New high-throughput communications satellite Turksat 5B will be launched by the US aerospace company SpaceX on Dec. 19, Turkey’s transport and infrastructure minister said on Friday.

Pointing out that the satellite was shipped from France to the United States on November 29, Transport Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu said: “The launch preparations continue. We will hold the 'Satellite Technologies Week' on 18-19 December at Türksat Gölbaşı Campus, where we will bring together the youth of our country and discuss Turkey's activities in the field of communication.”

“On Sunday, December 19, 2021, at 06:58, Space X will launch with a Falcon 9 rocket. With Türksat 5B to be delivered in orbit, the number of active communication satellites in Turkey will increase to 5 and our total number of satellites to 8,” he added.

Türksat 5B, is a Turkish geostationary high-throughput (HTS) communications satellite of Türksat A.Ş. in development for commercial purposes.

The Türksat 5B project started in September 2011. The final production contract for the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) was planned for 2015. After a delay, the contract was realized in October 2017 when the Airbus Defense and Space was selected to join the project with 25% for building the satellite in Turkey, which was a major stimulation.

In November 2020, it was announced that satellite level tests for Türksat 5B have begun. It is previously planned that the satellite will be launched with a Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) launch vehicle of SpaceX at Cape Canaveral, U.S. on December,18th 2021. The Falcon 9 booster used on this mission is B1052.3, that is, a Falcon Heavy side booster turned into a Falcon 9 first stage booster. (ILKHA)