A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Turksat 5A mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9:15 p.m. on 7 January 2021.

Falcon 9’s first stage booster previously supported launch of GPS III Space Vehicle 03 and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the Just Read the Instructions droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Falcon 9’s fairing is also flight-proven: one half previously supported the GPS III Space Vehicle 03 mission and the other flew aboard the ANASIS-II mission.

The Türksat 5A satellite is “. . .based on the latest Electric Orbit Raising (EOR) version of Airbus’ highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform, which uses electric propulsion for in-orbit raising and station-keeping. ‘We are very pleased to welcome Türksat as a new Eurostar customer for the most powerful satellites of their fleet. We were the first to demonstrate full electric propulsion technology for satellites of this size and capacity, and this will enable the Türksat spacecraft to be launched in the most cost-efficient manner,’ said Nicolas Chamussy, Head of Space Systems at Airbus.

Türksat 5A is a broadcast satellite which will operate in Ku-band at the 310 East longitude slot in geostationary orbit, covering Turkey, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa and South Africa. The spacecraft will have a launch mass of 3,500 kg and electrical power of 12 kW. It is planned for in-orbit delivery in 2020.”

“. . .built by Airbus in its UK and French facilities, with valuable Turkish contribution.”

“. . .planned for a service lifetime largely in excess of 15 years.”