Uzbekistan and the Turkic States Organization will launch a satellite in 2026, announced "Uzbekcosmos."

Uzbekistan and the Organization of Turkic States will launch a satellite in 2026. This was announced on January 16 at a press conference by the head of the aerospace development and space monitoring systems department of the "Uzbekcosmos" Agency, Mukhiddin Ibrahimov, as reported by a Spot correspondent.

In response to a question about plans to launch its own satellite, the head of the "Uzbekcosmos" department noted the "progress and growth" in this area over recent years. He recalled that in 2022 he ruled out the possibility of launching a domestic satellite due to "lack of logic and market," as well as the incapacity of government agencies to work with satellite imagery.

“Today, a market for processing satellite imagery has been established in Uzbekistan, covering an area of approximately 600,000 to 1 million square kilometers — both in the public and private sectors. We are currently working on launching a constellation of earth observation satellites and need to prepare and submit proposals. We are negotiating with several countries,” Ibrahimov stated.

The representative of "Uzbekcosmos" also spoke about a research project in collaboration with member countries of the Organization of Turkic States, which has a Space Committee and holds annual meetings.

According to Mukhiddin Ibrahimov, a scientific satellite is currently being constructed, with the "Uzbekcosmos" Agency involved in part of the work.

“We will create the technological component and integrate it into the satellite. If I’m not mistaken, the launch of this satellite is scheduled for mid-2026. This is not a satellite that Uzbekistan will build entirely, but Uzbek specialists will participate in its construction,” he concluded.

Additionally, the head of the "Uzbekcosmos" department, Ismoil Rasulov, reported an agreement with Kyushu Institute of Technology, under which seven teams are set to be sent this year for the assembly, design, integration, and launch of their own satellites.

Earlier, Spot reported that Uzbekistan will develop a national space program by 2035.