Turkey Launches First Domestically-Produced Communications Satellite

Turkey successfully launched its first domestically-produced communications satellite, Turksat 6A, into orbit early Tuesday. According to Ankara, this launch aims to expand the country’s satellite coverage and enhance its television broadcasting capabilities.

The satellite was carried into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated that the launch signifies a “new phase” in Turkey’s satellite production.” In the 6A project, which is crucial for our country’s future in space, we produced over 81% of the subsystems, satellite ground stations, and software using national resources,” he said.

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Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu reported that the first signal from Turksat 6A was received 67 minutes after its launch, as planned.

He added that the satellite would expand Turkey’s coverage to 5 billion people, improving the security and quality of communications and television broadcasts. With Turksat 6A, Turkey will now be able to reach countries such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Turkey had previously launched satellites using SpaceX rockets.

Uraloglu noted that the development of Turksat 6A was a decade-long effort, marking Turkey as one of 11 countries to have successfully produced a domestically-made satellite.