RASAT, the first earth observation satellite designed and manufactured in Turkey by TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute (TÜBİTAK UZAY) with funding provided by the State Planning Organization, was sent to Russia for launch.
With the RASAT project, our design, production and testing capabilities in satellite technologies have improved. The experience and capabilities gained by Turkish engineers and TÜBİTAK UZAY Institute have become a guide and pioneer for new projects that will enable Turkey to achieve its goals in the field of Space Technologies. In this context, the main objectives of RASAT were successfully achieved.
RASAT, the first earth observation satellite whose design, production and testing phases were carried out entirely by Turkish engineers and technicians at TÜBİTAK UZAY facilities, set off for Yasny Launch Base in the Russian Federation on the morning of June 14, 2011 and arrived in Ulyanovsk, Russia for customs clearance.
In addition to RASAT, satellites of five countries (UK, USA, Italy, Ukraine, Nigeria) will be carried into space and placed into orbit within the scope of the launch planned for July. The launch will be carried out with the Dnepr launch vehicle, which was adapted from the SS-18, one of the world's most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles. The launch, which will include RASAT, will be the 17th commercial launch of the Dnepr launch vehicle to carry satellites.
RASAT was developed to demonstrate Turkey's capabilities in designing, manufacturing, testing and operating satellites, to test in space indigenous space equipment designed and manufactured by Turkish engineers and technicians, and to obtain optical satellite imagery. RASAT's functional and structural readiness for launch was confirmed in 2010 during tests conducted at the facilities of TÜBİTAK UZAY and the launch vehicle manufacturer. Thus, the main objective of improving our design, production and testing capabilities in satellite technologies and gaining experience and capabilities of Turkish engineers and especially TÜBİTAK UZAY Institute in this process was successfully achieved.
With the placement of RASAT into orbit and the successful operation in space of satellite systems designed and developed by TÜBİTAK UZAY, the aim is to enable the systems to gain flight history and to be used in future domestic satellite missions. At the same time, the satellite images to be obtained from RASAT are planned to be used for urban and regional planning, forestry, agriculture, disaster management and similar purposes.
