Turkey confirms Turksat 5B Q4 launch
April 8, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Turkey has confirmed it will launch its Turksat 5B communications satellite into orbit in the fourth quarter of this year.
“One of the prominent features of Turksat 5B, which will be launched into an orbital slot at 42 degrees East, is to increase Turkey’s Ka-band data communication capacity by 15-fold,” Adil Karaismailoglu, the country’s transport and infrastructure minister, told a news event in the capital Ankara.
As for its predecessor, Turksat 5A, the minister said it would achieve its orbital slot at 31 degrees East by early May. Moreover, he added that T-5B (at 42 degrees East) will boost the operators Ka-band capacity 15-fold.
Turkey is rapidly moving towards becoming an international player in the field of satellite and space research. Karaismailoglu added: “Whoever has a footprint in space also has power in the world.”
Turksat 5A, once in its correct orbital position, will cover Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Midwest and South Africa as well as the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black seas.