The space program of Turkey is the

space policy Space policy is the political decision-making process for, and application of, public policy of a state (or association of states) regarding spaceflight and uses of outer space, both for civilian (scientific and commercial) and military purposes. I ...

implemented by

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

to further its interests in

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

. Turkey first began developing its space program in 1993, and it has been under the authority of the

Turkish Space Agency The Turkish Space Agency ( tr, Türkiye Uzay Ajansı, TUA) is a government agency for national aerospace research as a part of the space program of Turkey. It was formally established by a presidential decree on 13 December 2018. Headquartered ...

since 2018. Turkey has launched several satellites, and its current objective is to achieve a moon landing in 2023.

History

The space program of Turkey developed as part of the Turkish Science and Technology Policy under the authority of the

Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey The Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, TÜBİTAK) is a national agency of Turkey whose stated goal is to develop "science, technology and innovation" (STI) policies ...

in 1993, which designated space technology as one of the primary fields of technology. The

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known t ...

was tasked with making recommendations on a national space agency in 2001. The stated objectives of the Turkish Space Agency include development and resource independence through space technology. The Turkish Space Agency also seeks to develop the space program to increase Turkey's influence and recognition on the world stage. President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

ordered the creation of the Turkish Space Agency in 2018. In 2021, President Erdoğan announced a 10-year plan for Turkey's space program. The primary objective of this plan is to achieve a moon landing through international cooperation in 2023 to mark Turkey's

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

, followed by an independent moon landing in 2028. Other objectives include development of new space technologies, establishment of a

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...

, the formation of a Space Technology Department, and sending a Turkish citizen to space on a scientific mission.

Satellites

The state owned satellite communications company Türksat began launching a series of Türksat satellites in 1994. The

TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute ( tr, TÜBİTAK Uzay Teknolojileri Araştırma Enstitüsü) or TÜBİTAK UZAY for short, is a Turkish institution carrying out research and development projects on space technology, electronics, in ...

is responsible for research and development relating to space technology. It has developed multiple

Earth observation satellites An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, me ...

, including

BILSAT-1 BILSAT-1 (formerly just ''BILSAT'') was an earth observation satellite designed and developed by TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute (TÜBİTAK UZAY) and produced in Turkey as part of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) project ...

in 2003 and

RASAT RASAT was an earth observation satellite designed and developed by TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute (TÜBİTAK UZAY) and produced in Turkey to provide high resolution imagery. It was the first remote sensing satellite fully realize ...

in 2011. Turkey has also developed the Göktürk series of satellites for military use. Other satellite-related projects being developed by the space program of Turkey include the Regional Positioning and Timing System and the

Space Launch System The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle developed by NASA. As of 2022, SLS has the highest payload capacity of any rocket in operational service, as well as the greatest liftoff thrust of any r ...

References

{{Turkey topics Science and technology in Turkey Space program of Turkey Space programs by country

History

Satellites

See also

References