Turkish Space Programs

[Some1LikeU]

Any fresh news about Göktürk 1...?

 

[Hurshid Celebi]

Beyond Air and Missile Defense: Turkey’s Ambitions in the Space As if technical and political repercussions of air and ballistic missile defense are not complicated enough, Turkey plans to carry its offensive, defensive, reconnaissance, surveillance, and early warning resources and capabilities into space within the next ten years.35 The Turkish Air Force is establishing a Space Group Command, i.e. an aerospace force unit that will specialize in satellite launches, reconnaissance space-based imagery, 33 Burak Bekdil, “Ankara’s move to Chinese air systems appals NATO allies,” Hurriyet Daily News, July 3, 2013, at: Ankara’s move to Chinese air systems appals NATO allies - DEFENSE UPDATE 34 Aaron Stein, “Turkey in quandary over missile threat,” Southeastern European Times, 05/07/2011, at: http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2011/07/05/feature-03 35 “Turkey: Defense White Paper 2000,” at: http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Articles/SpecialFeature/Detail/?lng=en&id=154907 12 12 early warning, satellites, and satellite communications. 36 The early concept design of a proposed satellite launch vehicle (SLV) will be commissioned to ROKETSAN, the national missile manufacturer. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) will develop the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for the Gokturk-3; with support from defense electronics manufacturer ASELSAN and the national science and technology research council TUBITAK, to provide radar imagery for the command and control network. The space program is intended to achieve interoperability between aerial and space assets. Turkey intends to network its future space-based assets with manned and unmanned systems. Turkey plans to use its recently procured AWACS early-warning planes, as well as unmanned remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs, or more commonly known as drones) to augment Turkey’s imagery and communications, as well as to help cue missile defense interceptors. Turkey is currently developing the unmanned ANKA drone, which will also carry a SAR for imaging. The ambitious national air and space project also includes the country’s first national fighter jet, an advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicles – dubbed the ANKA +A –, and building a missile with a range of 2,500 kilometers.37 Turkey plans to invest $100 million to develop an SLV, which it has dubbed the Turkish Satellite Launching System (UFS). There is some speculation that the SLV could be used as a platform for Ankara to develop the proposed 2,500 km ballistic missile.38 Currently the government has not specified whether or not the proposed 2,500 km missile will be ballistic or cruise. Thus, there is ambiguity over feasibility of the project and its 36 Burak Ege Bekdil, “Turkey plots path toward space command,” Defense News, April 9, 2013, at: Turkey Plots Path Toward Space Command | Defense News | defensenews.com 37 Burak Ege Bekdil, “Ambitious Turkey seeking to sync national air and space firepower,” Space News, July 1, 2013, at: http://www.spacenews.com/article/mi...eking-to-syncnational-air-and-space-firepower 38 Burak Ege Bekdil, “Turkey’s Sat-Launcher Plans Raise Concerns,” Defense News, July 28, 2013, at: Turkey's Sat-Launcher Plans Raise Concerns | Defense News | defensenews.com 13 13 connection to the SLV. Turkey should clear up the confusion and clearly articulate its long-term missile plans. In 2014, Turkey plans to launch Gokturk 1, an Earth-observation spacecraft developed in cooperation with Italy and France. Ankara then plans to launch three military communication satellites in the next decade and eventually build an early-warning satellite equipped with sensors to detect ballistic missiles.39 In total, Turkey plans launch sixteen satellites by 2020. Turkey’s satellite program is valued at approximately $2 billion worth of contracts. The Turkish government is expected to invest approximately $100 million for the satellite infrastructure and electronics.40 Given the high costs, short timeframe and technological risks involved, the program is overly ambitious. Hence, Turkey is likely to seek defense partnerships to share the burden. For instance, in August 2013, the Brazilian Ministry of Defense announced that Brazil and Turkey would be cooperating in five working groups on naval, aeronautics, space, command and control and cyber defense fields.41 Within these groups, Turkey will develop technologies with Brazil on launch systems and satellite, military communications through “Software Defined Radio” (SDR.) As a more technically feasible, politically acceptable, and cost-effective alternative Turkey could increase its influence in NATO. In July 2013, NATO announced the launch of a new combined air and space operations center (CAOC) for southern Europe in the 39 Amy Svitak, “Ankara Plans To Loft 25 Satellites By 2033,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, June 10, 2013, at: http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_06_10_2013_p54- 583373.xml 40 Burak Ege Bekdil, “Turkey’s Sat-Launcher Plans Raise Concerns,” Defense News, July 28, 2013, at: Turkey's Sat-Launcher Plans Raise Concerns | Defense News | defensenews.com 41 “Brazil and Turkey Create Groups to Study Defense Development Projects,” Source: Brazil Ministry of Defense; issued Aug. 22, 2013 in Portuguese only, edited unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com at: Brazil and Turkey Create Groups to Study Defense Development Projects 14 14 north east of Madrid, at the Torrejon de Ardoz airbase.42 The new center is expected to generate better control and air picture over the Aegean by abrogating the air headquarters in Izmir (Turkey) and the CAOC-7 in Larisa-Greece, through a less sub-regional solution.43 EDAM Chairman Sinan Ulgen argues that this development will help Turkey strengthen its air defenses in response to potential ballistic missile attacks from Syria.44 Conclusion Given the high costs, technical limitations, and political repercussions of air and missile defense systems, Turkey should choose to remain integrated into the NATO structure and push for a change in NATO policy to receive an assurance to cover entire Turkish territory by alternative area defense systems such as THAAD. Given the huge financial burden of these systems, consideration of how imminent the missile threats are to Turkey is also a crucial consideration in the procurement decision. Operating in a complex web of security and trade relations in the Middle East, investing in a massive, confrontational defense program would also be detrimental on Turkish cooperative engagement in the region

 

[Hurshid Celebi]

COULD it be an alternative for Turkey ?

New Shepard: Bezos claims success on second spaceship flight - BBC News

The Amazon.com entrepreneur Jeff Bezos has claimed success on the second flight of his New Shepard spaceship.

Intended eventually to carry people just above the atmosphere, the re-usable vehicle launched from west Texas on Monday with no-one aboard.

Both parts of New Shepard - the capsule and its propulsion unit - landed safely, Mr Bezos' company said.

On the maiden outing in April, the propulsion module was lost on the way down because of a hydraulic failure.

True to his way of working, the US billionaire gave no specific notice of the flight, stating last week only that another mission would occur "very soon".

This means all the video and information about the event have come out directly from Mr Bezos' space operation, Blue Origin.

 

[-SINAN-]

Guys Görktürk-1 supposed to launch in November-2015...it's been 2 months we heard nothing yet again......
Göktürk-1 kasımda fırlatılıyor | Teknoloji Haberleri

 

[Some1LikeU]

Now they say 2019 wtf?

 

[-SINAN-]

Now they say 2019 wtf?

That's Turksat-5C not Göktürk-1.

 

[what]

I guess Russia wont launch our satelites, so we might have to look for another country.

 

[xenon54 out]

I guess Russia wont launch our satelites, so we might have to look for another country.

There are French, Chinese, Indians or plenty other countries, its Russias loss....

 

[-------]

Guys Görktürk-1 supposed to launch in November-2015...it's been 2 months we heard nothing yet again......
Göktürk-1 kasımda fırlatılıyor | Teknoloji Haberleri

This site says 2016, launch vehicle being ESA Vega Göktürk 1A

 

[Bubblegum Crisis]

There are French, Chinese, Indians or plenty other countries, its Russias loss....

France, It would be better not. India also.

Suspicious (Very Good !) ?

Turkish Space Programs | Page 31


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[-SINAN-]

This site says 2016, launch vehicle being ESA Vega Göktürk 1A

The Göktürk-1satellite will be launched by Arianespace’s Vega light launcher into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 700 km. It will be launched from the Guiana Space Center, French Guiana, in 2015.

Hope, it would be launched in 2016....

 

[ozi2000]

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Turkish talent working on high-risk space venture
Millions are being pumped into an ambitious project to design and launch a domestic Turkish satellite

12.01.2016 Istanbul Turkey, science-technology

ISTANBUL


"What you launch into space is a small device weighing a few tons and is about three meters square in size.

"But if something happens to it, it is nothing but trash."

So says Cuneyt Firat, the chairman of an Istanbul-based company which is at the forefront of Turkey’s high-tech moves to develop its first domestic satellite.

Firat, whose company CTech is a part of consortium to develop the first communication satellite in Turkey, stressed the risks for the country in developing such a costly, yet fragile, piece of hardware for the first time.

Turkey officially began the precarious journey of developing its own satellite in December 2014.

Several companies signed a deal worth 550 million Turkish liras [$240 million at that time], making the project the costliest research and development program in the country’s history.

Part of the money [approximately 150 million liras] will come from the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council, or TUBITAK, mandated to fund such projects.

The Communication Ministry will foot the rest of the bill.

The satellite has been developed and manufactured under the leadership of TUBITAK in cooperation with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Military Electronic Industries (ASELSAN) and CTech, the only private firm in the consortium.

Turksat, the country’s satellite communications company, will own and operate the satellite.

"The preliminary design process has ended. We plan to complete the satellite in 2019 and launch it in 2020," Turksat’s Ensar Gul tells Anadolu Agency.

He stressed how crucial it is for Turkey to develop a satellite with its own resources: "Design and software will be homemade."

Despite the risky nature of space projects, Turkey started its journey in 1994 with its first satellite, Turksat 1A, constructed by French firm Aerospatiale.

Unfortunately, it malfunctioned and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean; Turkey replaced it with Turksat 1B.

France developed Turksat 3A-B with Turkish engineers overseeing the production process and Mitsubishi, the Japanese giant, developed Turksat 4A and 4B, including Turkish engineers in the design and manufacturing teams.

Meanwhile, Turkish engineers developed Turkey’s first national earth observation satellite, RASAT, in 2011 and Turkey’s first high-resolution observation and surveillance satellite, Gokturk 2, in 2012.

Gokturk 2’s main computer and its software were homemade. The whole project cost 140 million Turkish liras [$78 million in Dec. 2012].

Stressing these successful steps, Zahit Mevlutoglu, professor of space engineering at Istanbul Technical University, tells Anadolu Agency: "Turkey has developed the know-how to build its own satellites."

On top of this, last May, Turkey opened its first satellite assembly and test center. The 3,800-square-meter center will be capable of testing satellites up to five tons in weight, Turkish Aerospace Industries said.

The center is considered part of Turkish efforts to break into the international space industry. The production of Turksat 6A will be conducted there.

Following these remarkable steps, experts also stressed a strategic nature of developing a domestic satellite.

"It is vital for Turkey to acquire that technology," Prof. Mevlutoglu says.

Acknowledging that there are only few countries that can produce satellites, Ensar Gul says: "You develop a craft that can work on its own in space for 15-20 years."

Gul stated that Turkey would eventually have its own satellite platform, based on a domestic design:

"[Countries] develop their own platform and use the same design for future programs. From that perspective, it is difficult to construct this satellite for the first time," Gul said.

Rustem Alan, professor of aeronautical engineering at Istanbul Technical University, said this was a typical approach: "The crucial matter is to design your satellite," Alan tells Anadolu Agency.

CTech, for example, is tasked with producing a telemetry command and ranging system (TCR) that will connect the satellite to the ground control station once in orbit.

"Without that part, the ground control cannot know where the satellite is and cannot control it," Firat says.

However, this part will be bought from other companies after a bidding process since any space project requires this part to be ‘space proven’.

Extreme conditions in space demand robust testing.

The satellite can be exposed to blistering heat of +150 Celsius while other parts of the same craft would be subjected to freezing cold of -80 degrees Celsius or less -- experiencing both extremes in a short period.

The behavior of electronic components is different in space when compared to their attitude on earth, experts said.

CTech will still develop its own TCR part for experimental purposes so that the homemade technology can be tested in space for future use.

In order to develop this domestic TCR module, the firm has employed 15 people. "CTech will be responsible for all these TCR parts anyway," Firat says.

Prof. Alan says that thanks to the Turksat 6A project, Turkey will acquire the ability to produce its own satellite and have a chance to enter the competitive communication-satellite market.

"Marketization of the satellite program would take time. Primarily, this program is a strategic step," Firat warned.

He added, however, that it is still profitable that Turkey would have ability to produce its own satellite.

Turkey orders a communication satellite every three-to-four years. A domestic design will save Turkey from being dependent on foreign countries and keep expenditure inside the country.

Turkey’s involvement in space programs has paved the way for Turks to develop a knowledge base and train engineers.

However, experts stressed that Turkey needs to do more for space programs, including establishing a space agency to accelerate and direct these projects.

"Further steps require Turkey to have educated people for space programs. This is the biggest problem. Money would not be enough [for future programs]," Firat said.

Alan says that there has been a coordination problem in the industry: "We need a space agency," he adds.

Similarly, Firat urged the authorities to set up a space agency to fast-track space projects, adding that Turkey also requires educated people and know-how.

"[Between] 200-300 people have participated in this project. These are people that have worked for space projects in Turkey. There is no-one else," he stressed.

However, it is unlikely that the state will recruit foreigners for such projects likely due to the sensitive nature of space programs.

As a company, CTech has stepped up its involvement into space projects since 2008 by providing consultation to Japanese giant, Mitsubishi.

Years of tireless efforts have put the company at the heart of Turkey’s first communication satellite project.

Firat sees this involvement as a second beginning for his tech firm.

"Turksat 6A is not a result, rather a beginning of a second level," he commented.

So, it seems, for Turkey as well.

Turkish talent working on high-risk space venture

 

[-SINAN-]

This site says 2016, launch vehicle being ESA Vega Göktürk 1A

Test faaliyetleri devam etmekte olup 2016 yılı sonunda fırlatılması planlanmaktadır.

Request Rejected

 

[-------]

Test faaliyetleri devam etmekte olup 2016 yılı sonunda fırlatılması planlanmaktadır.

Request Rejected

SSM and its contractors declined to disclose many details about Gokturk-1, including its precise ground resolution and details of its capacity to swivel on its axis to take photos in front of and behind the nadir track in addition to side to side.

The 1,000-kilogram Gokturk-1 carries rigid gallium-arsenide solar arrays and high-torque reaction wheels to facilitate swiveling. It is designed to operate for seven years in a 681-kilometer polar sun-synchronous orbit, although Thales Alenia Space officials say it is almost certain to operate much longer than that.

Turkey’s Gokturk-1 Reconnaissance Satellite Finally Cleared for Export

So Gokturk-1 doesn't have to be orbiting over a country to take images of it?

 

[Bubblegum Crisis]

...

So Gokturk-1 doesn't have to be orbiting over a country to take images of it?

Ouuuh, it's so pretty !!!

That is why - among other things - you need your own ‘Space Launch System’.



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