Türkiye’s 1st indigenous communications satellite deployed

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a Turksat 6A communications satellite, lifts off at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, July 8, 2024.

Türkiye's first indigenous communications satellite Turksat 6A, successfully deployed on Monday. at 5.00 p.m. EDT from SpaceX's Kennedy facility in Florida, according to Turkish transport and infrastructure ministry.

 Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, in a statement on Monday, said the launch will mark Türkiye as one of the 11 countries capable of producing satellites through their own means.

The deployment took place at 8.05 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (0005GMT Tuesday).

The launch was realized at 7.30 p.m. EDT (2330GMT) on Monday.

The minister noted that Turksat 6A will widen the country's satellite coverage and meet the television broadcasting needs.

 The 4.25-ton satellite will operate at the 42 degrees East orbital position and its service life will be 15 years in orbit.

It will cover Türkiye, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia and will serve 4.5 billion people for TV, radio and emergency communications.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said early Tuesday that despite obstacles and restrictions, Türkiye is expanding its presence in space,

Erdoğan said Türkiye also sent its Turksat 5B satellite by the same rocket two and a half years ago, adding: "We are pleased to strengthen our cooperation with Elon Musk and SpaceX in various fields."