Türkiye has commenced the construction of a rocket-launching facility in Somalia, the president of the Horn of Africa nation said on Wednesday, an initiative that is set to enhance Ankara’s long-range rocket testing capabilities.
The site has been in the planning over the past years as part of Türkiye’s national space program. Somalia already hosts Türkiye’s largest military training base abroad. It has also been training the African nation’s security forces and supplying development assistance.
The facility will create jobs and generate revenue for Somalia, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said at an event in Mogadishu, according to a Bloomberg News report.
Its strategic location at the eastern tip of Africa makes Somalia ideal for launching rockets toward the Indian Ocean without the risk of debris affecting residential areas or other countries, Bloomberg reported in September.
Mohamud did not disclose the exact location of the facility.
The site is part of Türkiye’s ambitions to participate in the space race, typically dominated by major global powers. In early 2021, it unveiled a 10-year space road map, which envisages missions to the moon, building a spaceport and developing viable satellite systems.
Earlier this year, Türkiye celebrated Alper Gezeravcı, who became the first person from his country to fly to space. Gezeravcı stayed at the International Space Station (ISS) for nearly three weeks.
