By Alexander Pracht
The official opening of Armenia’s first satellite control center faces yet another delay, further postponing a key step in the country’s space ambitions.
Armenia launched its first satellite, ArmSat-1, into Earth’s orbit in May 2022, using a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket. The satellite, developed for Armenia by the Spanish company Satlantis, was heralded by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as a significant achievement, with promises of a dedicated satellite control center and receiving station in Armenia to utilize its capabilities fully.
ArmSat-1 was followed by Hayasat-1, launched last December. Unlike its predecessor, this nano-satellite was designed and created entirely in Armenia by Bazoomq, a local space research non-profit, and the Yerevan-based CSIE Foundation. It does not have a camera, and its mission is sending various information about itself, including its orbital position, to a receiver located on top of the Bazoomq lab in Zovuni village, north of Yerevan.
Why does Armenia need a satellite control center?
With two satellites already in orbit, Armenia needs to establish a control center to use data from the satellites, including imagery, for critical applications, such as border monitoring, disaster prevention, and environmental protection. The journey from launch to full operation has been marked by repeated delays and unfulfilled promises.
Former Deputy High-Tech Industry Minister Avet Poghosyan assured lawmakers in October 2022 that the control center would be operational by the end of that year. His promise was echoed a month later by then-Minister Robert Khachatryan, but the center was not operational by the promised date. In June 2023, officials announced that construction had been finished, but the highly anticipated opening still has yet to take place.
Is ArmSat-1 already providing images?
In April 2023, the High-Tech Industry Ministry promised to release some of the satellite’s images “soon,” though the agency later said in March 2024 that they would be shared at the official opening of the control center. Earlier in 2022, the ministry provided #CivilNetCheck with images taken by ArmSat-1, but they were of low quality and heavily processed.
Now, more than two years after the first satellite’s launch, the High-Tech Industry Ministry has confirmed that the control center’s official opening has been postponed once again. In response to a #CivilNetCheck inquiry, the agency said that the construction of the receiving station was complete, and although the center is ready for operation, details about the official opening will only be announced “in the near future.” It did not provide any additional details.
The projected lifespans of the ArmSat-1 and Hayasat-1 satellites are between four and five years.
