Türkiye’s 1st fully domestically produced communications satellite to be sent to US in June

By Ayse Bocuoglu Bodur

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye’s first domestically developed and produced communications satellite, Turksat 6A, will be dispatched to the US in June, a top government official confirmed Tuesday. ​​​​​

“Türkiye currently has five communications and four observation satellites in orbit, and we not only use them for our needs but also in providing services to other countries,” said Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu at the Space Systems Assembly, Integration and Test Center at the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) campus in Ankara.

“As of now, we cover Europe, the Middle East, the Turkic nations, parts of East Asia and a significant portion of Africa, mostly North Africa,” noted Uraloglu.

“Turksat 6A will increase satellite coverage, as it will cover India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, increasing our coverage of approximately 3.5 billion people to around five billion,” he added.

Uraloglu stressed that Turksat 6A was produced through domestic means and is set to launch in July.

“Communication is significant for us, especially military communication. Although we can currently provide such services, we had to develop our own solutions, so we made the Turksat 6A satellite, which is planned to be sent into space sometime between July 8 and 14,” he added.

Turksat 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.

Turksat currently operates five communication satellites: Turksat 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 Turksat 6A, countries such as India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia will be within Türkiye’s coverage area. This will increase the population reached by the country’s satellites from 3.5 billion to more than five billion, which corresponds to 65% of the world’s population.

With the commissioning of Turksat 6A, the firm’s satellite service exports to the region are planned to increase significantly.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul