Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu said that the countdown has begun for Türksat 6A, Turkey’s first completely domestic and national communication satellite, in a post he shared on his social media accounts today. Here are the details…
Türksat 6A will be the first domestic and national communication satellite!
In December of last year, Türksat 5B satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral base in Florida, USA with Elon Musk’s Falcon 9 rocket belonging to SpaceX company. After 6 months, it took its place in orbit on June 14.
Next up is Türksat 6A, Turkey’s first completely domestic and national communication satellite. This satellite will also be launched into space with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in the second quarter of 2023. In addition, Turkey will be the 10th country that can produce its own communication satellite.
We hit the road for Turksat 5B (vLog)
Türksat 6A, which will be located at 42 degrees east longitude, will cover Europe, India, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, especially Turkey. Once placed in orbit, the solar panels on it will produce 7.5 kW of electricity. In this way, he will be able to serve for 15+ years.
With the new satellite, the number of active satellites in Turkey will increase to 10. TUSAŞ, ASELSAN and CTECH companies, which are among the partners of this project, aim to open a new door in exports by transferring their experiences to space and aviation industry products.
| Orbit | 42° East |
| Useful load | 20 Ku-Band Transmitter |
| Service life | > 15 years |
| dry mass | ~1700 kg |
| total mass | ~4200 kg |
| power generation | ~7 kW (End of Life) |
What did Turksat 5B satellite bring?
With the launch of Türksat 5B into space, the number of active communication satellites in Turkey reached five and the total number of satellites reached eight. 5B, which provides 20 times more capacity efficiency than fixed class satellites, is evaluated in the High Efficiency Satellite class.
It has been serving regions of the entire Middle East, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, North and East Africa, Nigeria, South Africa and its immediate neighbor countries since it started to work actively. It performs data transmission of more than 55 Gbps in total with Ka-Band payload.
Türksat 5B satellite, which will offer more than 15 times more data flow compared to other satellites thanks to Ka-Band data transmission; especially in the aviation and maritime sectors. At the same time, it contributes to the establishment of a wider internet infrastructure by providing access to places that cannot be accessed by terrestrial infrastructure.
With a launch weight of 4.5 tons, Türksat 5B has a power capacity of 15kW and a new generation electric propulsion system. For the satellite, which has a life expectancy of more than 35 years, there are ground stations in three cities of Turkey, Ankara, Izmir and Van.
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