President Erdoğan: "With Türksat 6A, we have entered a new phase in satellite production. Our 6A domestic and national communication satellite will ensure the backup of existing satellites and further enhance capacity."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a video message to the launch ceremony of the Türksat 6A satellite.
President Erdoğan announced that the Türksat 6A domestic communication satellite has been successfully launched into space, marking yet another moment of national pride for Türkiye. He underscored that the 6A project, which is of great importance to Türkiye's future in space, has been produced with national capabilities, with over 81% of the subsystems, satellite ground stations, and software being produced domestically.
President Erdoğan stated that SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was preferred for 6A, similar to the 5B satellite launched 2.5 years ago. He expressed satisfaction with the strengthening of cooperation with Elon Musk and SpaceX across various fields.
Despite the numerous obstacles and constraints, President Erdoğan emphasised that Türkiye is expanding its presence in space. He also cited the recent completion of the first manned space mission, which is one of the primary objectives of the National Space Programme.
President Erdoğan noted:
"With Türksat 6A, we have entered a new phase in satellite production. Our domestic and national communication satellite 6A will ensure the backup of existing satellites and further enhance capacity. With Türksat 6A, which is planned to be positioned at a distance of 35,786 kilometers, countries such as India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, which were previously outside the coverage area, will be included in the coverage area. Our new satellite will expand the population that Türkiye's satellites can reach from 3.5 billion to 5 billion. We anticipate that Türksat's satellite service exports to the region will experience a substantial increase as a result of 6A. In addition, with the launch of Türksat 6A, Türkiye will become a country capable of producing communication satellites."
"It is of utmost importance for our national security"
Pointing out that Türkiye will have a market share in the design and production of satellites and their components thanks to the acquisition of technology and experience, President Erdoğan said: "The ability to produce critical technologies such as communication satellites without being dependent on foreign countries is of utmost importance for our national security."
Wishing that the Türksat 6A satellite would be auspicious for Türkiye, the nation and television broadcasting, President Erdoğan thanked the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Tüurksat, TÜBİTAK, ASELSAN, TAI and CTech for their contribution to the realisation of the project.
President Erdoğan expressed his appreciation to all those who contributed to the realisation of this achievement and wished Türksat 6A would be prosperous.