Türksat 6A

Türksat 6A is a Turkish communications satellite 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 completed by 2020 and launched in 2022.[2][1]

Türksat 6A
Mission typeCommunications
OperatorTürksat A.Ş.
Mission duration15 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerTÜBİTAK Uzay, TAI, ASELSAN, CTech Bilişim Teknolojileri A.Ş.
Power12 kW
Start of mission
Launch date2022 [1]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeGeostationary orbit
Longitude42° East
Transponders
Band16 Ku-band (plus 4 in reserve)
2 X-band (plus 1 in reserve)
Bandwidth7.30-18.10 GHz uplink
11.70-12.75 GHz downlink
Coverage areaTurkey, Middle East, Europe and Africa
 

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 Uzay) in cooperation with Turkish Aerospace Industries (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, chemical propulsion, harness and mechanical ground equipment needed to support the mission. TAI and TÜBİTAK Uzay will cooperate for the development of the software 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 (Turkish: Uydu Montaj Entegrasyon ve Test) (UMET) in Akıncı, Ankara.[3][4][5] Türksat 6A will also have X-band satellite communication capability for use by the Turkish Armed Forces.[3] ASELSAN, the Turkish military electronic systems producer, signed for this purpose a contract worth of CA$30 million with the Canadian company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) in April 2014.[6]

The launch of the satellite is planned for 2022.[1] 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 transponders, additionally 4 in reserve as well as two active and one in reserve X-band transponders. The Ku-band transponders will have a bandwidth of 7.3-18.1 GHz for uplink and 11.7-12.75 GHz downlink bandwidth. Each of the Ku-band transponders will have a minimum power of 140 watts and the X-band transponders at least 150 watts each.[7]

While the X-band transponders will cover the territory of Turkey only, the Ku-band transponders of Türksat 6A will have three coverage zones:[7]

It is estimated that the project will cost about US$250 million.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Turkey's active communications satellite fleet to grow to six: Minister". Hürriyet Daily News. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  2. "Turkey's first domestic satellite set to be completed in 2020". Daily Sabah. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  3. Bekdil, Burak Ege (7 July 2014). "Official: Turk Indigenous Sat Capability on Schedule". Defense News. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  4. "First Indigenous Telecommunication Satellite of Turkey TÜRKSAT 6A Will Be Manufactured in TAI". Defense Aerospace. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  5. "The First Indigenous Satellite Build Is Planned By Turkey — TÜRKSAT 6A — Plus, GÖKTÜRK-2 Celebrates Second Anniversary... On Orbit". SatNews Daily. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  6. "MDA Wins Strategic Contract to Provide Communication Satellite Hosted Payload Solution (CA%30 million)". T-Net British Columbia. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  7. "Türksat 6A Uydusu Ön Teknik İstekler" (PDF) (in Turkish). TÜBİTAK. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
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