Turkey’s interest in communications satellite broadcasting began with the launch of Türksat 1B in 1994. Then, Türksat 1C was put into service in 1996, Türksat 2A in 2001, Türksat 3A in 2008, Türksat 4B in 2014 and finally Türksat 5A in 2021. The newest satellite, Türksat 5B, was put into service in 2022.
Türksat aimed to increase Turkish engineering capabilities by including local engineers in the projects. Turkish engineers made significant contributions, especially in the construction processes of Türksat 3A, 4A and 4B. Additionally, Turksat engineers took part in the satellite design, production and testing stages of the construction of Turksat 5A and 5B within the framework of the Technology Transfer Program.
Development Process of Turksat 6A
Turkey’s domestic and national satellite project, Türksat 6A, was officially launched on December 15, 2014. Work has begun with the Space Systems Integration and Test Center (USET), established in TUSAŞ facilities with the cooperation of Türksat and the Presidency of Defense Industries.
| Phase | History |
|---|---|
| Preliminary Review Phase | December 31, 2015 |
| Critical Review Phase-1 | December 26, 2016 |
| Thermal Structural Competence Model Completed | 2017 |
| Critical Review Phase-2 | November 29, 2018 |
| Construction of Engineering Model Satellite | 2019 |
| Flight Model Initial Functional Tests | June 2022 |
| Flight Model Thermal Vacuum Tests | December 2022 |
| Flight Model Vibration and Acoustic Tests | August 2023 |
| Flight Model Shock Test (Fit Check) | November 2023 |
| Flight Model Final Functional Tests | January 2024 |
| Flight Model CATR Tests | 2024 |
The construction process of Turksat 6A progressed meticulously and detailed tests were carried out at every stage. After the final checks, the satellite was sent into space by Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Center in Florida, USA.
Historical Day
Turkey’s partners in space studies included the Turkish Space Agency, TÜBİTAK UZAY, Türksat AŞ, ASELSAN, C2Tech and TUSAŞ. The launch of Turkey’s first domestic and national communications satellite, Turksat 6A, took place at 17:20 US time and 00:20 Turkey time.
