Baku, July 21, AZERTAC Azercosmos and Leaf Space, a leading provider of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) solutions, have announced that the companies signed a long-term commercial partnership to leverage synergies in the space sector, including the installation of a ground station at Azercosmos’ Main Ground Control Station as of July, 2022.This new, state of the art 3.7 meter S/X-band terrestrial antenna will provide expanded opportunity to communicate with, and monitor, the status of spacecrafts, including critical data processing, transmission, telemetry, and control between satellite networks.“We are thrilled to be partnering with Azercosmos to support their growing presence in space while also expanding our already robust global network of ground stations by adding an antenna in Azerbaijan,” said Jonata Puglia, CEO and co-founder of Leaf Space.Leaf Space provides the highest quality ground station services and technology to provide the most efficient and valuable ground segment solutions available on the modern space market. With the addition of this new ground station, Leaf Space will support Azercosmos throughout the entire lifecycle of their satellite operations, beginning with launch and early operations (LEOP), ongoing mission operations, and extending through decommissioning of the space asset.“This long-term agreement between Azercosmos and Leaf Space is an essential step toward future sustainable development of space-related activities between our companies and signal a larger Azerbaijan-Italy bilateral strategic partnership,” said Fuad Aslanov, Vice-Chairman of Azercosmos.Azercosmos, the Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, is the leading force behind the development of innovative space ecosystem in Azerbaijan. Founded in 2010 as the first and only satellite operator in the Caucasus region, Azercosmos currently operates two telecommunication (Azerspace-1 and Azerspace-2) and one Earth Observation (Azersky) satellites, successfully providing high quality and reliable services to partners across the globe. Leaf Space is pioneering the concept of ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) for forward-thinking satellite and launch operators around the world. Since its inception in 2014, Leaf Space has focused on developing the highest quality ground station services and technology with the goal of creating the most efficient and valuable ground segment solutions available on the modern space market. Leaf Space is based in Lomazzo, Italy and is funded by RedSeed Ventures, Whysol Investments, and Primo Space.