Why Turkey is building a space port in Somalia
Recently, Turkiye Today reported that Turkey is building a space port in Somalia. Two questions come to mind: Why a space port? And why Somalia?
The official site for Turkey’s space program lists a number of ambitious goals, all of which are designed to reduce its dependence on foreign sources for space activities. They include a lunar exploration program, the creation of a Turkish astronaut corps, the development of a satellite production industry and the establishment of a space port that will service Turkish space missions and commercial customers with “excess capacity.”
Turkey is joining countries such as India, Japan and South Korea with its desire to establish its own indigenous space industry. By so doing, it means to assert its international standing and reduce dependence on foreign companies — that is, on SpaceX. It should be noted that Turkey has so far declined to sign the Artemis Accords, preferring to align itself with the Chinese-Russian space axis.
Geographically, Somalia seems ideal for a space port at first glance. It is close to the equator and faces the Indian Ocean. However, Somalia presents other problems for the establishment of a space port or, indeed, any large-scale facility.
Somalia has been a failed state since it erupted into civil war in the early 90s. Its central government is unable to exert control or provide services to most of the country. Real power resides with a collection of warlords and clan chiefs. The Al Shabaab terrorist group is currently waging an insurgency against the Somali government.
The Turkish space port is part of a wider program that lavishes military, economic and humanitarian aid meant to buttress the Somali government’s authority. In return, Turkey gets a strategic position at the south end of the Red Sea and access to Somali natural resources.
But Turkey’s ability to establish some sort of order in Somalia is doubtful, at best. An American-led effort in the early 1990s ended with the Battle of Mogadishu and the Black Hawk Down incident. Troops were withdrawn after a few months, and the country was left to its own devices. No evidence exists that Turkey will be more successful than the U.S. was.
Turkey also has to develop its own launch vehicles if it is to operate an independent space port. A private Turkish company named Fergani Space has already developed its own satellites and is working on a space tug to deploy satellites in orbit. Baykar, a drone manufacturer, is currently working on a 50-ton launch vehicle with a first test slated for 2026.
Turkey is a long way from developing its own rockets capable of competing in the launch system market. The space port is a prerequisite for creating such launch vehicles.
Even if Turkey establishes some kind of stability in Somalia and jumpstarts its own space agency, a recent development involving Somaliland and Israel, Turkey’s main rival in the Middle East.
Somaliland — which is either its own country or the northwestern region of Somalia, depending on your perspective — broke away from Somalia during the civil war and has since operated as a de facto independent country. Unlike Somalia, Somaliland has a functional democratic government that has imparted stability to the territory it controls. What it has lacked, until recently, has been international recognition.
Israel has just recognized Somaliland as an independent nation, a move that has caused consternation in Africa and parts of the Middle East. What may follow — including Somaliland joining the Abraham Accords, an Israeli presence in the country and recognition by other states — is the subject of speculation.
Turkey considers itself an opponent of Israel in the Middle East. Therefore, it is understandably disconcerted about the prospect of an Israeli presence next to a country where it is attempting to establish a sphere of influence. If the cold war between Israel and Turkey were ever to become hot, the space port in Somalia would surely be a target.
The supply line between Turkey and Somalia, tenuous at best, would become untenable in the case of an Israeli-Turkish conflict. The Houthis across the Gulf of Aden have been troublesome enough, which is one reason Israel wants a presence in Somaliland. An Israeli blockade of Turkish shipping would swiftly end its space ambitions.
Turkey could reverse course and attempt a rapprochement with Israel, even joining the Abraham Accords. Hostility toward the Jewish state does not serve its strategic interests. Cooperation between the two powers would serve both their interests, especially in the Horn of Africa. Israeli support of Turkish space ambitions would certainly be to the advantage of both countries and, at least indirectly, the Somali people.
Mark R. Whittington, who writes frequently about space policy, has published a political study of space exploration entitled “Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?” as well as “The Moon, Mars and Beyond” and, most recently, “Why is America Going Back to the Moon?” He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner.
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