Russia and Tajikistan strengthen space cooperation

The Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan intend to develop space cooperation. According to Sputnik-Tajikistan, this was discussed during a working meeting between Dmitry Rogozin, Roscosmos Director General, and Farhod Rakhimi, President of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan. The meeting took place on August 12 at the Russian state corporation. The participants noted the need to create the relevant legal framework to strengthen cooperation in the space industry.
They also talked about using the capabilities of the Russian orbit group for remote Earth probing for scientific and socioeconomic development of Tajikistan. Tajikistan, for its part, will provide the Russian Federation with data from the optical observation facilities of the Gissar and Sanglokh astronomical observatories. Following the talks, the parties stressed the need to further develop cooperation in space and other strategically important sectors.
Sanglokh Observatory was built in 1980 in Danghara district of Tajikistan. The centre is located 90 kilometres southeast of Dushanbe. Gissar Astronomical Observatory (GisAO) was founded in 1956 as an observation station of the Stalinabad Astronomical Observatory.