Today is World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day

April 12 - World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day. On this day in 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made the first orbital flight in history on the "Vostok" spacecraft. The flight lasted 1 hour and 48 minutes, after which the spacecraft successfully landed in the Saratov region of the Russian Federation. By the decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 9, 1962, April 12 was declared World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day. Today, this day is celebrated in many countries.

After Yuri Gagarin's flight, more than 250 space exploration programs were implemented worldwide, and several hundred cosmonauts and astronauts from more than 30 countries have been in orbit.

One of the founders of Soviet cosmonautics was Azerbaijani Kerim Kerimov. He played an exceptional role in the production of R-2 rockets. On one of these rockets, on October 4, 1957, the world's first artificial Earth satellite was launched into space, which marked the beginning of the space era on our planet. In 1966, Kerim Kerimov became the chairman of the State Commission for Flight Tests of Manned Spacecraft and led it for 25 years.

On World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day, let's recall the main milestones in the history of Azerbaijan's space industry development.

The development of the relevant industry in our country began after the signing of the Decree of President Ilham Aliyev dated November 4, 2008, "On the creation of a space industry in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the launch of telecommunications satellites into orbit." And on August 17, 2009, by the Decree of the head of state, the State Program for the creation and development of the space industry in the Republic of Azerbaijan was approved.

In order to ensure the preparation, launch, control, and operation of the domestic telecommunications satellite, by the Decree of President Ilham Aliyev dated May 3, 2010, Azercosmos OJSC was established. The Azerspace-1 telecommunications satellite was launched on February 8, 2013, from the Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana using the Ariane-5 launch vehicle owned by the French company Arianespace, and took an orbital position of 46 degrees east longitude. This gave an important impetus to our country's activities in the space industry.

Thanks to the advanced technological design and wide connectivity capabilities of the Azerspace-1 satellite, millions of people around the world have access to sustainable information and communication services. Through the Azerspace-1 satellite, highly reliable satellite broadcasting, DTH (Direct-to-Home), voice, video, and data transmission services are provided. The satellite serves as an important information transmitter in a vast space covering more than 50 countries in Africa, Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

Later, on June 30, 2014, the Earth observation satellite Azersky was successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center.

The second telecommunications satellite Azerspace-2 was launched on September 26, 2018, to be placed in an orbital position of 45 degrees east longitude to ensure the reliability and competitiveness of satellite services.

As a result of all this, dependence on satellites of foreign countries was eliminated, and the export of satellite services began. The existing satellite network not only protects the sovereignty of our country but also provides important support for its socio-economic development. Thanks to successful satellite projects, Azerbaijan has gained great authority in the international space community.

With highly qualified personnel and extensive technical capabilities, Azercosmos has over the past period become one of the leading forces in the ICT sector in the country and the region as a whole. In accordance with the Decree of President Ilham Aliyev dated April 27, 2021, the public legal entity "Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azercosmos)" was created under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies on the basis of Azercosmos OJSC.

In October 2019, during the elections to the General Assembly of the International Astronautical Federation in Washington, the city of Baku was granted the right to host the International Astronautical Congress. In accordance with the Decree of the head of state dated February 7, 2022, an Organizing Committee was created in connection with the congress. The event was held on October 2-6, 2023, and was dedicated to the theme "Global Challenges and Opportunities: Give Space a Chance."

This was the second time Azerbaijan hosted the International Astronautical Congress after a