Armenia plans at least three satellites and a ground station network

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on 10 September that Armenia intends to operationalise at least three satellites, two for Earth observation and one for telecommunications, and to build its own ground infrastructure, according to the government's text of his speech to the International Space Summit in Paris. The text gives no cost, launch date, manufacturer or foreign partner.

Pashinyan said Armenia has entered a new stage in developing its national space capabilities. He listed the country's two satellites so far: ARMASAT-1, built with European technology and launched by SpaceX in 2022, and HAYASAT-1 a year later, which he called the first Armenian satellite fully assembled and tested by Armenian specialists, the text says.

The new plan has two parts beyond the satellites. Armenia intends to build sovereign ground-based infrastructure and domestic capacity for satellite command and control and for data reception, processing and analysis. It also plans a distributed network of ground stations that could serve national needs and support international space missions. The text says the 2026-2031 government programme makes national space capabilities a standalone strategic objective, and that the 2026-2030 science strategy names space technologies and aerospace as a strategic priority. It adds that Armenia wants a larger role in international programmes so that its engineers and companies can contribute to designing and manufacturing space systems. Interfax reported that Pashinyan also said developing countries should take part in the space economy not only as users of technology and data but as partners in research, innovation and technological development.

What it does not say

The speech sets no date for launches, and names no budget, launch provider or satellite builder. The 2031 date appears only as the end of the government programme period. Report.az and Interfax both reported the plan without a launch date, but one regional outlet headlined the story "Armenia plans to operate three satellites by 2031", which reads the programme period as a deadline. The government text does not make that link.

The text also does not say whether the telecommunications satellite is meant to carry commercial traffic, government traffic or both, or whether it would be an Armenian-owned spacecraft or capacity leased from an operator.

Compute and the wider context

Pashinyan linked the space plan to artificial intelligence. He described a broader "Garden of AI Factories" concept and said the Firebird AI factory, developed with NVIDIA, has recently been inaugurated, the text says. Firebird said on 8 August that it had opened the site and named Perplexity as an early customer. The speech does not explain how the satellite data would be processed or where it would be stored. It also mentions a planned academic city linking universities, research institutions and industry, without connecting it to the satellite programme.

Kazakhstan has set out a larger programme. Its government said on 6 October that it plans six new remote sensing satellites and an international constellation of 14 by 2030, with three satellites already operating. The Armenian plan is smaller and, in the published text, less specific about numbers and timing.

Armenia's terrestrial connectivity base is a separate question. The Internet Society's Pulse tracker says 75 per cent of Armenia's 131 active networks can exchange traffic through ArmIX, and PeeringDB's public API listed nine colocation facilities in the country on 17 October. Both are self-reported records. Ground stations and data processing would add to the load on that base.

What to watch

• whether the government publishes a budget, a procurement route or a launch timetable;
• whether a foreign partner or manufacturer is named for the three satellites;
• the location and ownership of the first ground stations.