Göktürk-2 satellite completes over 21,000 rounds in orbit

Turkey's high-resolution national discovery satellite Göktürk-2 has completed its fourth year in orbit. Science, Industry and Technology Minister Faruk Özlu announced that Göktürk-2 completed a total of 21,387 rounds in its orbit and displayed a total of 23.8 million kilometers of land from all over the world.

Özlü told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the Göktürk-2 satellite, which was launched from China via LM-2D rocket and was placed into orbit on Dec. 18, 2012, has operated successfully over the past four years.

Özlü said the satellite was transferred to the Air Force Reconnaissance Satellite Command following the commissioning activities and trajectory tests, and that the operation and image distribution activities of Göktürk-2 were carried out by the Air Force. Özlü also noted that satellite and ground station maintenance activities were carried out by the TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute (TÜBİTAK UZAY).

Regarding the activities of Göktürk-2, Özlu said that the said satellite took a total of 21,387 tours in orbit for four years and displayed a total area of 23.8 million square kilometers from all over the world. Özlü also said that the images have been shared with all public institutions and used by government agencies in the fields of disaster monitoring, urban planning, agricultural land monitoring, forest fires and intelligence.

The satellite caters to important needs

The 2.5-meter resolution Göktürk-2 satellite was manufactured with a high locality ratio within the scope of the contract signed between the National Defense Ministry, TUBITAK Presidency and TÜBİTAK UZAY-Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TUSAŞ) Business Partnership.

The main objective of the Göktürk-2 project is to obtain target intelligence and digital and geographic data production-oriented satellite images required by the Turkish Armed Forces and Air Force Command, in particular. In addition, the project is also aimed to meet satellite image demands of other public institutions, universities and research institutions.

The satellite has responded to important needs in the fields of defense, environment, urbanism, agriculture and forestry over the past four years. Göktürk-2 has the ability to receive and transmit images from anywhere in the world within the communication context. Göktürk-2, placed on a sun-conforming orbit approximately 685 kilometers above the Earth's surface, completes a tour around the world approximately every 98 minutes.

First signal from Göktürk-1 after 68 minutes

Continuing its investments in satellite technologies, Turkey launched the Göktürk-1 satellite on Dec. 5 in French Guiana. After 68 minutes of its launch, the first signal from Göktürk-1 was received as expected. Minister of National Defesen Fikri Işık announced the happy news from his Twitter account on the same day of the launch.

The satellite is aimed to meet the demand of the Turkish Armed Forces for its target intelligence up to a 0.5-meter resolution anywhere around the world without any geographical restrictions. With its ability to shoot high-resolution images, fast data-downloading capability, maneuvering caliber and developed location systems, Göktürk-1 is able to capture 358 frames per day with high resolution and completes its orbit around the world every 90 minutes.