Coalition Calls on FAA to Review SpaceX Launch of Turkish Military Satellite
WASHINGTON, DC – A coalition of public policy, foreign affairs, ethnic, and faith-based groups have called on the Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) to hold a national security briefing prior to granting approval to planned SpaceX launches of Turkish satellites that meaningfully extend the ability of Ankara’s killer drones to target American forces, allies, and interests across Europe, Eurasia, and the Middle East.
In a letter dated February 1st, Diliman Abdulkader of American Friends of Kurdistan, Aram Hamparian of the Armenian National Committee of America, Endy Zemenides of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, Richard Pierre Shabo Ghazal of In Defense of Christians, and Cliff Smith of Middle East Forum asked Administrator Steve Dickson for an in-person or online consultation regarding the FAA’s statutory authority, under 51 USC Ch. 509: Commercial Space Launch Activities, to approve or reject proposed 2023 SpaceX launches of Turkey’s Turksat 6A and 6B satellites.
“The FAA should immediately suspend any and all Turksat launches, and then open up a transparent civil society dialogue about the reckless implications of the U.S. unilaterally expanding the range and lethality of a Turkish drone fleet that has increasingly been deployed to undermine U.S. interests and allies around the world,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
