Türksat 6A

Türksat 6A is a Turkish communications satellite under construction, which will be developed and produced indigenously to be operated by Türksat. 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 typeCommunication
OperatorTürksat
Mission durationat least 15 years
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerTÜBİTAK Uzay, TAI, ASELSAN, CTech Bilişim Teknolojileri A.Ş.
Powermin. 140 W each Ku band transponder
min. 150 W each X band transponder
Start of mission
Launch date2022[1]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeGeostationary
Longitude42° East
Transponders
Band16 Ku band (plus 4 in reserve)
2 X band (plus 1 in reserve)
Bandwidth7.3-18.1 GHz uplink
11.7-12.75 GHz downlink
Coverage area3 zones (Ku band transponders)
Turkey only (X band transponders)
 

History

According to an agreement signed on December 15, 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 W and the X band transponders at least 150 W 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]

  • entire Turkey,
  • "West Zone" covering the British Isles in the west, Scandinavian countries in the north, North Africa in the south, Caspian Sea in the east,
  • "East Zone" covering Anatolia in the west, Russian Federation in the north, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in the south, China national boundary in the east.

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. 2019-08-14. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  2. "Turkey's first domestic satellite set to be completed in 2020". Daily Sabah. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  3. Bekdil, Burak Ege (2014-07-07). "Official: Turk Indigenous Sat Capability on Schedule". Defense News. Archived from the original on 2015-02-02. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  4. "First Indigenous Telecommunication Satellite of Turkey TÜRKSAT 6A Will Be Manufactured in TAI". Defense Aerospace. 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  5. "The First Indigenous Satellite Build Is Planned By Turkey—TÜRKSAT 6A—Plus, GÖKTÜRK-2 Celebrates Second Anniversary... On Orbit". SatNews Daily. 2014-12-19. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  6. "MDA Wins Strategic Contract to Provide Communication Satellite Hosted Payload Solution (CA%30 million)". T-Net British Columbia. 2014-04-30. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  7. "Türksat 6A Uydusu Ön Teknik İstekler" (PDF) (in Turkish). TÜBİTAK. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
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