On Friday, the first-ever satellite designed and manufactured by Armenian scientists, named Hayasat-1, was successfully launched into space. 

The satellite was carried by a SpaceX rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The high-tech device was Developed by the Bazoomq Space Research Laboratory in Yerevan and the Armenian Center for Scientific Innovation and Education. 

The Armenian Ministry of High Technology formally licensed its space program less than three months ago. After the successful launch, High-Technology Minister Robert Khachatryan expressed the government’s commitment to continued support for the space program, describing it as a remarkable development.

Avetik Grigorian, co-founder and executive director of Bazoomq, mentioned the “resumption” of Armenia's space-related activities, possibly referring to the historical contributions of Armenian scientists to Soviet space programs.

“We need to have our capacity to develop satellites, launch them, and give them the functions and tasks we want because otherwise, we would be dependent on big powers that may and may not be willing to support us,” said Grigoryan.