Turkey’s first domestically produced communications satellite was commissioned Monday in a ceremony in Ankara attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to a statement from the Directorate of Communications.
Developed with more than 80 percent locally sourced components, the TÜRKSAT 6A satellite is expected to remain operational for at least 15 years. The launch places Turkey among 11 countries that design, manufacture and operate their own communications satellites.
TÜRKSAT 6A expands Turkey’s satellite coverage to more than 5 billion people by extending service to areas including India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Previous satellites in the TÜRKSAT series, including 3A, 4A, 4B, 5A and 5B, covered approximately 3.5 billion people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The satellite is intended to provide television broadcasting, emergency communications and data transmission. It is also expected to be used during emergencies and disruptions in communications infrastructure.
Weighing 4,250 kilograms and equipped with 8.4 kilowatts of power, TÜRKSAT 6A will operate in a geosynchronous orbit — remaining fixed over a specific point on Earth — at 42 degrees east longitude, 35,786 kilometers above the equator.
The satellite is equipped with 20 transponders that receive and transmit signals and will operate across multiple frequency bands (Ku-Band, Ku-BSS Band, Ka-Band, and Q/V Band) to deliver broadcasting and communications services.
The project began in 2014 as a joint effort between several Turkish institutions, including the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and the TÜRKSAT company, the sole communications satellite operator in Turkey.
Critical components such as the satellite management unit, reaction wheels, sun sensors, antennas and power control units were developed domestically by organizations like TÜBİTAK’s Space Technologies Research Institute (TÜBİTAK UZAY), Military Electronics Industries Inc. (ASELSAN), Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TAI) and CTECH, a subsidiary of TAI.
The satellite was launched into orbit on July 9, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Its first test broadcast occurred on February 17.
With TÜRKSAT 6A now active, Turkey operates six communications satellites and maintains a total of 10 satellites in space.
“With TÜRKSAT 6A, which we developed using 84 domestic components with a localization rate of over 80 percent, Turkey has become one of only 11 countries making their own satellites,” President Erdoğan said.
“We have also begun preparations for the seventh series of our communications satellites. With the seventh-generation satellites, we will both utilize domestic resources and maximize international cooperation,” Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said, adding that the new satellite would strengthen Turkey’s presence in space.
Turkey’s first communications satellite launch took place in 1994, using foreign-built equipment. Since then, the country has increased its involvement in satellite development through technology transfer, domestic engineering and investment in space-related institutions.
Other recent initiatives include the creation of the Turkish Space Agency and the launch of a crewed spaceflight program. In 2023 the TÜBİTAK UZAY-designed İMECE satellite, used for Earth observation, was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in the United States.
Operating in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 680 kilometers, İMECE collects high-resolution imagery for defense, environmental monitoring, disaster response, agriculture, urban planning and forestry.