ANKARA
According to a statement by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), the launch of Turkey's first domestic high resolution observation satellite will be watched live at a ceremony that will be held at the Space Technologies Research Institute of TUBITAK in Ankara with the participation of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Gokturk-2 satellite will be launched from the Jiuquan base, which is located in the Gobi desert near the border with Mongolia. The satellite which was created by TUBITAK and Turkish Aerospace Industries, aims to be used for the image requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces and as other institutions that require satellite images for agriculture, transportation and urban development with 2.5 meters of resolution.
The first signal following the launch is expected to be received at 9:25 p.m. (local time) in Ankara and the first images via the satellite are expected to be received at December 25-30.
Meeting the needs of Turkey in defence and development fields, the satellite will be deployed 686 kilometers above the Earth.
Other than the optical camera which was bought from South Korea, all the other parts of Gokturk-2 will be produced and manufactured in Turkey.
Launch date, which was earlier set for December 19, was shifted one day ahead due to adverse weather conditions.
