Türksat 6A will operate in the farthest orbit
Turkey's first domestic and national communication satellite Türksat 6A continues its journey in orbit. The satellite will be positioned at 42 degrees east longitude, 35,786 kilometers away.
Developed by Turkish engineers, Türksat 6A, the first domestic and national satellite, was launched into space from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, on Tuesday at 02:30 Turkish time, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket owned by SpaceX.
The first signal from the satellite started to be received from the 67th minute of its space journey.
Second firing process successfully completed
The first firing process, which lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes to move Türksat 6A to its orbit at 42 degrees east longitude, 35,786 kilometers away, was successfully completed three days ago, while the second firing process, which lasted 1 hour, was completed yesterday. Turkey's first domestic and national satellite, Türksat 6A, will be maneuvered into orbit with 5 firing maneuvers.
Orbit journey will last 12 days
The satellite's orbit transfer journey will last for 12 days, and orbital testing phase will commence thereafter. Türksat 6A will be taken over by Türksat after at least 1 month of testing and will become operational.
Turkey's active satellite count in space increased to 9
With the launch of Turkey's first domestic and national communication satellite Türksat 6A, the country's active satellite count has increased to 9.
Prior to Türksat 6A, Turkey had 8 active satellites, including 5 communication satellites (Türksat 3A, Türksat 4A, Türksat 4B, Türksat 5A, Türksat 5B) and 3 observation satellites (Göktürk-1, Göktürk-2, and İMECE). Türksat 6A has become the 9th operational satellite in the fleet.
Türksat 6A has a power of 8.4 kilowatts and weighs 4,229 kilograms. With this satellite, Turkey's coverage area from space will also encompass India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The population reached by the country's satellites will increase from 3.5 billion to 5 billion. With the operation of Türksat 6A, significant increase in Türksat's satellite service exports to the region is expected.
Local engineers played a significant role in the production of Türksat 6A. Turkey, having entered the ranks of countries capable of producing communication satellites, is expected to rise to the position of a satellite exporter as a result of this experience.
