ankara wanted a permanent solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, a statement from Erdogan’s office said. Azerbaijan accused Armenia on Wednesday of trying to attack its gas and oil pipelines and warned of a “severe” response, as tensions mounted over a fraying Russian-brokered ceasefire in the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Türkiye has accused Armenia of occupying Azeri territory and vowed full support for Azerbaijan. Ankara has repeatedly called on the Minsk Group, formed to mediate the conflict and led by France,...
Türkiye will continue to work with Libya in military training and consultancy, Türkiye's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and his visiting Libyan counterpart Salah Al-Namroush met in Türkiye's capital Ankara on Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement quoted by the semi-official Anadolu Agency. Akar reiterated Türkiye's stand with the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya, adding that Türkiye supports Libya's independence, sovereignty and integrity. Last November, Türkiye and Libya signed a security and military cooperation agreement. The UN-backed government had been engaged in...
Türkiye’s foreign minister said on Tuesday Greece must abandon its “maximalist approach” and pre-conditions for dialogue to begin over disputed offshore Mediterranean resources, adding Ankara expects the EU to act as an “honest and objective” mediator. “We are open to talks without pre-conditions,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a press conference alongside German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Ankara. “But, when one side starts imposing pre-conditions, then there are many things we will put forth too. Before anything, Greece needs to abandon its maximalist approach,” he added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said that Türkiye has achieved solid progress in its defense industry and is able to meet its national defense and security needs. "The distance we have covered in the defense industry has recently contributed to the achievement of many strategic successes both within and outside our borders," Erdogan said at the delivery ceremony of new naval systems in Istanbul. He also noted that as the country meets its national defense and security needs, technological independence becomes more critical than ever in creating deterrence in the international arena. "Looking to the future...