Türksat 6A is a Turkish

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...

under construction, which will be developed and produced indigenously to be operated by Türksat A.Ş. This satellite will be Turkey's first fully domestically produced communications satellite, and is expected to be launched in early 2024. Recommendation: to 010°w, maritimen lines.

History

According to an agreement signed on 15 December 2014, the satellite will be developed and manufactured indigenously by specialists under the leadership of

TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute ( tr, TÜBİTAK Uzay Teknolojileri Araştırma Enstitüsü) or TÜBİTAK UZAY for short, is a Turkish institution carrying out research and development projects on space technology, electronics, in ...

(TÜBİTAK Uzay) in cooperation with

Turkish Aerospace Industries Turkish Aerospace Inc. ( tr, Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayi A.Ş., TUSAŞ) is the center of technology in design, development, manufacturing, integration of aerospace systems, modernization and after sales support in Turkey. Located in Ankara ...

(TAI), ASELSAN and CTech Bilişim Teknolojileri A.Ş. TAI will be in charge of design and production of the satellite structure and the subsystems such as

spacecraft thermal control In spacecraft design, the function of the thermal control system (TCS) is to keep all the spacecraft's component systems within acceptable temperature ranges during all mission phases. It must cope with the external environment, which can vary in ...

, chemical propulsion, harness and mechanical ground equipment needed to support the mission. TAI and TÜBİTAK Uzay will cooperate for the development of the

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

for satellite on-board data handling as well as for satellite command and control. They will perform the assembly, integration and test activities together at the TAI's Satellite Assembly Integration and Test Facility ( tr, Uydu Montaj Entegrasyon ve Test) (UMET) in Akıncı, Ankara. Türksat 6A will also have X-band satellite communication capability for use by the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...

. The launch of the satellite is planned for early 2023. It will be in a geosynchronous orbit positioned at 42° East with an expected on-orbit life time of at least 15 years. It will consist of 16

Ku-band The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally german: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the ori ...

transponders, additionally 4 in reserve as well as two active and one in reserve

X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxi ...

transponders. The Ku-band transponders will have a bandwidth of 7.3-18.1

GHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

for uplink and 11.7-12.75 GHz downlink bandwidth. Each of the Ku-band transponders will have a minimum power of 140

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s and the X-band transponders at least 150 watts each. While the X-band transponders will cover the territory of Turkey only, the K_u-band transponders of Türksat 6A will have three coverage zones: * Turkey, * "West Zone" covering the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

in the west,

Scandinavian countries Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swede ...

in the north,

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

in the south,

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

in the east, * "East Zone" covering

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

in the west,

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

in the north,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

in the south, China national boundary in the east. It is estimated that the project will cost about US$250 million.

References

External links

{{Future spaceflights Communications satellites of Turkey Military satellites Communications satellites in geostationary orbit 2023 in spaceflight 2023 in Turkey Proposed satellites

History

See also

References

External links