On December 19 at 03:58 UTC, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the Türksat 5B satellite into geostationary transfer orbit from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Twenty minutes after the booster landed, the second stage restarted and sent Türksat 5B into its eccentric geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). Over the next few months, the satellite will circularize at GEO altitude and zero its inclination using its onboard electric engines.

After separation, the SpaceX webcast stayed on the air for a few minutes to show views of the Earth from the second stage camera which was quite special. We don’t usually see views of Earth at this altitude.

Türksat 5B is the second in a series of dual-use civilian and military satellites for the Republic of Turkey. Twenty-five percent of the satellite is built in Turkey, specifically the three X-band transponders intended for government use. The satellite weighs 4.5 metric tons at launch, half the weight of a T-Rex.

Electric propulsion allows smaller satellites to launch on Falcon 9 to a regular GTO and still permits SpaceX to recover the first stage. The tradeoff is that the satellite spends much more time getting on station – months instead of weeks – because the engines produce much less thrust. It also spends more time passing through the Earth’s radiation belts, which increases the risk of damage to its electronics and degrades its solar panels.

Türksat 5B is expected to last up to 35 years.

More Information

Türksat 5B mission (SpaceX via Archive Today)

Turkey’s Turksat 5B satellite launched into space (Anadolu Agency)

Launch video