Observation satellite captures inaugural image

ANKARA

Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır unveiled the first-ever image captured by the country’s indigenous observation satellite, İMECE.

“Türkiye’s first high-resolution domestic and national observation satellite İMECE has been successfully performing its mission from the moment it was placed in orbit,” Kacır wrote in a tweet shared on June 27, revealing an image obtained by the satellite.

The high-resolution image showcased the facilities of Türkiye’s new electric car Togg in the northwestern province of Bursa.

The satellite was designed and developed by the Space Technologies Research Institute of Türkiye’s Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK) and was produced in Türkiye to provide high-resolution imagery.

After its liftoff was postponed three times due to bad weather, the satellite was finally launched from the space force base in California in April.

With the inauguration of İMECE, Türkiye has made history in the field of space with the electro-optical satellite camera with sub-meter resolution. The satellite will operate in orbit for five years simultaneously with the sun at an altitude of 680 kilometers (422.5 miles), the ministry informed earlier.

The project started in January 2017, and in June 2020, the assembly integration activities of the spacecraft’s thermal structural efficiency module were completed and tests for the vibration on the spacecraft started. The final assembly of the satellite done jointly by technology, defense and transportation ministries followed those tests.

The outputs expected to be obtained from the project will form the building blocks of the country’s future satellites, officials say, while it is also aimed to gain trained manpower and knowledge in this field.