Azerbaijan signs deal with Arianespace to launch satellite

Azerbaijan has signed a deal with European aerospace giant Arianespace to launch the ex-Soviet republic's first satellite into space, the communications ministry said on Friday.

By Space Travel Editorial Team · Editorial process

Published November 4, 2010

Azerbaijan has signed a deal with European aerospace giant Arianespace to launch the ex-Soviet republic's first satellite into space, the communications ministry said on Friday.

The 93-million-dollar (66-million-euro) deal will see France-based Arianespace launch an Azerbaijani satellite from the European Space Agency's site in Kourou, French Guiana, in 2012, ministry spokesman Mushvig Amirov told AFP.

He said Azerbaijan, an energy-rich mainly Muslim republic on the Caspian Sea, is spending 213 million dollars (151 million euros) in total on the satellite, which will be used to provide telecommunications services.

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