Syrian Space Agency (SSA)

Agency overview
Formed	March 18, 2014; 9 years ago (2014-03-18)
Preceding agency	General Organization of Remote Sensing
Jurisdiction	Syrian Government
Headquarters	Damascus, Syria
Motto	Using space technology for research and observing the Earth[1]
Agency executive	Iyad Mohammad al-Khatib, Minister of Communications and Technology
Website	www.facebook.com/syriaspace

The Syrian Space Agency (Arabic: وكالة الفضاء و الطيران السورية) is a government run organization overseen by the Syrian Minister of Communications and Technology, Iyad Mohammed al Khatib, and dedicated to space exploration.

History

• On the 18th of March 2014, and after three years of Syrian civil war, the government announces the creation of the Syrian Space Agency.^[2][1]
• On the 19th of August 2016, the Syrian Government and the Russian Government signed an agreement pledging cooperation in the areas of Space Research and Remote Sensing. It was signed by the general director of the authority for remote sensing, Dr Osama-al Ammar, on the Syrian side, and Igor Komarov, the head of Roscosmos, on the Russian side.^[3]
• On the 11th of December 2018, the Syrian Minister of Communications and Technology, Iyad Khatib, said during a visit to space research facilities that "a road map for the Syrian space program, as well as for the launch of the first artificial satellite into Earth’s orbit" should be developed.^[4][5]