SpaceX sent Türkiye’s first domestically produced communications satellite to orbit today (July 8).
A Falcon 9 rocket launched the Turksat 6A spacecraft from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT).
The Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth shortly thereafter as planned. It touched down about 8.5 minutes after liftoff on SpaceX’s Just Read the Instructions droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was the 15th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.
The rocket’s upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling Turksat 6A toward geosynchronous transfer orbit, deploying the spacecraft there 35.5 minutes after liftoff as planned.
Turksat 6A will then make its own way to its final orbit, where it will undergo a roughly month-long series of checkouts before entering service, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, Türkiye’s transport and infrastructure minister, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Turksat 6A is Türkiye’s first fully homegrown communications satellite, the English-language Turkish newspaper reported.
“Turksat 6A will widen the country’s satellite coverage and meet the television broadcasting needs,” the Hürriyet Daily News wrote, citing Uraloğlu.
“India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, which were not served by currently operating satellites, will be covered with Turksat 6A, reaching 5 billion people,” the minister added.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 8:15 p.m. ET on July 8, with news of successful launch, rocket landing and satellite deployment.