Türksat is the name of a series of
Turkish communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...
s operated or projected by the state-owned
Türksat A.Ş.
Satellite telecommunication is provided by the
Gölbaşı Ground Station in
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.
Missions
Satellites
Türksat 1A
Türksat 1A
Türksat 1A was a Turkish communications satellite as part of a project to form an instant network with two geosynchronous satellites that is supervised by the companies Türksat A.Ş. in Turkey and Aérospatiale of France.
Turkey's first spacecr ...
was the first attempt of the project and launched by
Ariane 4
The Ariane 4 was a European expendable space launch system, developed by the '' Centre national d'études spatiales'' (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was manufactured by ArianeGroup and marketed by Ari ...
from
Centre Spatial Guyanais in
Kourou
Kourou () is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It i ...
,
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
on 24 January 1994. Due to the failure of the launcher, the satellite exploded in the atmosphere before reaching its orbit.
Türksat 1B
After the loss of Turksat 1A,
Türksat 1B
Turksat 1B was a Turkish communications satellite as part of a project to form an instant network with two geosynchronous satellites that is supervised by the companies Türksat A.Ş. in Turkey and Aérospatiale of France.
Türksat 1B was launch ...
was successfully located at
42°E orbit on 11 August 1994. After the orbital tests, Turksat 1B was put into service on 10 October 1994. Turksat 1B has three different coverage areas,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
,
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...
and
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
. The satellite carries 16 transponders, 10 of 36 MHz, 6 of 72 MHz operating in
Ku-band (11–14
GHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
). There are 4 transponder switching capability between Turkey and Central Europe, and 3 between Turkey and Central Asia. Turksat 1B provides TV and radio broadcasting, data and telephone transmissions. On the other hand, TES (Telephony Earth Station) Project and
Internet Broadcasting
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
Systems (including 40 southeast rural area IBS) are also transmitting from Türksat 1B.
Türksat 1C
After the Turksat 1A launch failure,
Aérospatiale Company started building a new satellite under the insurance terms of the Turkey system contract. Modifying the contract with Aérospatiale,
Türksat 1C
Türksat 1C was a Turkish communications satellite as part of a project to form an instant network with two geosynchronous satellites that is supervised by the companies Türksat A.Ş. in Turkey and Aérospatiale of France.
Türksat 1C was launc ...
coverage area was enlarged by two big zones different from Turksat 1B coverage areas. Turksat 1C was designed for covering Turkey on west spot and Europe on east spot so as to serve simultaneously between Turkey and Europe with Turkey and Central Asia and to provide direct connection between Europe and Central Asia. Turksat 1C was successfully launched at 31.3°E position on 10 July 1996. Completing the orbital tests, this satellite shifted from longitude 31.3°E to
42°E. After this process which took 17 days, the broadcast traffic of the Turksat 1B was transferred to Turksat 1C. Finally when these processes finished Turksat 1B was shifted with similar orbital manoeuvres to 31.3°E position. On 16 July 2008, all traffic on Turksat 1C was transferred to Turksat 3A. After this date Turksat 1C was shifted at 31.3°E. It is being used in inclined orbit.
Türksat 2A
Turksat Satellite Systems continued progress regarding the need of new satellites having multiple channels, larger coverage, and backup capability like the other satellite operator satellites in the international market. To serve with a larger coverage area for resident customers and to compete with the other satellite operators in the literal sense, the new satellite would be located at the same position with Turksat 1C.
Türk Telekom
Türk Telekom is a state-owned Turkish telecommunications company. Türk Telekom was separated from Turkish Post (PTT) in 1995.
Türk Telekom Group provides integrated telecommunication services for PSTN, GSM, and wide-band Internet. The Türk ...
set up a joint venture company with Aérospatiale (merged by
Alcatel Space, then
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufactur ...
), called
EurasiaSat, which would be in charge of purchasing a new-generation satellite named Turksat 2A (also known as Eurasiasat 1). Turksat 2A started commercial service on 1 February 2001, with the same
42°E location as Turksat 1C.
Turksat 2A satellite carries a payload of 34 high-powered transponders consisting of 22 - 33 MHz fixed-beam transponders and 12 36 - MHz transponders with two steerable beams.
Turksat 2A BSS Band fixed-beam transponders have two coverage zones like Turksat 1C:
# West Zone covers the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
in the west,
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
n countries in the north,
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
in the south, and
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
in the east.
# East Zone covers the
Balkan Peninsula in the west,
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
in the north,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
in the south, and
China national boundary in the east.
Inside of the
footprint
Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking or running. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by shoes. The ...
such as south Asia and
Republic of South Africa can be accessed over the Turksat 2A FSS Band steerable-beam transponders.
On 18 September 2014, all traffic on Turksat 2A was transferred to Turksat 4A. However, Turksat 2A will broadcast a few TV channels until its end of mission in 2016.
Türksat 3A
Turksat 3A satellite will enable Turksat to offer telecommunication services as well as direct TV broadcasting services through a broader area than its existing satellites covering
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
,
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
,
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
. With the help of its switchable transponders, Turksat 3A will act as a bridge between Europe and Asia.
Türksat 3A's Turkey coverage has been specially designed to provide very efficient gain for broadband applications like
VSAT
A very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) is a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna that is smaller than 3.8 meters. The majority of VSAT antennas range from 75 cm to 1.2 m. Bit rates, in most cases, range from 4 kbit/s up to 1 ...
services giving customers low-cost, up-link systems.
Based on
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufactur ...
Spacebus 4000B2, Turksat 3A is fitted with 24 Ku-band transponders and offers beginning of life power of about 8 kW. Positioned at
42°E, Turksat 3A will weight 3060 kg at launch and will replace Turksat 1C satellite.
Turksat 3A was launched by
Arianespace
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the operation and marketing of the Ariane programme. The company offers a number of different launch vehicles: the heavy ...
atop an
Ariane 5ECA launch vehicle
A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and ...
, along with the British
Skynet 5C
Skynet 5C is the third of four Skynet 5 military communications satellites to be used by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD).
Launch
It was launched from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5ECA carrier rocket at 22:05:02 GMT on 12 June 2008. T ...
satellite, in a dual-payload launch on 12 June 2008 at 22:05:02
UTC, from
ELA-3
ELA-3 (french: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3, lit=Ariane Launch Complex 3), is a launch pad and associated facilities at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana. ELA-3 is operated by Arianespace as part of the expendable launch system f ...
at the
Centre Spatial Guyanais.
Türksat 4A
Turksat 4A was successfully launched from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome at 23:09 UTC on 14 February 2014. After three months of orbital and subsystem tests, Turksat 4A was successfully transferred from its temporary orbit at 50°E to a position at 42°E. The satellite started broadcasting on 15 July 2014.
With Turksat 4A, Turksat AS offers telecommunication and direct TV broadcasting services throughout Turkey, as well as in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Turksat 4A provides Ku-band high-power direct TV broadcasting channels and both C- and Ka-band communications channels.
Türksat 4B
Turksat 4B was successfully launched from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome at 20:40
UTC on 16 October 2015.
References
Bibliography
* Guy Lebègue,
Aérospatiale, Cannes, France, (trad. Robert J. Amral), « Turksat: A Turnkey Satellite », in ''
Revue aerospatiale'', N°72, October 1990,
External links
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{{Satcomm
Communications satellites of Turkey
Telecommunications in Turkey
Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (Turkey)