“With TÜRKSAT 6A, Turkey has become one of 11 countries capable of producing its own communications satellite”
“With TÜRKSAT 6A, Turkey has become one of 11 countries capable of producing its own communications satellite”
President Erdoğan stated at the TÜRKSAT 6A Commissioning Ceremony, “With TÜRKSAT 6A, which we developed using more than 84 domestic components with over 80% localization rate, Turkey has become one of 11 countries capable of producing its own communications satellite.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the TÜRKSAT 6A Commissioning Ceremony held at the TÜRKSAT Gölbaşı Campus and delivered a speech.
He stated that TÜRKSAT 6A was launched into space on July 9, 2024, and its first test broadcast was made on February 17.
President Erdoğan expressed that all processes were completed smoothly and without any issues and wished the TÜRKSAT 6A project to be beneficial for the country and the nation.
He thanked those who contributed to the success of the project from design to production, transportation to launch into space, orbit placement to the testing phase, and congratulated all personnel dedicated to the space industry who supported the project.
Noting that TÜRKSAT 6A, which will serve for at least 15 years, increased the number of communication satellites operated by TÜRKSAT to six and the total number of satellites in space to 10, Erdoğan stated that the new geostationary communication satellite would provide services such as television broadcasting and emergency communication over a wide coverage area.
Pointing out the critical importance of uninterrupted TV broadcasting, Erdoğan emphasized that TÜRKSAT 6A would allow the current broadcast satellites to be backed up. He stated that this was a significant step forward in the space communication sector and wished for TÜRKSAT 6A to bring prosperity to the country and the nation.
Emphasizing the importance of producing technologies like communication satellites independently in terms of national security, Erdoğan said, “With TÜRKSAT 6A, which we developed using more than 84 domestic components and with over 80% localization rate, Turkey has become one of 11 countries capable of producing its own communications satellite. Our new communication satellite is the product of a meticulous, intense, and challenging 20-year effort in line with our goal to produce national and domestic technology.”
"WE DIDN'T LISTEN TO THE PESSIMISTS OR THOSE WHO LOST HOPE IN THEIR COUNTRY"
President Erdoğan emphasized that reaching this point was not easy and reminded that they ensured TÜRKSAT engineers participated in the production of 3A, 4A, and 4B satellites through a technology transfer program.
He stated that they involved 12 engineers directly in the design, production, and testing processes of the 5A and 5B satellites, and that these long-term efforts and experiences helped Turkey overcome many critical thresholds in space technologies.
Erdoğan underlined that Turkey now has the capability, experience, and competence to produce TÜRKSAT 6A, the satellite with the highest localization rate.
He said, “Despite the doubters, we said, ‘We can do it — in fact, we can do it better.’ We never listened to the pessimists or those who lost hope in their nation. In other words, by working with belief, patience, and determination without giving up or tiring, we have thankfully reached this day with our heads held high. Today's success is a heavy blow to the mindset that starts every sentence with ‘Nothing good can come from us’ and spreads hopelessness among the youth.”
Thanking the engineers and everyone contributing to Turkey’s presence in space, Erdoğan stated that they would continue to turn dreams into goals, and goals into reality, just as they have done for the past 23 years.
He added that with this national and domestic communication satellite, TÜRKSAT’s service area would expand to include India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, saying, “The population reached by our satellites globally will increase from 3.5 billion to 5 billion.”
Thanks to technology transfer and experience gained, Turkey will now have a significant market share in the design and production of satellites and components, he said, adding that with this revolutionary project, Turkey now owns a national and domestic communication satellite platform.
President Erdoğan explained that by establishing a satellite production ecosystem with subcontractors alongside the main stakeholders, they enabled many institutions and organizations to contribute to the space industry, and said:
"With dozens of engineers and staff taking active roles at all stages, we also cultivated human resources for satellite and space technologies. With the equipment developed by project stakeholders, we have reached a level capable of international competition. We have further strengthened our export capacity. In addition to joint work with SpaceX, the launch process was also managed by TÜRKSAT. With a coverage area containing more than 60% of the world population — 5 billion people — we have become one of the leading countries in space activities and satellite broadcasting."
President Erdoğan stated that the achievements and activities gained through the TÜRKSAT 6A project represent a significant opportunity for establishing a national satellite brand and founding a national space company.
“We will also benefit from this accumulation of knowledge in future moon and deep space missions, communications satellites, and satellite constellation projects,” he said.
Highlighting that they will continue to raise the bar and reach their goals, President Erdoğan noted: “When we look at global developments, we all see this truth: a historic window of opportunity is opening before Turkey. We are very close to attaining our rightful place in the global system.”
President Erdoğan emphasized that no one will be allowed to squander this opportunity and recalled that, in the past, while the world experienced similar transformations, Turkey was preoccupied with internal strife.
He continued:
“While scientific and technological progress was taking place, we, as a nation, wasted our energy on pointless, fruitless, and empty debates. Everything was done and tried to distract Turkey from external affairs. They preoccupied us with internal issues using sectarian, ethnic, and ideological differences, successfully pushing Turkey out of global competition.
While the countries in the same league with us fiercely competed in technology, remember what this country was discussing: the headscarf, beards, turbans, veils, religious reactionism, and green capital.
They created an internal enemy and kept Turkey busy with it. And what was the result? Turkey lost. Our nation lost. While others moved forward at full speed, we stood still for years. We could not prevent the widening gap between us and our rivals. We had to pay very heavy prices in our economy, democracy, foreign policy, and social peace and stability.”
"TURKEY IS INCREASINGLY RECOGNIZED AS A REGIONAL POWER CENTER ON EVERY PLATFORM"
President Erdoğan stated that the world is once again on the verge of a major transformation, and that global trade rules are fundamentally changing due to tariff confrontations.
He observed that not only are current crises unresolved, but new tensions arise daily. He pointed out that the international system has lost its credibility entirely, particularly with the genocide in Gaza, and continued:“The Western world and its institutions have completely lost their former influence. No one can predict where artificial intelligence technologies will lead. In other words, while the old system is rapidly collapsing, no one can clearly foresee what will replace it.
Turkey's name is now mentioned more frequently on every platform as a regional pole of power.
Yet, in such a critical period, we see that the main opposition party is trying to drag Turkey back into old arguments and conflicts. Outdated scenarios that previously cost our country dearly are once again being brought back into play by the same circles.
From attempts to incite unrest in our streets to shamelessly complaining about Turkey to Western powers and media outlets, from provoking university and high school youth to damaging the economy through boycott calls — all the buttons are being pushed at once.
Most recently, they have exploited the politics of tension and provocation using the Gaza genocide. While 50,000 innocent people were massacred, they remained silent for 18 months saying, ‘What is it to us?’ and now they are trying to gain political mileage from this humanitarian tragedy by slandering Palestinian resistance fighters defending their land as ‘terrorists.’
Let me say this clearly: even though the actors may have changed, we know the game is the same.Our nation also fully understands what is being attempted.Therefore, no matter how hard they try, they cannot create the chaos and disorder they desire. As the government, we avoid falling into their traps by staying committed to our politics of service and achievement.”
President Erdoğan also recalled that just last week, they began excavations for the Silvan Irrigation Tunnel, one of Turkey's most strategic projects, and achieved results.
“WE ARE WITNESSING A HISTORIC SUCCESS STORY”
Also last week, President Erdoğan said, they launched the era of three independent runways operating simultaneously at Istanbul Airport — making Turkey the second country in the world after the United States to implement such a system.
Referring to the opposition's earlier statement that "no plane would land there," he emphasized that today, three planes can take off and land simultaneously at that airport.
“Today, praise be to God, we are commissioning TÜRKSAT 6A,” Erdoğan said.
“We take pride in advancing the space journey we began 31 years ago with TÜRKSAT 1B to a much higher level.With faith, determination, and labor — with every sentence of this success story written in knowledge, experience, and sweat — we are all witnessing a historic achievement.”
Expressing great pride in the institutions, engineers, and workers involved in the project, President Erdoğan concluded:“All of this is heralding the Century of Türkiye we are building. God willing, we will reach even greater heights. We will hand over a strong, prosperous, and respected Türkiye to our youth.
May God support us all on this path we walk with the support of our people and grant us further success.
On this occasion, I pray for the mercy of God upon Ahmet Özsoy and Ali Karslı, our brothers who were martyred here during the treacherous coup attempt by FETÖ terrorists on July 15.
Once again, I hope our first national and domestic communications satellite, TÜRKSAT 6A, brings goodness and prosperity to our country and nation.I congratulate all my brothers and sisters whose labor, contributions, hard work, and ideas were involved in this project.”