Kazakhstan aims to enter the international space technology market, with plans to launch production of satellites and their components for supply to Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, infohub.kz reports.
The project is being discussed with South Korea's CONTEC Space Group, one of the country's major players in the space industry. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Jaslan Madiyev visited the company's assembly and testing facility in Seoul and met with its board chairman Lee Sunhee.
The Korean group is considering investing in Kazakhstan's Galam project. The talks cover not only financial participation but also joint satellite assembly, component manufacturing and the development of a ground station network.
The main outcome of the negotiations could be the creation of a full-fledged production hub in Kazakhstan. It would produce satellite components for the domestic market and for export. Another possible project is the localization of production of large antenna systems.
The two sides propose processing satellite imagery using artificial intelligence. This would speed up analysis of Earth remote sensing data and allow it to be used, for example, to monitor agricultural land, natural areas and infrastructure.
CONTEC Space Group unites CONTEC, Asia Pacific Satellite Corporation and Texas Space Communication. The group supplies onboard computers for South Korea's government satellites and operates 17 ground stations in various countries, including the United States, Chile, South Africa and Australia.
The Korean company plans to register a subsidiary in Kazakhstan in the near future. Specific parameters of the cooperation are to be presented during the state visit of President Qasym-Jomart Toqaev to South Korea.