A criminal case has been initiated regarding Armenia’s first satellite
On May 25, 2022, Armenia’s first satellite, Armsat-1, was launched into space. The Prosecutor General’s Office has confirmed that a criminal case has been initiated regarding this satellite.
The Prosecutor’s Office has not disclosed details about the case. For a long time, there have been discussions about the amount spent on the satellite. In April 2022, the government allocated approximately $7 million to the Armenian company “Geocosmos,” which had signed a contract with the Spanish company “Satlantis.”
According to the CEO of “Satlantis,” the funds allocated for the project were not used for their intended purposes. In response, Armenia’s Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry stated that “they failed to fulfill their obligations, as they were supposed to train us so we could analyze the data. We received the images, and the analysis of those images is part of the internal processes of our ministry and ‘Geocosmos.’ The Spanish partners simply do not have access to our internal processes. Therefore, I would approach their statement with some reservations.”
Armsat-1 is expected to remain in space for four years. According to the Spanish specialist, it is currently at an altitude of 450 km and is in the final stage of its operational lifespan.