Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey will formally launch the Turkish Space Agency within the next three months.

The agency will be tasked with coordinating all of Turkey’s space and aerospace programs and will be located in Kazan, a township near Ankara.

A procurement official familiar with the effort said the space agency's basic work will concentrate on satellite technology, satellite launching systems, space stations and deep space research.

Ankara has drafted a will for the Turkish Space Agency that will head to the cabinet for approval before being debated by Parliament.

Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said the governmental effort for the agency was the joint work of the Turkish military General Staff, Defense Ministry, and the Science, Industry and Technology Ministry.

“We have studied similar legal framework in the United States (NASA’s), Japan, Germany and France. Our legal framework will be special to Turkey’s needs,” Minister Yildirim said.

Turkey also is working on plans to build a satellite-launching station. The procurement official said Datca, on Turkey’s southwestern coast, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a breakaway Turkish state recognized only by Turkey, are two potential locations for the station.

Source : defensenews.com