The first domestic observation satellite RASAT, designed by Space Technologies Research Institute of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK UZAY) and manufactured in Turkey, has been in space for seven years. RASAT that has successfully carried out its mission in space since August 17, 2011, and has displayed a total of 14 million 57 thousand 100 square kilometers of land on the Earth during its tenure. RASAT, which captures images of surfaces approximately 18 times that of Turkey’s, has successfully completed 2 thousand 448 missions. Although the design life of Turkey's first domestic observation satellite RASAT was 3 years, it has been working successfully for 7 years and orbited the Earth 37 thousand 290 times. Thus, RASAT proved that Turkish engineers can develop long-lasting products in space.
How Does RASAT Work?
RASAT can capture images from anywhere in the world without any restrictions and it is transmitting these images to the ground station located at TÜBİTAK UZAY. Images that is processed at TÜBİTAK UZAY ground station are shared with everyone by the web site of "www.gezgin.gov.tr" which is the first national satellite image portal of the country. The images obtained from RASAT are used in cartography, disaster monitoring, intelligent agriculture, environment, urban planning and planning studies. With the experience, success and self-confidence obtained from Rasat, the first indigenous observation, Göktürk-2 satellite was made by Turkish engineers under the leadership of TÜBİTAK UZAY. High resolution observation satellite İMECE and Turkey's first telecommunication satellite, Turksat 6 satellites will take their places in space in 2021 by the experience obtained from RASAT and Göktürk-2 satellites. Thus, Turkey became one of the few countries capable of its own satellites.
07.09.2018