Those countries (aside from allies and BRICS partners like Belarus, Pakistan, Serbia and South Africa) are all unironically valuable for aerospace through their geography. They seem to be largely purposeful choices (not sure about Azerbaijan other than potential Caspian Sea access for Russia). For the others, they’re all well within the tropics meaning the ILRS can develop rival equatorial launch sites to the French colonial occupation of Guiana in South America.
Aside from Bolivia (which is a good back up partner for maintaining telescope infrastructure in the Andes if Milei in Argentina is bribed by the US to sabotage China’s Argentine telescope there), they are all coastal countries meaning launch infrastructure can be transported by the same means the ESA does to Guiana and much latitudinally closer to the equator than Russia and China’s territorial manned launch locations in Baikonur in Kazakhstan or Wenchang in Hainan.
Those countries (aside from allies and BRICS partners like Belarus, Pakistan, Serbia and South Africa) are all unironically valuable for aerospace through their geography. They seem to be largely purposeful choices (not sure about Azerbaijan other than potential Caspian Sea access for Russia). For the others, they’re all well within the tropics meaning the ILRS can develop rival equatorial launch sites to the French colonial occupation of Guiana in South America.
Aside from Bolivia (which is a good back up partner for maintaining telescope infrastructure in the Andes if Milei in Argentina is bribed by the US to sabotage China’s Argentine telescope there), they are all coastal countries meaning launch infrastructure can be transported by the same means the ESA does to Guiana and much latitudinally closer to the equator than Russia and China’s territorial manned launch locations in Baikonur in Kazakhstan or Wenchang in Hainan.