Developed by the Undersecretariat of Defence Industries with a TUSAŞ share, GÖKTÜRK 1, Türkiye's most advanced military observation satellite, designed to meet the Turkish Armed Forces' need for satellite imagery for target intelligence, has taken its place in space.
GÖKTÜRK 1, Türkiye's highest-resolution surveillance satellite, procured by TUSAŞ (Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc.) under the supervision of the Undersecretariat of Defence Industries to meet the Turkish Armed Forces' need for satellite imagery for target intelligence, was successfully launched into its target orbit at an altitude of 689 km on Monday, December 5, 2016, at 16:51:44 Turkish time, from the Kourou launch base in French Guiana, South America, using a Vega launch vehicle.
The launch was watched live by numerous participants at the GÖKTÜRK 1 Satellite Launch Ceremony, which took place at the TUSAŞ facilities with the presence of our President.
The first signals from GÖKTÜRK 1, which was placed into orbit at an altitude of 681 km 4098 seconds after the first stage engines of the Vega launch vehicle were fired, were successfully received from the ground station leased for GÖKTÜRK 1 in Troll Town in the South Pole of Norway.
The GÖKTÜRK 1 satellite, which is scheduled for full commissioning in 2017, will be operated from the ground station located at the Air Force Command's Ankara Ahlatlıbel Reconnaissance Satellite Command facilities.
The GÖKTÜRK 1 satellite, which is expected to have a mission life of 7 years and whose all environmental tests were carried out at the Space Systems Integration and Test Center (USET) located in TUSAŞ facilities, is expected to start a new era as a milestone for Türkiye's future military optical observation satellites, and the capabilities and knowledge gained in this project are expected to guide the next generation of surveillance satellites.
