Turkey's First Domestically-Produced Communication Satellite Türksat 6A Launched by SpaceX
TapTechNews July 9th news, at 7:30 am Beijing time, SpaceX successfully launched Turkey's first domestically-produced communication satellite Türksat 6A. About 8.5 minutes later, the Falcon 9 first-stage rocket was recovered, and the satellite entered the geosynchronous transfer orbit 35.5 minutes after liftoff.
According to the SpaceX mission description, this is the 15th launch and landing of this booster (B1076). This launch belongs to SpaceX's 68th Falcon 9 launch mission this year and the 353rd overall launch.
The Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, said that Turkey is the 11th country capable of independently manufacturing its own communication satellite. Türksat 6A will become a symbol of our independence in space and our unity on Earth and in space.
Regarding Türksat 6A, he said that this satellite will enter the final orbit by itself and undergo various inspections there for about a month before it can be put into use.
The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan thanked SpaceX and its founder Elon Musk on X, stating:
We have just launched our first domestically-produced communication satellite, Türksat 6A. We have witnessed another pride of our country and nation. More than 81% of the subsystems, satellite ground stations, and software in this project were produced by Turkey using its own resources, which is of great significance for our future development in the space field.
Furthermore, with the commissioning of Türksat 6A, Turkey will become a country capable of independently producing communication satellites. With the acquired technology and experience, our country will take a place in the design and production of satellites and their components. Producing key technologies such as communication satellites without relying on foreign resources is also very important for our national security.
It is worth noting that in addition to providing military communication services within Turkey, this satellite also provides broader commercial services for India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
TapTechNews learned from public information that Türksat 6A satellite was manufactured by the Turkish Aerospace Industries and financed by the Ministry of National Defense (SSB) and Türksat. It will be managed by the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBITAK). It has a designed lifespan of 15 years, weighs 4,250 kilograms (about 9.2 kilowatts of energy can be generated by the solar panels), is equipped with 16 Ku-band transponders, and another 4 standby transponders. In addition, it is also equipped with two effective X-band transponders and one standby transponder. These three transponders are for domestic military use in Turkey, while the Ku-band transponders will be used to support commercial services.
Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said: In addition to the satellites purchased earlier abroad, our services have covered Europe, the Middle East, Turkic-speaking countries, parts of East Asia, and most of Africa, mainly North Africa. Türksat 6A will expand the satellite coverage area because it will cover India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, increasing our coverage from about 3.5 billion people to about 5 billion people.