Spaceport Site Selection of Türkiye Based on Three-Dimensional Uncertain Linguistic Variables

• Published in: Havacılık ve Uzay Teknolojileri Dergisi Vol. 15; no. 2; pp. 125 - 142
• Main Authors: Melike İlhan, Fatma Kutlu Gündoğdu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Turkish Air Force Academy 01.07.2022
• Subjects: mcdm; space technology; spaceport site selection; spherical fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (ahp); spherical fuzzy vikor
• ISSN: 1304-0448

Since the inception of space technologies based on military programs, the process that has evolved with the engagement of civilian firms has enabled the use of these technologies in various fields. On the other hand, current trend emphasizes the importance of making these technologies accessible and inexpensive. Both state and private authorities focus on developing current technology at low cost and high success rate. Excluding technical requirements, extensive research indicate that location affects the cost and success of activities. This study suggests a hybrid decision-making model to determine the location of spaceport, which Turkey has identified as primary goal of its space program. Since space technologies are a new subject in Turkey, expert judgments include uncertainty. Fuzzy set theory is an efficient tool to overcome an uncertain environment. Hence, an approach based on spherical fuzzy AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) and VIKOR (VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) methods has been proposed. By a comprehensive literature review, 20 criteria and five alternative locations have been determined and evaluated. The results indicate that the most important criteria are technical requirements, cost & economy, and infrastructure, respectively. Based on these criteria, the best alternative location has been identified as Somalia for Turkey spaceport site.