TÜBİTAK National Metrology Institute (UME) has succeeded in producing a laboratory-type atomic clock for use in positioning (GPS) satellites using its own resources.
A cooperation protocol was signed between the Turkish Space Agency and TÜBİTAK UME on September 28, 2020, encompassing studies that can be carried out for the agency within the scope of the institute's capabilities, including the space-qualification of the atomic clock.
The next stage involves converting this atomic clock into a space-compatible version, and then sending it into space to be tested in a real space environment. The knowledge, trained personnel, and production capacity gained through this process will make a significant contribution to our country's efforts to create a domestic and national positioning system.
The atomic clock, which will be made space-qualified using domestic resources, will be incomparably cheaper than imported models, thus providing a significant cost saving for our country. Furthermore, since it is a critical technology, it could create export opportunities and generate foreign currency income for our country.
Furthermore, TÜBİTAK UME has taken the necessary steps to invest in the future of our country by launching the strontium-based optical atomic clock project, which is of great importance for a domestic and national positioning system.
Optical atomic clocks, representing the latest technology in time measurement, have the potential to produce time information at least one hundred times more accurate than existing atomic clocks. The Sr optical-lattice atomic clock to be developed by TÜBİTAK UME aims to measure time with a deviation of less than one second in one billion years. By using the time information from ground stations equipped with such clocks for national positioning systems, the national positioning system will be able to obtain much more precise location information.
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