Turkey appoints head of Turkish Space Agency

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appointed Serdar Huseyn Yildirim as the head of the Turkish Space Agency, Trend reports referring to Turkey’s Resmi Gazete newspaper.

Erdogan also appointed members of the board of the Turkish Space Agency.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ratified the law on the establishment of the Turkish Space Agency on December 13, 2018. The agency will operate under the Ministry of Industry and Technology, and its headquarters will be located in Ankara.

A source in the Turkish government told Trend earlier that work on the creation of the space agency was underway. It was noted that this was one of the most important priorities for the Turkish government.

The project of the creation of the Turkish Space Agency is the second largest in Turkey after the construction of the shipping channel in Istanbul.

In February 2017, the draft law on the establishment of the National Space Agency was submitted to the Turkish Parliament for consideration. The government of Turkey announced the creation of the National Space Agency for the first time in January 2016.