Türkiye’s first domestically developed and produced communications satellite, Türksat 6A, has completed its production and testing phases and has moved onto the shipping and packaging stage, a top official said Sunday, adding that it is due to be dispatched to the U.S. on June 4, before its planned space launch.
The satellite would be sent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, U.S., on Tuesday, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğu said in a written statement.
Reiterating that Türksat 6A was integrated and tested at Türkiye's Space Systems Assembly, Integration and Test (USET) Center, Uraloğlu said, "We continue our services with our communication satellites Türksat 3A, Türksat 4A, Türksat 4B, Türksat 5A, and Türksat 5B."
"We are now very close to completing the Türksat 6A project, one of Türkiye's most important projects. We will see our satellite in space in July," he said.
Uraloğlu pointed out that the construction of Türksat 6A was completed under the leadership of Türksat with the support of local industry organizations such as the Space Technologies Institute of Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBITAK), Aselsan, Tusaş and CTech.
"I am proud to say that we have completed Türkiye's largest R&D project, Türksat 6A. Now we are at the stage of sending it into space," he added.
"The packaging process of our satellite is also about to be completed at USET. On Tuesday, June 4, our national pride, the Türksat 6A satellite, will depart from Ankara to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, U.S., aboard an Antonov An-124 aircraft," the Minister explained.
"After a journey of approximately 17 hours, our satellite will land in the SpaceX facilities' hangar at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where it will undergo travel tests. Additionally, the fueling process for Türksat 6A will be carried out in the SpaceX hangar," he said.
"We plan to launch it to its position in space in the second week of July with the Falcon 9 rocket belonging to SpaceX," noted Uraloğlu.
Furthermore, the minister emphasized that the high localization rate in the completion of Türksat 6A was achieved thanks to the technology transfer training program initiated by Türksat.
"With the program started by our country's satellite operator Türksat, Türksat engineers were involved in the construction of Türksat 3A, as well as Türksat 4A and Türksat 4B. For the construction of Türksat 5A and 5B, 12 Türksat engineers participated in satellite design, production, and testing as part of the technology transfer program," he said.
He added that currently, Türksat 6A has been produced with the "highest localization rate with the contribution of Türksat engineers who received training in space technologies as part of the technology transfer program."
The minister highlighted that the production of Türksat 6A is a milestone for Türkiye and provided detailed insight into the satellite's construction.
"Under the project, TÜBITAK Space produced the satellite management subsystem, orbit control subsystem, power subsystem, electric propulsion subsystem, interface control units and communication payload of Türksat 6A," he noted.
"C2Tech manufactured all telemetry, telecommand and ranging subsystems, from telemetry/signal transmitter to telecommand receiver, and from omnidirectional receiver antenna to receiver test adapter locally and nationally," he outlined.
He added that Aselsan was involved in manufacturing Türkiye's antenna, receiver, INET and payload interface unit, bringing Türksat 6A to this stage, while TUSAŞ, he said, was responsible for the design and installment of structural and thermal systems. He said the firm produced the satellite's structural and battery panels and assembled them onto the satellite.
"Thanks to these products, which were produced with R&D for the first time, Türkiye has become one of the few communication satellite manufacturers in the world," Uraloğlu said.
The minister pointed out that Türksat 6A, which will ensure the redundancy of existing satellites, will significantly increase Türkiye's satellite capacity. The satellite will be positioned at 35,786 kilometers (22,236 miles) in a geocentric orbit and has a 7.5 kilowatts (kW) power capacity.
Uraloğlu emphasized that Türksat 6A, as a geostationary communication satellite, will meet the country's satellite communication needs, including TV broadcasting and will cover areas that current satellites do not serve, such as India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
He concluded by saying that Türksat 6A would increase the population reached by Türkiye's satellites from 3.5 billion to 5 billion, and with its commissioning, Türksat's satellite service exports to the region are planned to increase significantly.