Space - The Times Of Central Asia

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Uzbekistan to Head CIS Interstate Space Council

Uzbekistan will head the Interstate Space Council of CIS countries for 2024-2025, and Shukhrat Kadirov, Director of the Uzbekcosmos agency, was unanimously elected as the council chairman. This decision was made at the Fifth Council meeting, which was held in Tashkent. According to CIS rules, the council's chairmanship is passed alphabetically between the participating countries; Tajikistan held the previous chairmanship. Kadirov proposed enhancing cooperation in space education and initiating joint projects to train young specialists. He also noted that the council faces ambitious tasks, including coordinating within the UN and deepening cooperation in space technologies. In August this year, Uzbekistan announced its accession to the 1967 treaty on the exploration and use of space. It was also reported that Uzbekistan will not send weapons of mass destruction into space; the country has advocated reducing the risk of space militarization. The CIS Interstate Space Council is an organization established to coordinate the efforts of CIS countries in space activities. The Council deals with space research, technological developments, and the implementation of joint projects in the space sphere. The organization's importance lies in strengthening cooperation between the countries in using space technologies for scientific research, communications, and navigation. The Council also works on coordination within international organizations such as the UN.

Cultural Heritage Space Sports World Nomad Games Art and Culture

Kazakhstan Launches National Board Game Into Space

The Kazakh pastime "Togyzkumalak" has become the first board game to travel into space. Its launch was organized to promote the 2024 edition of the World Nomad Games, which are currently being held in Astana. Togyzkumalak is one of the oldest Kazakh board games, with a history dating back about 4,000 years. The game is played by two players, who start with 81 stones. Their goal is to "capture" their opponent's stones, and place them into a "cauldron". On September 9 Togyzkumalak was played for the first time at the Nomad Games. The Togyzkumalak tournament has 114 competitors from 41 countries, including Colombia, Bangladesh, the UK, France, Germany, the USA, China, and others. In 2020 Togyzkumalak was included in UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage, emphasizing its cultural significance for Kazakhstan and other Turkic peoples. After a successful launch, the board was eventually returned to Earth.

Government Science Bilateral Relations Bilateral Cooperation satellite Space

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan Plan to Launch Satellites into Space

Representatives of Uzbekistan's Ministry of Digital Technologies attended the recent Asia-Pacific Conference on Digital Transformation, which was held in Astana on September 2-3. The event was organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The conference touched upon possible cooperation between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan on launching a group of satellites into space. In August Uzbekistan became a signatory to the Outer Space Treaty, which regulates international cooperation in space exploration. The Times of Central Asia has also reported that Kazakhstan plans to use Amazon's "Project Kuiper" satellite internet, a competitor to Elon Musk’s famous Starlink.

International Cooperation University Tokayev Education China Economy Strategy Space

Universities of Kazakhstan and China to Cooperate on Microsatellite Launch

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and the Northwest Polytechnic University of China have agreed to conduct joint scientific research using microsatellites. According to the press service of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the agreement was reached during talks between the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Xi Jinping, during the latter's official visit to Kazakhstan. The initiative, the first of its kind to be implemented by Kazakh universities, opens up new opportunities for space research, training qualified specialists, and developing joint satellites, as well as enabling remote sensing studies of the Earth via a microsatellite. Integral to the project, is an aim to develop equipment for gravimetric measurements, including a specialized ground station and a transmitter on the satellite, designed to detect density inhomogeneities in the Earth's crust and mantle. The employment of such, will help solve fundamental problems in the study of geodynamic processes at great depths. The North-West Polytechnic University of China is a leader in launching objects into space whilst Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, the only Kazakh university with experience in launching nanosatellites into orbit , has already launched its own Al-Farabi-1 and Al-Farabi-2 nanosatellites.

Baikonur Space

Soyuz Launch Successful

ALMATY, Kazakhstan - A Soyuz spacecraft is in orbit with three crew-members from Russia, Belarus and the United States after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz is scheduled to dock at the International Space Station on Monday. Aboard are mission commander Oleg Novitsky of Russian space agency Roscosmos (his fourth trip to space), Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya (her first trip) and NASA’s Tracy Caldwell Dyson (her third). The launch went smoothly from the Russia-operated site in southern Kazakhstan on Saturday. A previously planned launch was aborted with seconds to lift-off Thursday because of a technical problem. Coordination between the U.S. and Russian space agencies has continued despite international tension over the war in Ukraine. As previously reported by TCA, the launch was scheduled for the 21st, but was scrapped due to a “voltage drop in the chemical current source.”

Space Baikonur

Baikonur Launch to ISS Scheduled for Saturday 23rd March

ALMATY, Kazakhstan - A spacecraft carrying three crewmembers from Russia, Belarus and the United States is scheduled to launch Saturday to the International Space Station. The mission was aborted Thursday with seconds to lift-off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The scrapped launch was caused by a “voltage drop in the chemical current source," said Yuri Borisov, head of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Tass, the Russian state news agency, quoted Borisov as saying the crew is safe and well. The Soyuz spacecraft was expected to take about three hours after a launch on Thursday to reach the station, where seven people already aboard are awaiting the new arrivals. If a Saturday afternoon launch goes ahead, the travel time will be longer and docking is expected to occur on Monday. Those heading to the space station are mission commander Oleg Novitsky of Roscosmos (his fourth trip to space), Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya (her first trip) and NASA’s Tracy Caldwell Dyson (her third). Novitsky, a lieutenant colonel in the Russian Air Force, and Vasilevskaya, a former flight attendant, will return to Earth after 12 days on the station, accompanied by NASA’s Loral O’Hara, who has spent six months in space. Dyson, a chemist with experience as an electrician and private pilot, is scheduled to return to Earth in September. Coordination between the U.S. and Russian space agencies has continued despite international tension over the war in Ukraine. “Russia and the United States are still cooperating in space. At least for now,” tweeted Eric Berger, senior space editor at Ars Technica, a technology publication. Russia operates the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan. The Soviet Union opened the facility in the 1950s.