SpaceX launches Turksat 5B satellite
SpaceX launched the Turksat 5B communications satellite into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The US aerospace company SpaceX said it successfully launched the Turkish fifth-generation Turksat 5B communications satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday.
The satellite was launched at 03:58 GMT from the Cape Canaveral base in the US state of Florida.
"Deployment of Turksat 5B confirmed," SpaceX tweeted.
Deployment of Turksat 5B confirmed pic.twitter.com/mYysWH9IGa
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 19, 2021
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk met virtually on Thursday to discuss Turkey's national space program.
The meeting addressed issues of cooperation between Turkey's public and private sectors, as well as the firm, in a variety of domains, including satellite and space technology, according to a statement from the presidency.
They also addressed the imminent launch of Turksat 5B into space, as well as the launch of Turksat 5A, another Turkish satellite, by a SpaceX rocket in January.
Turksat 5B satellite
The Turksat 5B satellite's ability to improve Turkey's Ka-band data communication capacity 15-fold is one of its most notable qualities.
Turkey had signed a deal with Airbus Defense and Space (Airbus D&S) to secure the Turksat 5B satellite's redundancy.