A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded from a launch pad in the US state of Florida to deploy a next-generation Turkish communications satellite to its orbit on Thursday.
The 70-meter-high (230-foot-tall) American aerospace company rocket was launched from the 40-space launch complex at the Cape Canaveral space force station, which carried the Türksat satellite. 5A.
“With the Türksat 5A satellite, Turkey will secure its orbital rights for the next 30 years,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday.
Equipped with the latest technology and increased capacity, Türksat 5A will provide television services and improve broadband data networks. It will be located in an unused Turkish orbital slot at 31 degrees east.
Once the newly launched satellite will settle in orbit, Turkey’s active satellites in space will increase to seven, Erdoğan said at the special session of Satellite Technology Week by video conference in the Vahdettin mansion.
Three of the satellites currently in space work for communication, namely Türksat 3A, Türksat 4A and Türksat 4B, while the other three, Göktürk-1, Göktürk-2 and Rasat, are for to observation.
The Türksat 5A will be installed in orbit within four months and will start operating during the second half of 2021, according to the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, which also said that the frequency and orbital rights of the nation are guaranteed for the next 30 years.
Erdogan said the satellite will cover Europe, the Middle East and large regions of Africa, as well as the Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Black Sea region.
“With this satellite, which has a wide range of services, we also back up our existing communication satellites. Turkey is one of 30 countries with the right to orbit in space, “he said.
The mission also marked the first launch in 2021 for SpaceX and its battlehorse Falcon 9 rocket. He also kicked off what should have been a very busy year for Elon Musk’s company.
“The launch is underway,” Musk tweeted as he shared the live broadcast of the Turkish satellite’s launch.
Türksat 5A emitted its first signal 35 minutes after launch, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu said on Friday as the satellite was on its way to orbit.
“It simply came to our notice then. Then we will do our tests and the satellite will be activated, ”he said.
Satellite to start service in the second half of 2021
Turkey signed an agreement with the global aerospace company Airbus in 2017 for the production of the Türksat 5A and 5B orbiters.
Türksat 5A was built thanks to the collaboration of Türksat, the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Airbus Defense and Space. It was handed over to Türksat officials on October 2, 2020.
Previously, the exit was planned, but the launch was postponed several times.
The satellite will provide Ku-band television broadcasting services. It will carry 42 transponders and will be located in an unused Turkish orbital slot at 31 degrees east after all orbit and subsystem checks have been made at the stations.
Satellite governance will be transferred to the Gölbaşı satellite earth station in the Turkish capital Ankara, and the new satellite will be subjected to performance tests for about a month with orders shipped from there.
The satellite is expected to become operational during the second half of 2021.
Addressing Satellite Technologies Week, Karaismailoğlu said the launch is a harbinger of bigger and proud stages.
He promised that the country will continue to increase its satellite technology, focusing on the fact that the future is in space, beyond observation or communication satellites.
“The excitement and enthusiasm we are experiencing is too great to fit into words. Still, this step is a harbinger of the biggest and proudest stages,” he said of the launch of Türksat 5A.
Indigenous satellite to be launched in 2022
Erdogan went on to say that Turkey plans to launch its indigenous high-resolution IMECE observation satellite into space next year.
“Our goal is to install Türksat 6A, the first communications satellite produced by Turkey, in orbit in 2022,” Erdoğan noted.
Production of Türksat 6A is underway and fully domestic supply is used in the capital Ankara.
It is a product of the collaboration between the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructures, as well as organizations and companies such as the leading defense firm ASELSAN, TAI and CTech, together with Türksat and the country’s highest scientific body, the Scientific Research Council. and Technology of Turkey (TÜBITAK).
It will place Turkey among the ten countries capable of producing its own satellites. The Türksat 6A contract was signed on 15 December 2014.
The 2030 space program will be presented soon
The country’s 2021-2030 national space program will also be presented soon by the Turkey Space Agency, the president added.
The agency was created in December 2018 to pave the way for the establishment of a competitive indigenous industry and determine strategies and policies related to space technologies.
Erdoğan also said that microsatellites are becoming increasingly important in the field of satellites, and stressed that he is preparing intensively to develop these satellites and send them into space from Turkey.
“For this purpose, we are establishing a microsatellite launch facility in our country. We support the satellite development activities of our public institutions, universities and the private sector, ”said the President.
The Türksat 5B will be sent into orbit in June
Kürismailoğlu said Türksat 5A will usher in a new era in Turkey’s broadcasting services, in addition to boosting the country in terms of service exports.
Claiming that the maneuver and service life of the Türksat 5A, which will serve space for 30 years, is much longer than other satellites, the minister said the weight of the satellite, which requires 12 kilowatts (kW) of power, is 3,500 kilograms (approximately 7,716 pounds).
He said the country will continue its work on space and space technologies, and said tests are underway on Türksat 5B, which is scheduled to launch into orbit in June this year.
Türksat 5B will be sent into orbit at 42 degrees east and is expected to increase the country’s Ka-band capacity.
Karaismailoğlu also said that with the launch of Türksat 5A and Türksat 5B, Turkey’s frequency rights will be preserved and new frequency rights for communications satellites will be gained for future generations.
Karaismailoğlu noted that the activities of integrating the production, engineering and national flight model of the country’s Türksat 6A continue simultaneously and that there will soon be good news about the project.
Speaking before the launch, Turkey’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Ömer Fatih Sayan, called Türksat 5A “one of the new generation satellites that gives us the opportunity to improve our capacity in space.”
“With Türksat 5A, we would first and foremost protect our orbital rights and provide commercial services through transmissions and communications, especially Ku-band Internet services in rural areas,” he told reporters in front of the SpaceX mission control center and Cape Canaveral.
Sayan said it will be about 140 days before Türksat 5A enters its orbit. The satellite will then be tested for a month. It will be monitored at the Türksat facility in the capital Ankara.
The satellites of Turkey
Turkey’s first communications satellite Türksat 1A was launched into orbit on January 24, 1994, but fell into the ocean 12 minutes after takeoff due to a malfunction of the launcher and the mission went to fail.
Maintaining investments in satellite technology, Turkey took its place in space in August 1994 with the Türksat 1B satellite.
Shaved: first observation satellite manufactured locally
The Rasat observation satellite is the second remote sensing satellite in TÜBITAK space after Turkey’s first land observation satellite, Bilsat.
Designed and manufactured in Turkey, Rasat was launched from Russia on August 17, 2011.
Although the original design life of the Rasat satellite was three years, it successfully completed its ninth year in orbit as of August 17, 2020.
The Rasat satellite, in a circular orbit synchronized with the Sun and at an altitude of 700 kilometers (435 miles), operates with 7.5 meters of monochrome and 15 meters of camera with multiband spatial resolution broom.
Turkey’s other Earth observation satellite, Göktürk-1, aimed at meeting the need for high-resolution imaging of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to obtain objective information, was launched in 2016. .
Installed in a low-altitude Earth orbit, the satellite can perform various remote sensing tasks, such as monitoring the environment and housing, detecting agricultural performance, municipal practices, border control, and cadastral activities for institutions. and public organizations.
The life of the 0.5-meter resolution satellite, designed to explore anywhere in the world without geographical restrictions, is expected to be seven years.
Gökturk-2: first high-resolution observation satellite
Turkey’s first high-resolution observation and surveillance satellite, Göktürk-2, was launched on December 18, 2012.
It was a project funded by TÜBITAK and led by the TAI and TÜBITAK Space team under the coordination of the Ministry of National Defense.
It can provide digital and geographic data production with the target intelligence required by the TSK and the Air Force Command in particular.
The satellite has high-speed data communication that allows you to download the image of a lane of almost 640 kilometers (397 miles) in a single step.
The Gökturk-2 project aimed to develop technology, expert manpower and infrastructure for space and satellite systems and to meet the observation and research needs of public institutions and organizations with national capabilities.