A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket came out of a launch pad in the US state of Florida to launch a new generation Turkish communications satellite into orbit late Thursday.
The US airspace rocket, 70 meters high (230 meters high), was launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which carried the Türksat 5A satellite.
“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 higher capacity, the 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 is installed into orbit, Turkey’s active satellites in space will increase to seven, Erdoğan told the special session of Satellite Technology Week by video conference at Vahdettin Mansion.
Three of the satellites currently in space work for communications, namely Türksat 3A, Türksat 4A and Türksat 4B, while the other three, Göktürk-1, Göktürk-2 and Rasat, are for observation.
Türksat 5A will be installed in orbit in four months and will start service in the second half of 2021, according to the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, which also said that the national frequency and orbital rights are guaranteed for the next 30 years.
Erdoğan said the satellite will cover Europe, the Middle East and large regions of Africa, as well as the Mediterranean, the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea region.
“With this satellite, which has a wide range of services, we also make backups for our communications satellites. Turkey is one of the 30 countries with the right to orbit in space, “he said.
The mission also marked the first launch in 2021 of SpaceX and its Falcon 9 rocket. It also began what should be a busy year for Elon Musk’s company.
“The launch is underway,” Musk wrote on Twitter as he broadcast the live broadcast of the Turkish satellite’s launch.
Türksat 5A issued its first signal 35 minutes after launch, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu said on Friday as the satellite was about to set in its orbit.
“It simply came to our notice then. We will then perform our tests and the satellite will be activated, “he said.
The satellite will begin service in the second half of 2021
Turkey signed an agreement with global aerospace company Airbus in 2017 for the production of Türksat 5A and 5B orbits.
Türksat 5A was built in collaboration with Türksat, the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Airbus Defense and Space. It was delivered to Türksat officials on October 2, 2020.
The liftoff was previously 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 placed in an unused Turkish orbital slot at 31 degrees east after all orbit and subsystem checks are performed at all stations.
The governance of the satellite will be transferred to the Gölbașı satellite ground station in the Turkish capital Ankara, and the new satellite will be subjected to performance tests for about a month, with orders sent from there.
The satellite is expected to start operating in the second half of 2021.
Addressing Satellite Technology Week, Karaismailoğlu said the launch is the harbinger of bigger and prouder milestones.
He promised that the country would continue to grow its satellite technology, focusing on the fact that the future is in space, beyond observation or communications satellites.
“The enthusiasm and enthusiasm we experience is too great to fit into words. However, this step is the harbinger of bigger and more proud stages “, he said about the launch of Türksat 5A.
Indigenous satellite will be launched in 2022
Erdoğan went on to say that Turkey plans to launch its indigenous IMECE high-resolution observation satellite into space next year.
“Our goal is to establish Türksat 6A, the first communications satellite produced by Turkey, in orbit in 2022,” Erdoğan said.
Production of Türksat 6A is ongoing and uses fully domestic supply in the capital Ankara.
It is a product of the collaboration between the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, as well as organizations and companies such as the defense company ASELSAN, TAI and CTech, together with Türksat and the country’s top scientific body, the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBITAK).
It will place Turkey among the 10 countries capable of producing its own satellites. The contract for Türksat 6A was signed on December 15, 2014.
The 2030 space program will be unveiled soon
The country’s National Space Program 2021-2030 will also be unveiled soon by the Turkey Space Agency, the president added.
The agency was established in December 2018 to pave the way for the establishment of a competitive indigenous industry and to determine space technology strategies and policies.
Erdoğan also said that microsatellites are becoming increasingly prominent in the field of satellites, stressing that there is intense preparation for the development of these satellites and their deployment into space in Turkey.
“For this purpose, we are setting up a microsatellite launch facility in our country. We support the satellite development activities of our public institutions, universities and the private sector “, the president mentioned.
Türksat 5B will be launched into orbit in June
Türksat 5A is set to usher in a new era in Turkey’s broadcasting services, along with empowering the country in terms of service exports, Karaismailoğlu said.
Stating that the maneuver and lifespan of the Türksat 5A, which will serve in space for 30 years – much longer than other satellites – the minister said that the weight of the satellite, which requires 12 kilowatts (kW) of power, is 3,500 kilograms. (approximately £ 7,716).
He said the country will continue its work on space and space technologies, saying tests are underway on Türksat 5B, which is scheduled to launch into orbit in June this year.
Türksat 5B will be launched 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 retained, while obtaining new frequency rights for communications satellites for future generations.
Karaismailoğlu noted that the activities to integrate the country’s production, engineering and Türksat 6A domestic flight model continue simultaneously and that there will be good news about the project soon.
Speaking before launch, Turkish Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Ömer Fatih Sayan called Türksat 5A “one of the latest generation satellites that offers us the opportunity to improve our space capacity.”
“With Türksat 5A, we would primarily protect our orbital rights and provide commercial services through broadcasting and communications, especially Ku-band Internet services to rural areas,” he told reporters before controlling the SpaceX mission in Cape Town. Canaveral.
Sayan said it would take about 140 days for Türksat 5A to enter its orbit. The satellite will then be tested for a month. It will be checked at the Türksat facility in the capital Ankara.
Satellites of Turkey
Turkey’s first Türksat 1A communications satellite was launched into orbit on January 24, 1994, but fell into the ocean 12 minutes after takeoff due to a launcher failure, and the mission failed.
Keeping investment in satellite technology, Turkey took its place in space in August 1994 with the Türksat 1B satellite.
Shaved: The first locally made observation satellite
The Rasat observation satellite is the second remote sensing satellite in TÜBITAK after Turkey’s first Earth observation satellite, Bilsat.
Designed and manufactured in Turkey, Rasat was released in Russia on August 17, 2011.
Although the initial design life of the Rasat satellite was three years, it successfully completed its ninth year in orbit starting 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 broom room with multiband spatial resolution.
Turkey’s other Earth observation satellite, Göktürk-1, which aims to meet the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) high-resolution imagery need for target information, was launched in 2016.
Placed in low-altitude Earth orbit, the satellite can perform various remote sensing tasks, such as monitoring the environment and housing, detecting agricultural yields, municipal practices, border control and cadastral activities for public institutions and organizations.
It is estimated that the lifespan of the 0.5-meter resolution satellite, designed to be explored in any location in the world without geographical restrictions, will be seven years.
Gökturk-2: The first high-resolution observation satellite
Turkey’s first high-resolution observation and surveillance satellite, Göktürk-2, was launched on 18 December 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 the production of digital and geographical data with the necessary information to TSK and in particular to the Air Force Command.
The satellite has a high-speed data communication that can download an image of a band of almost 640 kilometers in a single pass.
The Gökturk-2 project aims to develop technology, expertise and infrastructure for space and satellite systems and to meet the observation and research needs of public institutions and organizations with national capabilities.