SpaceX, a US aerospace corporation, launched Turkey’s newest telecommunication satellite at 6:59 a.m. Turkish time on December 19 (3:59 a.m. GMT). In 164 days, Türksat 5B, which launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station facility in Florida, will reach its orbital position of 42 degrees East. After then, a 45-day testing period will commence.
The most robust Turkish satellite to date, constructed by Airbus and moved from France to the United States on November 29, would expand Turkey’s Ka-band capability by over fifteenfold. It will be able to transport data at speeds of up to 55 gigabits per second.
Turkey’s local industry contributed to the development of Türksat 5B. It has a next-generation electric-propelled propulsion system and is intended to endure more than 35 years. Apart from Turkey, Türksat 5B will cover the whole Red Sea, Mediterranean, Middle East, Persian Gulf, North, and East Africa, South Africa, Nigeria, and adjacent nations.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoan praised the deployment as another “period of delight for Turkey as well as the Turkish nation” in a video message. “We launched Türksat 5B, our country’s most powerful and high-capacity communication satellite, into space today. We also chose Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket for this satellite project “he stated Erdoan also praised Elon Musk and his business Space X for not succumbing to “anti-Turkey lobbies’ coercion and pressure.”
Erdoan spoke with Musk, the creator of Space X, via video call about the launch procedure.
“Broadband satellite internet services is going to be provided to customers within the service area, including on land, sea, and air vehicles in zones where internet access is limited,” the Turkish president said, emphasizing that data transmission capacity and speed would increase by over fifteenfold with the launch of Türksat 5B.
In the meantime, Deputy Minister in charge of the Transport and Infrastructure Mer Fatih Sayan said that Türksat 5B stands out from other satellites because of its enormous internet capacity and that every Turkish town will have an internet connection in the near future.
Sayan explained that satellites are largely employed in the media and television industries for transmission, but that the sector is currently changing from broadcasting to delivering internet services. Sayan also spoke about the vast coverage area of Türksat 5B, stating that the satellite will serve a huge portion of Africa as well as practically the whole Mediterranean, as well as Turkey.
“As of now, Türksat provides the internet of our roughly 2,000 village schools,” Sayan said, in addition to offering television and internet services to the regions. We will utilize our Türksat satellites far more effectively with Türksat 5B in order to avoid leaving towns in Turkey without internet.” Sayan went on to say that the satellite, which took three years to build, will be in use for 30 to 35 years.