Turkish Space Systems, Integration and Test Center

Turkish Space Systems, Integration and Test Centre (Turkish: Uzay Sistemleri, Entegrasyon ve Test Merkezi) (USET) is a spacecraft production and testing facility owned by the Ministry of National Defence and operated by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). It is located in Ankara, Turkey.[1] The facility's official inauguration took place on May 21, 2015 in presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[2][3]

Turkish Space Systems, Integration and Test Centre
Uzay Sistemleri, Entegrasyon ve Test Merkezi
AbbreviationUSET
PurposeSpacecraft engineering
HeadquartersKazan, Ankara, Turkey
Coordinates40.07385°N 32.58484°E / 40.07385; 32.58484
Main organ
Turkish Ministry of National Defence
Parent organization
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI)

Considered as a critical infrastructure, the centre was established within the framework of the Göktürk-1 project, which started in 2009, for the indigenous realization of satellite assembly, as well as for qualification and acceptance testing from design to launch phase. It was the product of an agreement between the Turkish Ministry of National Defence and the multinational space services company Telespazio in 2010.[4] Situated within TAI's grounds in the Kazan district of Ankara Province, the budgeted cost of the facility is US$100 million.[1][5][6][7][8]

USET is a technology centre, at which all satellites up to 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) mass can be assembled and tested in simulated space environmental conditions related to the orbit. Two satellites can be produced and tested at the simultaneously. The centre serves military and civilian institutions.[6][7][9]

Development of the Türksat series communication satellites, starting with Türksat 5A, and Göktürk series earth observation satellites, will be carried out by Turkish engineers at this site.[6][10]

At the end of November 2014, it was announced that the construction of the facility was completed, and the centre was put into operation. The centre's Class 100,000 clean rooms cover an area of around 3,800 m2 (41,000 sq ft).[4] It is capable of the assembly, integration and testing of several satellites of type Low Earth orbit (LEO) and Geosynchronous orbit (GEO) with a mass up to five tonnes simultaneously.[11] It has a direct connection to the airbase so that a transport by land becomes needless, offering advantages of security, economy and risk management.[12]

The centre has the following capabilities:

The advanced integration and environmental tests of Göktürk-1 is the first project to be carried out in the centre. After completion, the satellite will be sent to the launch site by TUSAŞ.[12]

References
  1. Münir, Metin (2012-02-22). "Ne biliyoruz ne bilmiyoruz". Milliyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 2013-01-28.
  2. "Türkiye'nin ilk uydu merkezi yarın açılıyor". Milliyet (in Turkish). 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  3. "Türkiye'nin ilk uydu merkezi açıldı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  4. "Satellite integration and test center in Turkey passes major milestone". Thales Group. 2013-07-12. Retrieved 2014-11-29.
  5. "Italian firm Telespazio wins Turkish satellite project". Today's Zaman. 2008-12-20. Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  6. Taşpınar, Özgür (2011-07-05). "İşte Türkiye'nin uzay programı". NTV-MSNBC (in Turkish). Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  7. "GOKTURK-1". TAI. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  8. "Thales Alenia Space choose LDS V994 Shaker for Satellite Testing". Bruel & Kjaer. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  9. Varoglu, A.L.; Altin, D.; Tecimer, M. (2007). "Assembly Integration and Test Center Activities in Turkey". 2007 3rd International Conference on Recent Advances in Space Technologies. IEEE. pp. 64–67. doi:10.1109/RAST.2007.4284071. ISBN 978-1-4244-1056-9.
  10. "Türksat 4A ve Türksat 4B Uyduları" (in Turkish). Türksat. Archived from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  11. "Spacecraft AIT Center". TAI. Retrieved 2014-11-29.
  12. "Türkiye'nin uydu merkezi tamamlandı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2014-11-28. Retrieved 2014-11-28.
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