Turkey, which protects its rights in the “space homeland” with its communications, reconnaissance and observation satellites, is increasing its effectiveness with its new satellites. The country's adventure in the field of communications satellites, which has numerous satellite and rocket projects in space, dates back to the 1990s.
Although Türksat 1A, the country's first communications satellite launched into space on January 24, 1994, crashed into the sea 12 minutes and 12 seconds later due to a rocket malfunction, Türkiye continued its investments in satellite technologies and took its place in space with Türksat 1B on August 10, 1994. Türkiye, which was included in the list of countries with satellites in space, continued its historic steps.
New milestone after 30 years
By continuing to gradually launch new satellites, Turkey stands out among the countries that can produce versatile technologies from defense to communications. Turksat 6A, the domestic and national communications satellite, which is scheduled to be launched in the second week of July, will take the country to a new dimension. Türkiye will reach a new milestone by becoming one of the countries that can produce and develop its own communications satellite.
Here are the milestones of Türkiye’s satellite adventure:
Satellite Turksat 1B
The production and testing of Türksat 1B, Turkey's first successfully launched communications satellite, was carried out by the French company Alcatel Alenia Space Industries. The satellite was launched on August 10, 1994, aboard an Ariane 4 rocket from French Guiana in South America and placed in a 42-degree east orbit. The 3,060-kilogram satellite covered Turkey, Europe and Central Asia. The television broadcasting and data communications service tasks of Türksat 1B, which has a capacity of 10 narrowband 36 MH, 16 Ku and 6 wideband 72 MHz transponders, were completed in 2006.
Satellite Turksat 1C
Türksat 1C was launched from French Guiana on July 10, 1996 and operated from the 42 degrees East orbit. On July 16, 2008, all signal traffic on this satellite was transferred to the Türksat 3A satellite and the new mission location of this satellite was set at 31 degrees East. The satellite in question covered Türkiye and Europe in the west and Türkiye and Central Asia in the east. The satellite's missions ended in 2010.
Satellite Turksat 2A
Türksat 2A was launched into space on January 10, 2001, and began its mission on February 1, 2001, at 42 degrees East longitude. The satellite, which provides local and foreign television channels and other satellite services, completed its mission on September 27, 2016.
Satellite Turksat 3A
The Türksat 3A satellite was manufactured by Thales Alenia Space Industries and weighed 3,110 kilograms. It was launched on June 13, 2008 from the Kourou Guyana Space Center in French Guiana. The satellite, located at 42 degrees East, has a bandwidth of 1296 MHz. Türksat 3A has a higher usage capacity compared to previous generation satellites and was used for both satellite communication services and direct television broadcasts over Europe, Turkey and Central Asia. Türksat 3A also provided services for television broadcasts, broadband data services, VSAT and narrowband data services transmitted from Turkey via uplink. Thus, it provides great convenience to users who provide services via satellite with small and low-cost uplink systems.
Satellite Turksat 4A
On March 7, 2011, a contract was signed with Japanese company Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) for the supply of the Türksat 4A and Türksat 4B communications satellites. The 4,000-910-kilogram satellite was launched on February 14, 2014 on a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Türksat 4A covers Turkey, North Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asian and Sub-Saharan African regions in Ku-band. Ka-band is also used on the satellite. Services such as DTH, SNG and VSAT will be delivered via Türksat 4A to Sub-Saharan Africa, where no services were previously provided. Türksat 4A also provided a significant increase in capacity in the 42-degree East orbit.
Satellite Turksat 4B
The communications satellite Türksat 4B, manufactured by the Japanese company, was launched on October 16, 2015 from the Kazakhstan Baikonur Cosmodrome with a weight of 4,000,977 kilograms. Türksat 4B, which has a bandwidth of 3,400 MHz, was the first Türksat satellite to operate in a 50-degree east orbit.
The satellite covered Southwest Asia, which includes Turkey, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and western China. In addition to television broadcasting in the Ku frequency band via the Türksat 4B communications satellite, it provides fast and lower-cost Internet access services with spot coverage areas in the Ka frequency band. The satellite is also important for protecting Turkey's spectrum rights in space.
Satellite Turksat 5A
It was launched into space on January 8, 2021, at 05:15 Turkish time from Cape Canaveral base in the USA with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Positioned at 31 degrees East orbit, the satellite secured its orbit frequency and orbit rights for 30 years with its maneuver lifetime. Türksat 5A provides television broadcasting and data communication services in a wide geographical area covering Turkey, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Central West Africa, South Africa, the Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Black Sea.
Satellite Turksat 5B
Türksat 5B was launched into space on December 19, 2021, with Space X's Falcon 9 rocket from the US Cape Canaveral base. The Türksat 5B satellite has achieved a strong capacity increase in the fields of communication and internet, increasing Turkey's satellite data capacity by more than fifteen times. Türksat 5B belongs to the high-efficiency satellite category and has a capacity efficiency at least 20 times higher than fixed satellite service class satellites. It was designed to be one of the most powerful satellite fleets in the country. Providing services in a wide coverage area covering the entire Middle East, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North and East Africa, Nigeria, South Africa and close neighboring countries, the satellite has increased its Ka-band data transmission capacity by more than 15 times and offers opportunities for various sectors. Türksat 5B, which has a maneuvering life of more than 35 years, is attracting attention with its new generation electric propulsion system and making an important contribution to the domestic industry.
Satellite Turksat 6A
The construction of the satellite was completed and it was sent to the United States on June 4. Türksat 6A, which was scheduled to be launched in the second week of July, became Turkey's first local and national satellite. The satellite's subsystems, satellite ground station and software were developed with national resources. Türksat 6A will serve most of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia as well as Turkey. Türkiye will be among the countries in the world capable of producing and developing communication satellites.
Observation and reconnaissance satellites make a significant contribution to Turkey
Turkey is strengthening its influence in the “space home” with observation and reconnaissance satellites as well as communication satellites. Turkey’s most important satellites in this area are:
BILSAT satellite
Turkey's first remote sensing satellite, BiLSAT, was launched into orbit in 2003. Its construction was carried out in cooperation with a British company and Turkish researchers were given training to learn the satellite construction process and gain the ability to manufacture independent satellites. Within the scope of the BILSAT project, ground stations and satellite production/testing laboratories were established at TÜBİTAK UZAY facilities. The multi-band camera (ÇOBAN) and the real-time image processing card (GEZGİN) were developed with local resources. These devices went down in history as the first products in the space field developed and manufactured in Turkey.
RASAT satellite
While the BILSAT satellite was being built, RASAT was the first locally produced Earth observation satellite that could be considered a technical model for better learning. The development of RASAT began in 2004 with government support. With the national observation satellite RASAT, which was designed and manufactured entirely in Turkey by Turkish engineers and launched in 2011, Turkey has become a leading country in satellite technology.
İMECE satellite
İMECE, Turkey's first domestic and national observation satellite with sub-meter resolution, was launched into space from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA on April 15, 2023. As a result, Turkey became a country with the ability to develop and produce Earth observation satellites and ground station subsystems from scratch. Apart from the electro-optical camera, electric propulsion system, sun sensor, star tracks, reaction wheel, global positioning system receiver, magnetometer, X-band communication equipment and antenna, S-band communication equipment and antennas, energy regulation and distribution equipment, flight computer, flight software, ground station antenna and ground station software were developed locally within the scope of İMECE project.
Along with this satellite, the cube satellites AKUP, Kılıçsat and ConnectaT2.1 were also launched. İMECE, which provides services from defense to disaster management, from environment and urban planning to agriculture and forestry, is planned to run for five years.
GÖKTÜRK-2 satellite
The project was carried out with TUSAŞ company under the general management of TÜBİTAK UZAY to meet the Turkish Air Force's needs for high-resolution reconnaissance satellites during 2007-2012. With the satellite launched in December 2012, Turkey managed to become one of the 16 countries capable of producing a high-resolution Earth observation satellite with its own resources.
GÖKTÜRK-1 satellite
GÖKTÜRK-1 was launched on December 5, 2016. The satellite, designed and developed by Italy's Telespazio for the Ministry of Defense with the technology support of TAI and ASELSAN, played an important role in creating Turkey's technology, human resources and infrastructure. It also established the Satellite Assembly, Integration and Test Center (USET), which is the crucial infrastructure for the domestic production of Turkey's future observation and communication satellites. Environmental and functional tests of the satellite were carried out here. The satellite was produced to meet the Turkish Armed Forces' satellite imaging needs for target reconnaissance and has a visibility range of up to 0.5 meters.
GÖKTÜRK-3 satellite
Work continues on the GÖKTÜRK-3 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Earth observation satellite, on which TAI is working as the prime contractor with the support of ASELSAN and TÜBİTAK UZAY. With this satellite, the Turkish Armed Forces will be able to receive high-resolution images day and night and in all weather conditions from anywhere in the world, within their own territorial waters and without airport restrictions.
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