Türksat 5A

Türksat 5A, is a Turkish communications satellite, operated by Türksat A.Ş. for commercial and military purposes.[3][4]

Türksat 5A
Türksat 5A satellite
Mission typeCommunications
OperatorTürksat A.Ş.
COSPAR ID2021-001A
SATCAT no.47306
Mission duration15 years (planned) [1]
25 days, 19 hours and 42 minutes (elapsed)
Spacecraft properties
BusEurostar E3000EOR [2]
ManufacturerAirbus Defence and Space
Launch mass3,500 kg (7,700 lb)
Power12 kW
Start of mission
Launch date8 January 2021, 02:15:00 UTC
RocketFalcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5)
Launch siteCape Canaveral, SLC-40
ContractorSpaceX
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeGeostationary orbit
Longitude31° East [2]
Transponders
Band42 Ku-band
Coverage areaTurkey, Middle East, Europe and Africa
 

History

According to an agreement signed in September 2011, the satellite was developed by specialists in cooperation with Türksat and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). It was produced in Turkey by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) at its newly established Satellite Assembly Integration and Test Facility (Turkish: Uydu Montaj Entegrasyon ve Test) (UMET) in Ankara with 20% indigenously developed technology. Türksat 5A is the first geostationary communications satellite built in Turkey.[2][5][6]

It was reported in early 2013 that Mitsubishi Electric (MELCO) of Japan, which is constructing the satellite platforms of Türksat 4A and Türksat 4B, might join the project to provide a MELCO DS2000 satellite bus for the satellite.[2] But on 9 November 2017, Airbus Defence and Space was selected to construct the satellite platforms for Türksat 5A using Eurostar E3000EOR, an all-electric variant of Eurostar E3000.[7]

Launch

The spacecraft was launched on 8 January 2021 at 02:15:00 UTC from Cape Canaveral (CCSFS), SLC-40.[2] Türksat 5A will be placed in a geosynchronous orbit at 31° East to provide telecommunication and direct TV broadcasting services over a broad geographic region between west of China and east of England stretching over Turkey, as well as Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.[8]

It has a launch mass of 3,500 kg (7,700 lb) [2] carrying 42 Ku-band transponders. The expected on-orbit life time will be 15 years,[9] but the more efficient electric thrusters will allow Turksat 5A to maintain its position in orbit for more than 30 years, double the life span of many large communications satellites, according to Airbus.[10]

Soon after launch, Turksat officials indicated the satellite entered a proper Supersynchronous orbit and the signal from the satellite was received by Turkish ground station 35 minutes after satellite deploy.[11] The satellite will take four months to raise to its 31° East Geostationary orbit position. Following the success, officials reiterated plans to launch the sister satellite Türksat 5B in June 2021 with SpaceX.

Controversy

On 29 October 2020, protests gathered outside of the Hawthorne, California headquarters of the TurkSat 5A launch provider SpaceX to protest the satellites launch.[12] The previous generation Türksat 4B directly commanded Anka-S armed bombing drones.[13][4] While Bayraktar TB2 drones could previously only be controlled remotely through radio channel, this satellite could allow the newest version, the Bayraktar TB2S, to be controlled through satellite, greatly extending their operational ranges. In Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, Libya and other countries, these previous generation of these drone has resulted in thousands of deaths in targeted areas.[14][15] Armenian protesters demanded SpaceX not launch the satellite, claiming it will be used to target military and civilian targets in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and given that, according to Human Rights Watch, Turkish Armed Forces "failed to take necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties" in three attacks in northwest Syria in late January 2018[16] and have deployed armed drones in this region since 2020.

TurkSat 5A would greatly extend the range of drone operations from the West of Europe to the east of Kazakhstan, with more resistance against jamming, rejection and wiretapping; high-definition live streams of targets and commanding of munitions drops.[3][17][18]

See also

References
  1. https://www.space.com/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-turksat-5a-launch-success
  2. Krebs, Gunter. "Türksat 5A". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  3. "What is the contribution of the Türksat 5A and 5B satellites to the Turkish defense industry?". defensehere.com. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  4. "TB2 Bayraktar will be able to fly in every region covered by Türksat (Google Translate)". Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  5. "Dr Balbay: "Türksat 5A ve Türksat 6A Türkiyede Üretilecek"" (in Turkish). Turksat. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  6. "TÜRKSAT-5A Milli Haberleşme Uydusu için tüm hazırlıklar tamamlandı". Sabah (in Turkish). 6 September 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  7. "Airbus to build Türksat 5A and 5B satellites". Airbus. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  8. "Turksat 5A Footprints". 10 November 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  9. "Satellite Name: Turksat 5A". SatBeams. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  10. "SpaceX delivers for Turkey in first launch of 2021". Spaceflight Now. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  11. "TURKSAT 5A satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral base in Florida, U.S. and the first signal was received". 8 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  12. "Hundreds gather at SpaceX headquarters to protest Turkish satellite launch". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  13. "Anka-S Accomplishes its First Satellite Controlled Flight". Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  14. "Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 drones enable swift, precise victory against YPG/PKK in Syria's Afrin". Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  15. "A new weapon complicates an old war in Nagorno-Karabakh". Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  16. "Syria: Civilian Deaths in Turkish Attacks May Be Unlawful". Human Rights Watch. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  17. "CTech Displayed its National and Unique UAV SatCom Solution at SAHA EXPO 2018". Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  18. "Unmanned Aircraft System Control Filing for TURKSAT-31E-H with ITU". Retrieved 12 March 2019.
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