Türkiye’s latest telecommunications satellite, Türksat 5B, was ceremonially commissioned into service in Ankara by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who dubbed it “a new phase in the country’s space journey”.
“We have been taking steps to elevate our country to the heights it deserves in every area from aerospace to developing our own satellites, preparing scientists for space programs to sending vehicle to lunar surface,” President Erdoğan noted, adding that “satellite technology, in this respect, is one of the areas in which we make the biggest progress.”
Highlighting that İMECE, Türkiye’s reconnaissance satellite developed by Turkish engineers, was scheduled to be launched in January 2023 and TÜRKSAT 6-A in mid-year 2023, President Erdoğan said that the number of Turkish satellites in space would rise to 10.
Türksat 5B satellite launched into space in December by American aerospace company SpaceX. Besides Türkiye, the satellite covers the entire Middle East, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Mediterranean, North and East Africa, Nigeria, South Africa and neighboring countries.
