They couldn't stop the Türksat 5A communications satellite, so they tried to stop the 5B. Significant investments aimed toward Turkey's future cause serious discomfort among well-known lobbies in the United States of America. When any of our country's breakthrough projects come to light, the Armenian and Greek lobbies raise their voices and do all they can behind the scenes to speed up efforts to prevent them. The Türksat satellites had the same effect on these lobbies, who stirred things up in the U.S., however, it was all in vain. While I was proud of the Türksat 5B satellite as it launched into space on Dec. 19, it also made me think about what these lobbies did over the past year. Or rather, what they tried to do.
Elon Musk's door slammed in their faces
As you may recall, the Turkish-built armed drones that were provided to Azerbaijan and played a great role in its victory in last year's Nagorno-Karabakh war made the Armenian lobby in the U.S. uneasy, and they immediately began to push all their buttons. In order to prevent the launch of the Türksat 5A satellite, Elon Musk's company SpaceX was showered with messages and Musk was asked to cancel the agreement. Of course these efforts – which lacked logical standing – proved fruitless. 5A was launched into space in January of this year and was in orbit within a few months. This defeat did not stop these lobbies. With the same effort, they targeted the next project, this time setting their sights on the 5B.
The 'dangerous military exercise' alarm
The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) and the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) spent a great deal of energy trying to stop SpaceX, which also launched Turkey's 5B satellite into space. Not only did they harass SpaceX, which was not bothered by their previous obstruction efforts, they also sent a letter to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In the letter, they argued that the satellite would be used for a "dangerous military exercise," and for that reason, they requested that the launch be blocked. HALC and ANCA also sent letters to SpaceX. They expected to reach a different result by taking the same path, but of course, that didn't happen. They were met by defeat at the end of the road once again.
Hopes dashed on Dec. 19
Ultimately, their excitement came to an end on Dec. 19. Despite all the pressure from both lobbies, Turkey's new communication satellite was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the state of Florida. The new satellite was sent into space with Elon Musk's aerospace and space transportation company SpaceX at 6:58 a.m. Turkey time. This increased the number of Turkey's active satellites to five and brought the total number to eight.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a video message following the launch of Türksat 5B into space. In the message, Erdoğan said: "We launched Türksat 5B – our country's most powerful and highest-capacity communication satellite – into space. On behalf of myself and my country, I congratulate Mr. Musk and SpaceX for not giving in to the pressure and blackmail of anti-Turkey lobbies."
Local and national breakthrough: 5B
Türksat 5B will be 20 times more efficient than other stationary satellites and will go down on record as the satellite with the highest payload capacity in Turkey. For the first time, domestic design and production equipment played a role in the development of a commercial communications satellite. Two communication equipment units produced by the Turkish defense corporation Aselsan with the support of Turkish engineers were used in the 5B.
The Türksat 5B will increase Turkey's satellite data communication capacity (Ka-band) by 15 times and will play an effective role in the maritime sector and in aviation where satellite communication is used. In addition, thanks to the high data capacity it provides, it will now be possible to reach places that cannot be accessed by Turkey's terrestrial infrastructure. With the launch of the satellite in orbit at 42 degrees East, the Ka-band's capacity and data service will increase. Redundancy will be ensured for the Türksat 3A and 4A satellites serving in the same orbit.
Due to Türksat 5B, which has a maneuver life of over 35 years, the coverage area and speed of domestic and national antenna family PeycON services are also increasing. With the development of the satellite's coverage, it will now be possible to use the MicrON, AerrOn, HidrON and TerrON antenna family's internet, corporate network and backhauling services in many countries.
Next in line 6A
In short, the Greek and Armenian lobbies in America were left empty-handed. However, they will not have to wait long to once again launch a campaign of propaganda against Turkey, as Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu announced the good news that the development of the 6A is nearing completion. "The days when the 6A will take its place space are very near. We are now in the testing phase. We plan to launch it into space in 2023," he said.
The news of the 6A – which will greatly expand our satellite coverage area – must have already begun to resonate in the U.S. Hearing this, the lobbies will once again roll up their sleeves, and their emails and letters will shoot through the air. But we know that they will once again be left empty-handed.