Yıldırım, who participated in the Aksaray Astronomy and Space Camp held at the Hasan Mountain Camp Center, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the Turkish Space Agency (TUA) continues its work within the framework of the announced National Space Program.
Explaining that they have taken steps in all 10 targets, Yıldırım said, “Of course, some issues require some time. It may take some time to take some steps, especially in big targets such as the moon and astronaut program, but the program does not deviate. We continue to work for each target. We see the effects of the work we do on the basis of international relations, both at home and abroad.” he said.
Yıldırım stated that this space program will be implemented in Turkey within a 10-year period, and that no one should have any doubt about it.
“2023 is a very important year for us”
Stating that Turkey will go to a different point in this way, Yıldırım said:
“The year 2023 is a very important year for us. We also aim to reach the moon, especially within the scope of the lunar mission. Another goal is to send a Turkish citizen to space for the first time from the international space station for the year 2023. We continue our rapid work on this subject. Our 10 goals in the National Space Program continue. These programs include many programs such as space weather, ecosystem development, observation capacity, establishment of a spaceport. There are studies on all of them. On the other hand, the development of the Space Agency continues. After all, we are a 2-year-old institution. We are in a restructuring. Considering all these, we are at a good point.”
Yıldırım reminded that the Türksat 5A satellite was launched into space and placed in its orbit.
“The Türksat 6A satellite is of particular importance for us, as it was built with local contributions”
Emphasizing that the Turksat 5B satellite is next, Yıldırım continued as follows:
“These two satellites were manufactured abroad, but we are planning to launch the Türksat 6A communication satellite, which we made ourselves, with a domestic rate of over 60%, in 2022. It means a lot to us. We also have the İmece satellite. it will also settle in close orbit and make observations. These are products prepared with domestic contribution. The flight model is currently being studied on the 6A satellite. Now it is at the final stage, it is being integrated. Of course, there are many tests. Many tests need to be done before sending any satellite or vehicle into space. These tests need to be successful. If they fail, the relevant units need to be overhauled and corrected. When we look at all these, we anticipate that all of these will be achieved and we aim for the end of 2022. Türksat 6A satellite is of particular importance for us as it is built with domestic contribution.”
Yıldırım stated that the USA, Russia, China, Japan, India and European Union countries are accepted as the first league in space studies.
Stating that these countries carry out studies on space alone, Yıldırım said:
“Countries like ours, on the other hand, make progress in certain issues. We need more time and hard work to catch up with these top league countries. We also do our work, the support of our state is full. Our biggest shortcoming is human resources, we have plans and programs to develop it as well. Turkey “The way of doing business is very fast. The capacity of our youth is really high. I think we can close the gap faster. I believe we can achieve this in space as seen in the defense industry. In our 10-year plan, there is no manned flight. There are 3 countries in the world that can make manned flights, but “We have an unmanned flight plan. We will send our vehicle to the moon as part of the lunar program. We aim to reach the moon. Apart from this, we have other projects. We have programs both in near-earth orbit and as deep space missions. We will start these, the first of which is 2023.”
