SpaceX and Turkmenistan plan to develop a second communication satellite, company representative Elena Pysher announced Thursday at the Türkmentel – 2024 exhibition in Ashgabat, which focuses on telecommunications and broadcasting technologies, reports official media of Turkmenistan.

This marks SpaceX's first participation in such a prestigious forum in Turkmenistan, although the company has collaborated with Turkmen colleagues in the past. Pysher noted that SpaceX specialists contributed to the design and launch of Turkmenistan’s first satellite, TürkmenÄlem 52.0E, which successfully launched from Cape Canaveral using a Falcon 9 rocket.

Turkmenistan's first communication satellite, TürkmenÄlem 52.0E, entered orbit on April 27, 2015. Built by the French company Thales Alenia Space, the satellite operates successfully in geostationary orbit.

Currently, TürkmenÄlem 52.0E broadcasts over 200 television channels and radio stations in nine languages for viewers in Europe, the CIS, and the Middle East. The satellite also provides data transmission services for numerous companies and government institutions.