Raising a qualified workforce is vital in helping achieve the National Space Program’s objectives and Turkey aims to have at least 10,000 specialists in the next 10 years, the head of the Turkey Space Agency (TUA) said Sunday.
Hüseyin Yıldırım told Anadolu Agency (AA) that many countries have reached out hoping to carry out joint projects, but there is a real lack of qualified personnel. He stressed that the country hopes to benefit from its scientists abroad as well.
Commenting on the agency’s budget, he said, the state allocated TL 38 million ($5.46 million), but with the additional funds provided by several other institutions within the country, the total reaches approximately $50 million annually.
“Projects will have separate budgets apart from the agency’s budget. We are talking about a 10-year program, not a budget to be allocated at once. It will be paid gradually on certain calendars,” he said.
Yıldırım said the Delta V company has been working on the construction of the national hybrid rocket set to launch as part of the country’s “reaching the Moon” mission, which is the first target of the National Space Program announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
