Turkey to launch Türksat 6A satellite next year: Erdoğan

ANKARA

Turkey will be among the 10 countries of the world producing communication satellites when it launches the Türksat 6A satellite into space next year, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on June 28.

Turkey started its national communication satellite project about five years ago and produced the Türksat 6A satellite with the contributions of many institutions and organizations, such as TÜBİTAK, Türksat, ASELSAN and TUSAŞ, Erdoğan said, noting that they plan to launch the satellite into space next year.

“Thus, Turkey will be among the 10 countries in the world that can produce communication satellites,” he said while speaking at the Türksat 5A satellite commissioning ceremony held in the Gölbaşı district.

The Türksat 5A satellite will serve a wide number of regions, including Turkey, Europe, the Mediterranean, the Aegean, the Black Sea, the Middle East, North Africa, Mid-West Africa and South Africa, he stated, noting that the maneuver life of the satellite would be 35 years.

“Our satellite, which is in orbit, became ready to serve. Now it’s Türksat 5B’s turn. Our aim is to send this satellite into space in the last quarter of the year,” Erdoğan said.

The tests of the Türksat 5B satellite, whose design and production phases have been completed, are ongoing, he said. They aim to send the satellite into space in the last quarter of this year, again with the Falcon-9 rocket, Erdoğan stated.

With the activation of Türksat 5B, Turkey’s data exchange capability will increase 15 times, he said.

The president also said the government would soon reveal a strategy on technology and innovation.

“We will soon share with the public our work strategy that will support data-based innovation and enable us to get ahead in artificial intelligence technologies,” he stated.

Launched by technology company SpaceX in January, Turkey’s fifth-generation communication satellite Türksat 5A is at 31 east meridians.

Türksat offers TV broadcasting services to Europe, the Middle East and the Africa region as well as the data communication services to the whole coverage area, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

With Türksat 5A, the number of Turkey’s active communication satellites in space reached four alongside Turksat 3A, Turksat 4A, and Turksat 4B.