A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was fired from a launch pad in the US state of Florida to put a new generation of Turkish communications satellite in orbit late Thursday.
The US space company’s 70-meter-tall (230 feet) rocket was launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, using the Türksat 5A satellite.
“With the Türksat 5A satellite, Turkey is securing its orbital rights for the next 30 years,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Friday.
Equipped with the latest technology and higher capacity, Türksat will provide 5A television services and enhance broadband data networks. It will be placed in an unused Turkish orbital trench at 31 degrees east.
Once the newly launched satellite enters orbit, Turkey’s active satellites in space will rise to seven, Erdoğan told Satellite Technologies Week’s special session via video conference at Vahdettin Mansion.
Three of the satellites currently in space are working for communication, namely Türksat 3A, Türksat 4A and Türksat 4B, while the other three, Göktürk-1, Göktürk-2 and Rasat, are for observation.
The Türksat 5A will establish itself in orbit within four months and enter service in the second half of 2021, according to Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, which also said the country’s frequency and orbital rights for the coming 30 years guaranteed.
Erdoğan said the satellite will cover Europe, the Middle East and major regions of Africa, as well as the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Sea regions.
“With this satellite, which offers a wide range of services, we also support our existing communication satellites. Turkey is one of 30 countries with the right to orbit in space, ”he noted.
The mission also marked the first launch in 2021 for SpaceX and its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. It also kicked off what should be a very busy year for Elon Musk’s company.
“Launch underway,” Musk tweeted as he shared the live broadcast of the Turkish satellite’s launch.
The Türksat 5A gave its first signal 35 minutes after launch, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu said Friday, as the satellite was on its way to settle into orbit.
“This journey will take four months. We will then run our tests and the satellite will be activated, ”he said.
Satellite will start in the second half of 2021
Turkey signed an agreement with global aviation company Airbus in 2017 for the production of the Türksat 5A and 5B orbiters.
Türksat 5A was built by the collaboration of Türksat, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Airbus Defense and Space. It was delivered to Türksat officials on October 2, 2020.
The launch was previously scheduled, but the launch was delayed several times.
The satellite will provide Ku band television services. It will carry 42 transponders and will be placed in an unused Turkish orbital trench located 31 degrees east after all orbit and subsystem checks have been completed by the stations.
Administration of the satellite will be transferred to the Gölbaşı Satellite Ground Station in the Turkish capital Ankara, and the new satellite will be subjected to performance tests for about a month with commands sent from there.
The satellite is expected to enter service in the second half of 2021.
Speaking at Satellite Technologies Week, Karaismailoğlu said the launch heralds bigger and more proud stages.
He promised that the country will continue to expand its satellite technology, emphasizing that the future lies in space, beyond observation or communication satellites.
“The excitement and enthusiasm we experience are too great to put into words. However, this step heralds bigger and proud stages, ”he said of the launch of Türksat 5A.
Native satellite will be launched in 2022
Erdoğan further said that Turkey plans to launch its native high-resolution observation satellite IMECE into space next year.
“Our goal is to put Türksat 6A, the first communications satellite to be produced by Turkey, into orbit by 2022,” Erdoğan noted.
Production of Türksat 6A is underway and uses all-domestic sourcing in the capital Ankara.
It is a product of the collaboration between the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and organizations and companies such as the leading defense company ASELSAN, TAI and CTech, together with Türksat and the highest scientific body in the country, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK) .
It will place Turkey among the 10 countries that can produce their own satellites. The contract for Türksat 6A was signed on December 15, 2014.
2030 space program to be revealed soon
The country’s national space program 2021-2030 will also be unveiled shortly by the Turkish space agency, the president added.
The agency was established in December 2018 to pave the way for the creation of a competitive indigenous industry and to define strategies and policies related to space technologies.
Erdoğan also said microsatellites are becoming increasingly prominent in the field of satellites, stressing that intensive preparations are underway to develop such satellites and send them into space from Turkey.
“For this purpose, we are building a micro-satellite launch facility in our country. We support the satellite development activities of our public institutions, universities and the private sector, ”said the president.
Türksat 5B will be sent into orbit in June
Türksat 5A heralds a new era for Turkish broadcasting services, along with strengthening the country in terms of service exports, Karaismailoğlu said.
The minister said the maneuver and lifespan of the Türksat 5A, which will serve 30 years in space – much longer than other satellites – means that the weight of the satellite, which requires 12 kilowatts (kW) of power, is 3,500 kilograms (about 7,716 lb).
He said the country will continue its work in space and space technologies and says tests are underway on the Türksat 5B, which is expected to be launched 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 commissioning of Türksat 5A and Türksat 5B, Turkey’s frequency rights will be preserved while at the same time gaining new communications satellite frequency rights for future generations.
Karaismailoğlu noted that the integration activities of the domestic production, engineering and flight model of the domestic Türksat 6A are going on simultaneously and there will be good news about the project soon.
Prior to the launch, Turkish Deputy Transport and Infrastructure Minister Ömer Fatih Sayan Türksat called 5A “one of the latest generation of satellites that gives us the opportunity to improve our capacity in space.”
“With Türksat 5A, we would primarily protect our orbital rights and provide commercial services through broadcasts and communications, particularly internet services with the Ku band to rural areas,” he told SpaceX mission control reporters. center in Cape Canaveral.
Sayan said it will take about 140 days for Türksat 5A to enter 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 launch due to a launch vehicle failure, and the mission failed.
Turkey maintained its investment in satellite technology and took its place in space in August 1994 with the Türksat 1B satellite.
Rasat: First locally made observation satellite
The Rasat observation satellite is TÜBITAK Space’s second remote sensing satellite, after Turkey’s first Earth observation satellite, Bilsat.
Rasat was designed and manufactured in Turkey and launched from Russia on August 17, 2011.
Although the Rasat satellite’s original lifespan 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 black and white and 15 meters of multiband spatial resolution push-broom camera.
Turkey’s other Earth observation satellite, Göktürk-1, was launched in 2016.
Located in low Earth orbit, the satellite can perform a variety of remote sensing tasks such as environmental and housing monitoring, agricultural yield detection, municipal practices, border control and cadastral activities for public institutions and organizations.
The lifespan of the 0.5-meter-resolution satellite, designed to allow exploration in any location in the world without geographic constraints, is predicted 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 carried out by the TAI and the TÜBITAK Space team under the coordination of the Ministry of Defense.
It can provide digital and geographic data production with the target information needed for the TSK and Air Force Command in particular.
The satellite has high-speed data communication that can download an image of a lane of nearly 640 kilometers (397 miles) in a single pass.
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.