SpaceX launched a Turkish communications satellite into orbit late Thursday.
The technology company’s Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the U.S. state of Florida, carrying a Türksat 5A satellite.
The satellite will set to orbit in four months and begin service in the second half of 2021, according to Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, which said the country’s frequency and orbit rights are certain for the next 30 years.
The mission marks the first release in 2021 for SpaceX.
Speaking ahead of the announcement, Turkey’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Ömer Fatih Sayan Türksat 5A announced “one of the latest generation satellites that will allow us to develop our capabilities in space.”
“With Türksat 5A, we would first protect our orbital rights and provide commercial services through broadcasting and communications, in particular internet services with the Ku-band to rural areas,” he told -report in front of the mission control of SpaceX center in Cape Canaveral.
Sayan said it will take about 140 days for Türksat 5A to enter orbit. The satellite is then tested for a month. It will be controlled at the Türksat facility in the capital Ankara.
“Built by Airbus Defense and Space with major Turkish offerings, the Turkish 5A satellite will provide Ku-band television broadcasting services across Turkey, the Middle East, Europe and Africa,” according to the SpaceX website.
The satellite will carry 42 responders and will be located in an unused Turkish orbital slot at 31 degrees East.
Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu said last year that new communications satellites, including the Türksat 5A, 5B and 6A, will make the country more powerful in space.
Liftoff was previously designed, but the publication has been delayed several times.