First Turkish satellite begins to send photos, officials say

RASAT, a remote sensing satellite constructed in Turkey, has begun to transmit its first photos to a Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) land station located in Ankara, according to an official announcement on Tuesday reported by the Anatolia news agency.

RASAT, a remote sensing satellite constructed in Turkey, has begun to transmit its first photos to a Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) land station located in Ankara, according to an official announcement on Tuesday reported by the Anatolia news agency. The satellite is the first national product in the field of space technology in Turkey and was produced by TÜBİTAK with the sponsorship of the State Planning Organization (DPT). TÜBİTAK has been receiving photos taken by RASAT for 10 days in its location at the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) in Ankara.

 The satellite, which was sent into space from Russia on Aug. 17 of this year, makes a complete orbit around the world every 98 minutes and completed 900 tours in total yesterday.

TÜBİTAK officials stated that RASAT will be a cornerstone for Turkish space projects in the future. Universities and research centers will be able to use data provided by RASAT to carry out scientific research. RASAT will publish photos and data with updates on its website at rasat.uzay.tubitak.gov.tr.

18 October 2011, Tuesday / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL

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