“Azercosmos” OJC to operate and
commercialize SPOT 7 high resolution
optical Earth observation satellite, to
be renamed as Azersky
2 December 2014
Within the strategic
cooperation framework between Azerbaijan
and France in the space industry, “Azercosmos”
OJC, national satellite operator of
Azerbaijan, signed a strategic
cooperation agreement with Airbus
Defence and Space to take over the
rights to operate and commercialize the
SPOT 7 high resolution (1.5m imagery
products) optical Earth observation
satellite, which was successfully
launched on June 30, 2014 and to be
renamed as Azersky. The agreement, which
is an important step in the development
of relations between Azerbaijan and
France, was signed at Bakutel 2014
Telecommunications and Information
Technologies Exhibition in the presence
of His Excellency President Ilham Aliyev.
Mr. President commenced commercial
operation of Azersky by acquiring the
first symbolic image from the satellite.
The long term strategic cooperation
between two parties also includes joint
operations of Azersky of Azercosmos and
the SPOT 6 high resolution (1.5m imagery
products) optical Earth observation
satellite of Airbus Defence and Space in
a constellation to provide superior
service. Moreover, the ground segment to
be constructed will allow Azercosmos to
access images acquired from Pléiades 1A
and 1B, very high resolution (0.5m
imagery products) optical Earth
observation satellites commercialized by
Airbus Defence and Space. This satellite
constellation opens up opportunities for
many applications, providing the latest
images within an unprecedented time
frame. The combined acquisition capacity
of Azersky and SPOT 6 is equal to six
million square kilometres per day – an
area ten times the size of France. This
means that every day, every point on the
globe can be viewed in high-resolution
by the Azersky and SPOT 6 satellites.
Azersky was
successfully launched on June 30, 2014
on a PSLV Indian launcher and was
designed to survive harmful space
conditions for at least 12 years.
Azersky has a broad range of
applications including but not limited
to defence and security, emergency
response, exploration of natural
resources, maritime surveillance, sea
faring, environmental protection, urban
planning, cartography, agriculture, and
tourism. During the next 1.5 years, more
than 25 Azerbaijani professionals will
be trained in France on optical
satellite operations, product
development, sales, and marketing of
Geo-Information services. This agreement
also marks Azercosmos’ entry into the
commercial business of Earth observation
services, including Geo-Information
services. This will strengthen
Azerbaijan’s position among the limited
number of countries rendering satellite
services.
Rashad Nabiyev,
Azercosmos CEO, noted: “This agreement
is an important step taken by Azercosmos
to diversify our satellite services and
bring additional value into the economy
of Azerbaijan; and we are glad that
Airbus Defence and Space is with us for
this challenging journey.”
Evert Dudok,
Head of Communications, Intelligence and
Security (CIS) Business Line at Airbus
Defence and Space, said: “It is a great
success to have such an agreement with
Azercosmos, in a region offering a high
potential for satellite imagery and
geo-information applications. This
cooperation will allow a business and
operational model which is brand new and
very innovative for us.”
