TURKSAT 6A, Turkey's first domestic and national communication satellite, developed under the coordination of TUBITAK Space Technologies Research Institute (UZAY), draws attention with its components produced by Turkish engineers and technicians.
The electric propulsion engine that moves the 4.2-tonne satellite, the starizzler that detects its direction and position, the reaction wheel that enables the satellite to change direction, are implemented with the human resources of Turkey.
Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, while examining the domestic and national components of TURKSAT 2023A, which is planned to start space travel in 6, said, “We will continue our efforts to make Turkey a country that exports technology in the field of satellites and sells satellites, including integrated systems. ” said.
In orbit in 2023
Türksat A.Ş. Developed under the leadership of TÜBİTAK UZAY with the participation of companies such as TAI, ASELSAN and C-tech, the TÜRKSAT 6A satellite will take its place in orbit in 2023. Minister Varank examined TÜRKSAT 6A, whose testing and integration processes continue, on site.
VISIT USET
Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. Visiting the Space Systems Integration and Test Center (USET) within the body of (TUSAŞ), Minister Varank was accompanied by TÜBİTAK President Hasan Mandal and TÜBİTAK UZAY Institute Director Mesut Gökten.
300 PEOPLE WORK
During the investigations, Minister Varank was informed that TÜRKSAT 6A will begin functional and environmental tests in May. Varank asked how many people worked on the project, saying that for the satellite to be sent into space, 2 satellites had to be made and tested before. Authorities stated that 300 people on average, including contractors and subcontractors, worked in the project under the coordination of TÜBİTAK UZAY.
STARS AND REACTION WHEEL
Varank also examined the domestic and national components to be used in TURKSAT 6A, one by one. It was stated that stargazers find their way in space by looking at the stars and understand where the Earth is, while the reaction wheel allows the satellite to look in the desired direction and change its direction by preserving the angular momentum of the satellite.
Emphasis on “COMPLETE HUMAN RESOURCES”
Varank, "There are problems in the country, is it time to do space work?" Noting that they are dealing with their criticism, he said, “I give them this answer. We have so many trained human resources. Are we just going to offer them an alternative to going abroad? Or will we offer an alternative to working outside the field? We have had satellites so far, but we have bought all of them from abroad. With these satellites we have developed, we both leave the added value here and gain this capability.” said.
CAN MAKE 5-6 COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD
Explaining that one of the most important domestic and national technologies in TÜRKSAT 6A is the electric propulsion engine, Varank said, “This is a technology where you direct the satellite with electric propulsion technology without using chemical fuel. There are 5-6 countries in the world that can do this. They integrated it into TÜRKSAT 6A. This technology will also be used in IMECE.” he said.
FUEL TANK FROM IZMIR
Underlining that they do not only develop technology with TÜBİTAK UZAY, but also bring local suppliers into play, Varank said, “Thus, we offer them new opportunities in economic terms. A company in Izmir developed this fuel tank. Our company, which has never operated in this field before, will have used the fuel tank in space. With the electric propulsion engine, it becomes possible to move the 4.2-ton communication satellite with the propulsion engine you see here.” said.
Making evaluations about the visit later, Varank said:
IT WILL BE LAUNCHED IN 2023
We came to visit our friends who produced TÜRKSAT 6A, Turkey's domestic and national communication satellite. We are in front of our self-developed satellite, which will be launched into space in 2023. Space is an area where countries are in great race and competition. The economic and military race around the world has now moved into space.
NATIONAL SPACE PROGRAM
As Turkey, with our National Space Program, we announced in which areas Turkey should develop capabilities in the next 10 years. Satellite development is also one of the areas we care about. Both our IMECE satellite and TÜRKSAT 6A are important projects in terms of human resources trained in this field and also for our newly trained human resources.
At 36K KM HEIGHT
TÜRKSAT 6A will be used as a communication satellite at an altitude of 36 thousand kilometers from the ground. While developing this satellite, there is a list of domestic and national components that we produced ourselves. The satellite consists of many different structures. We used to be a country that had the ability to test and integrate our own satellite.
ALL INTEGRATED SYSTEMS ARE LOCAL
Together with TURKSAT 6A, we have realized components from reaction wheels to solar sensors and stargazers, completely domestically and nationally, together with our own engineers and technicians, and we have built our satellite.
TECHNOLOGY EXPORTING TURKEY
Sending our satellite into space in 2023 will provide us with very good capabilities. We will continue our efforts to make Turkey a country that exports technology and sells satellites, including integrated systems.
IT WILL TAKE PLACE IN ORAL IN 2023
Türksat A.Ş. Developed under the leadership of TÜBİTAK UZAY with the participation of companies such as TAI, ASELSAN and C-tech, the TÜRKSAT 6A satellite will take its place in orbit in 2023. TURKSAT 6A, which will be Turkey's first domestic and national communication satellite, benefited from the experience of TÜBİTAK UZAY in RASAT and GÖKTÜRK-2 projects. The satellite will be placed in geostationary orbit at 42 degrees east longitude. TÜRKSAT 6A will serve end users in a large part of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia as well as Turkey.
LOCAL COMPONENTS
The domestic and national components used in TURKSAT 6A are as follows: Flight Computer, Power Distribution Unit, Electric Propulsion Engine, Fuel Tank, Power Processing and Control Unit, Fuel Supply Unit, Yıldızizler, Power Regulation Unit, Sun Sensor, Reaction Wheel, Chemical Propulsion, Thermal Control, Response Wheel Interface Units.
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