Türkiye's latest indigenous telecommunications satellite will be launched into space next month after its final tests at the SpaceX facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on Friday.
"Transported to the facility earlier this month, the Turksat 6A will be carried into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket in mid-July," Uraloğlu said in a statement.
Uraloglu said that once the space probe is in position, Türkiye's satellite operator Turksat will be able to provide coverage to a substantially wider area including India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
"Thus, with Turksat 6A, the population that Türkiye's satellites cover will increase from 3.5 billion to over 5 billion. Türkiye will be able to reach more than 65% of the world's population with its own telecommunication satellites," he said.
Uraloglu added that the Turksat 6A will be operational for 15 years.
Türksat 6A has a 7.5-kilowatt power capacity and is planned to be positioned at 35,786 kilometers (22,236 miles) in a geocentric orbit, from where it will reach Southeast Asia, where existing satellites do not provide service.
Türksat currently operates five communication satellites: Türksat 3A, 4A, 4B, 5A and 5B, at 31 degrees, 42 degrees and 50 degrees in east orbits, reaching a population of 3.5 billion around the world. With the launch of Türksat 6A, countries such as India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia will be within Türkiye's coverage area.
