High in the sky: Turkish–Argentine South–South space cooperation

Abstract

In September 2019, the partly state-owned Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Argentine provincial state-owned INVAP officially agreed to co-develop a geostationary satellite. Despite both being developing countries, they have extensive satellite space programmes with different stimuli. In the last two decades, Ankara has pushed for the development of a strategic industry in line with its military needs, while Argentina developed its satellite sector as part of broader initiatives to boost innovation and profits. This article examines the intersection of Argentina’s and Turkey’s space programmes by focussing on the goals, scope and dimensions of the geostationary joint project. The central argument is that despite their dissimilar motivations and policy paradigms, bilateral space cooperation in the Global South could be an alternative route to technological growth, bypassing the dependence on traditional geopolitical partners and technological providers.