Türkiye is preparing to launch its first indigenous high-resolution observation satellite into space this week, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Sunday.
"IMECE, our first high-resolution observation satellite produced with domestic and national means, will be launched into orbit on April 11,” Erdoğan wrote on Twitter.
IMECE is a remote sensing satellite produced with local resources of up to 60% by the Space Technologies Research Institute of Türkiye's Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBITAK).
With the inauguration of IMECE, Türkiye will, for the first time, provide space history to an electro-optical satellite camera with sub-meter resolution, the Industry and Technology Ministry said.
"IMECE, which will meet the need for high-resolution satellite imagery of our country, will operate in orbit simultaneously with the sun at an altitude of 680 kilometers (422.5 miles)," it said in a statement.
The launch comes as part of Türkiye’s ambitious 10-year space road map, unveiled in February 2021, which also includes missions to the moon and developing internationally viable satellite systems.
"We will continue to exist in the global space race thanks to our trained human resources, the opportunities we provide and the technologies we have developed," Erdoğan said on Sunday.
Türkiye plans to achieve first contact with the moon in 2023, coinciding with the centennial of the founding of the republic. The program also envisages working with other countries on building a spaceport, in addition to the aim of creating a global brand in satellite technology.
Türkiye currently boasts of eight active satellites in space, including five communication satellites. Erdoğan has said the overall figure would soon reach 10.
In addition to IMECE, the domestically developed Türksat 6A satellite is planned to be sent into space in the coming months.
It will place Türkiye among the 10 countries capable of producing indigenous satellites.
