Türkiye’s first domestically produced, in other words homegrown, communications satellite, Türksat 6A, was sent into orbit on 8th July, Monday at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2:30 Türkiye time), from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, US through SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which had launched other Turkish satellites before, such as Türksat 5B, 2.5 years ago.
Türksat 6A was being developed since 2014, and therefore, the preparation lasted for 10 years. Türksat 6A became the first geostationary communications satellite manufactured by Türkiye, whose production is managed by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye's Space Technologies Research Institute and Turkish Aerospace Industries.
Türkiye’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu and Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır stated that the launch would lead Türkiye to become one of the 11 countries with the capability to produce their own satellites independently. Furthermore, Uraloğlu remarked that the satellite would fulfill the TV broadcasting needs better and would extend Türkiye’s satellite coverage which involves India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, therefore being able to serve as many as 5 billion people, increasing the target population by 1.5 billion.
Prior to the launch, Uraloglu also posted on social media that “Türksat 6A will be the symbol of our independence in space and our unity on Earth and in the sky.”
As the minister further mentioned, “Türksat 6A will set off with a propulsion system after the launch, reaching its permanent orbit at 42 degrees East” for the orbital tests to be conducted for a month before being put into service.
In the meantime, President Erdoğan referred to the launch as the opening of a new phase for Türkiye in satellite production and as a source of pride for Türkiye, highlighting the fact that more than 81% of Türksat 6A is domestically produced. Erdoğan gave the good news on social media by saying "We have just launched our domestic communication satellite Türksat 6A into space”.
SpaceX live-streamed the launch on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, starting from 15 minutes prior to blastoff.
Two ministers, Kacır and Uraloğlu thanked Erdoğan and organizations for their support, and Turkish engineers, and technicians for working tirelessly day and night for Türksat 6A, also indicating their plans and hopes for new satellites.
Although the launch was initially scheduled for 5:21 p.m. EDT, SpaceX keeps updating and postponing the liftoff time via social media to 5:41, 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, and finally 7:30 due to unfavorable weather conditions. SpaceX has informed beforehand that there was a 30% chance of weather conditions being in favor of the launch that would be initiated at 5:21 p.m. with the post “Weather is currently 30% favorable during the four-hour launch window that opens at 5:21 p.m. ET”, therefore the delays resulting from threatening weather were not surprising. If the weather did not allow by no means, the next trial would be attempted on July 9th, a day later, at 5:20 p.m.
If everything goes according to plan, 70 minutes after the satellite left the rocket, the first signals from TÜRKSAT 6A were expected to be received. The signal carried great importance since it directly indicated whether the mission was accomplished or not.
Luckily, later on, Uraloğlu conveyed that the the satellite got separated from the rocket around 30 minutes after the liftoff and the first signal from Türksat 6A was received 67 minutes after the takeoff, as anticipated, adding the satellite would take communications and broadcasts to the next level. Uraloğlu underscored that Türksat 6A was the end product of a 10-year-long effort, which makes the satellite more precious.
Having an 8.4-kilowatt power, Türksat 6A will position itself 35 786 kilometers distant from Earth after 1-month tests. The expected lifespan for the 4.2-ton satellite is 15 years. During these 15 years, most of Turkey's needs regarding communication satellites are intended to be met by the newest and the most domestic member, Türksat 6A.
All in all, the first indigenous satellite Türksat 6A seems to greatly benefit Turkey, which is currently taking some important steps in the space industry, in terms of broadcasting, communications, and domestic production.
