ArmCosmos

In 2013, Gagik Grigorian, head of the Ministry of Transport and Communication announced the creation of ArmCosmos, a company to facilitate launching Armenia's first commercial satellite, named ArmSat,[2] into Earth's orbit.[1]

The government first announced plans to launch an Armenian satellite in April 2012 when senior officials from Russia’s Federal Space Agency, also known as Roscosmos, visited Yerevan and met with Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan. A government statement announced that the two sides expressed readiness “to take necessary measures to put the project into practice.”[1]

Currently, six of the 15 Post-Soviet republics have launched their own satellites since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.[3]

The initial cost for Armenia's space program was $250 million USD, with part of the sum to come from private investors, as announced by government officials.[3]

Armenia currently has the right for two orbital positions for telecom satellites in the Geostationary orbit allocated to Armenia.[3][4] Since 2013, ArmCosmos has been conducting negotiations with the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to plan for the prospective launch of Armenia's first satellite. Once negotiations are completed with the ITU, talks will be conducted with respect to the designing and construction of the satellite.[4]

Artistic rendition of the ArmCosmos satellite, ArmSat.

Armenia is a member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization.

In September 2013, Armenian government officials met with German Ambassador Rainer Morel. The Ambassador stated that, "We are ready to cooperate not only in communications but also other fields related with the project" and expressed hope that German companies will also show interest in the satellite program.[5]

In 2014, China announced its interest in developing the ArmSat satellite. Minister Gagik Beglaryan met with representatives of the China Great Wall Industry Corporation and the China Academy of Space Technology. The vice president of the China Great Wall Industry Corporation, Zhao Chun Chao, stated that the Chinese side is ready to engage in the design of ArmSat, construction, launching and servicing, as well as training of Armenian specialists.[6]

Russia, Armenia’s main regional ally, may also lend money for the venture and help manufacture the ArmSat satellite.[7]

The American University of Armenia announced its interest in the program and launched the Armenian Student Aerospace Team (ArmSat) student club. The ArmSat student club is working on developing both hardware and software systems.[8]

In 2017, India announced its intentions to build an Earth observation satellite for Armenia, as well as train Armenian scientists in the use of the system and handling and interpreting its data. An agreement was finalized following former Indian Vice-President's Hamid Ansari's meeting with former President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.[9]

In October 2019, government ministers from Armenia and Georgia met to discuss a range of economic and technical cooperation proposals, among them satellite communications. Both Caucasus countries acknowledged that there is “untapped potential” and pledged to collaborate on ambitious projects.[10]

In October 2019, the Government of Armenia approved a bill on creating a national law on space activities. The bill will provide companies with tax privileges until 2030, will encourage space activities to be developed in Armenia and will enable Armenia to carry out its own space programs, including launching Armenian spacecraft and satellites into space.[14][15]

On 26 March 2020, the Government of Armenia signed into law a package of space activity legislation called "Advanced Tomorrow", or ATOM, which will promote educational and economic development and will expand both state and commercial space activities.[16]

In August 2020, the President of Armenia, Armen Sarksyan, announced that Armenia will host the sixth Starmus Festival from September 6 to 11, 2021. The event will be sponsored by the President himself, as well as, the Ministry of Education and Science. The event will bring together world-class scientists, artists, astronauts, and the general public to celebrate science communication and to share latest discoveries in a number of scientific fields. The main focus of the sixth Starmus Festival will be on the exploration of Mars.[17]

• List of companies of Armenia
• List of government space agencies
• Science and technology in Armenia
• Telecommunications in Armenia