A significant step has been taken in the Türksat 6A National Communications Satellite Project, which began with the contract signed on December 15, 2014. The preliminary design studies for the national satellite have been completed, and the preliminary design results report was presented at a meeting held at the TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute on December 31, 2015.
Türksat A.Ş. General Manager Prof. Dr. Ensar Gül, in his opening speech at the meeting, stated that Türkiye would make significant progress in the field of space technologies with this project. Prof. Dr. Gül noted that the request to complete the project by the beginning of 2019 had been conveyed to the representatives of TÜBİTAK Space, the project's managing institution, and the executing institutions TUSAŞ, ASELSAN, and CTECH. The Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications and Türksat, as clients, are both contributing to the project's financing and monitoring its progress.
Weighing 4.2 tons when completed, the Türksat 6A satellite will feature 20 Ku-band transponders for communication and TV broadcasting. Türksat 6A will be our first satellite to have coverage not only in Turkey and Europe, but also in the Far East, encompassing India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
The Türksat 6A communications satellite, whose flight software and design were entirely carried out by Turkish engineers, holds the title of Türkiye's largest R&D project with a budget of 546 million TL. The satellite is targeted to be launched into space in 2019.
