Turkish Space Systems, Integration and Test Centre () (USET) is a

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...

production and testing facility owned by the

Ministry of National Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

and operated by

Turkish Aerospace Industries Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (, TAI or TUSAŞ) is a state-owned Arms industry, arms company in Turkey. History On 16 August 1925 the Turkish Aircraft and Engine Limited Company ''()'' factory was founded in Kayseri, Turkey. The company ...

(TAI). It is located in

Ankara, Turkey Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( Etimesgut, Yenimahalle, Çankaya, Keçiören, Altında ...

. The facility's official inauguration took place on May 21, 2015, in presence of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

. Considered as a critical infrastructure, the centre was established within the framework of the

Göktürk-1 Göktürk-1 (also Göktürk-1A) is a high resolution Earth observation satellite (greater than 50 cm) designed and developed for the Turkish Ministry of National Defence by the Italian space service company Telespazio with technological in ...

project, which started in 2009, for the indigenous realization of satellite assembly, as well as for

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

and

acceptance testing In engineering and its various subdisciplines, acceptance testing is a test conducted to determine if the requirements of a specification or contract are met. It may involve chemical tests, physical tests, or performance tests. In systems ...

from design to launch phase. It was the product of an agreement between the Turkish Ministry of National Defence and the multinational space services company

Telespazio Telespazio Spa is a European spaceflight services company founded in 1961. It is a joint venture owned by Leonardo (67%) and Thales Group (33%) headquartered in Rome. Telespazio provides services that include the design and development of space ...

in 2010. Situated within TAI's grounds in the

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

district of

Ankara Province Ankara Province (, ) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey with the capital city Ankara. Its area is 25,632 km2, and its population is 5,782,285 (2022). History The site of the modern city has been home to settlements ...

, the budgeted cost of the facility is US$100 million. USET is a technology centre, at which all satellites up to mass can be assembled and tested in simulated space environmental conditions related to the orbit. Two satellites can be produced and tested simultaneously. The centre serves military and civilian institutions. Development of the Türksat series

communication 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. ...

s, starting with

Türksat 5A Türksat 5A, is a Turkish communications satellite, operated by Türksat (company), Türksat A.Ş. for commercial and military purposes. History According to an agreement signed in September 2011, the satellite was developed by specialists i ...

, and Göktürk series

Earth observation satellite An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, me ...

s, will be carried out by Turkish engineers at this site. At the end of November 2014, it was announced that the construction of the facility was completed, and the centre was put into operation. The centre's Class 100,000 clean rooms cover an area of around . It is capable of the assembly, integration and testing of several satellites of type

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an geocentric orbit, orbit around Earth with a orbital period, period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an orbital eccentricity, eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial object ...

(LEO) and

geosynchronous orbit A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...

(GEO) with a mass up to five tonnes simultaneously. It has a direct connection to the airbase so that a transport by land becomes needless, offering advantages of security, economy and risk management. The centre has the following capabilities: * thermal vacuum tests, *

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

/ EMC tests, * compact antenna measurement range (CATR) tests, *

solar array A photovoltaic system, also called a PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to abs ...

deployment tests, *

vibration Vibration () is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. Vibration may be deterministic if the oscillations can be characterised precisely (e.g. the periodic motion of a pendulum), or random if the os ...

tests, * mass properties measurement, * acoustic tests, and * MLI preparation. The advanced integration and environmental tests of Göktürk-1 is the first project to be carried out in the centre. After completion, the satellite will be sent to the launch site by TUSAŞ.

References

{{authority control Space program of Turkey Ministry of National Defense (Turkey) Kahramankazan District Space technology research institutes Buildings and structures completed in 2014 2014 establishments in Turkey Buildings and structures in Ankara Province 21st-century architecture in Turkey