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Turkey due to launch new intelligence satellite

Xinhua, December 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Turkey will launch a new intelligence satellite on Monday, local Daily Sabah reported on Friday.

The Gokturk-1, designed to meet the satellite imagery needs for the Turkish military with, was assembled by the Telespazio of Italy and Thales Alenia Space of France in Cannes.

The new satellite went through environmental tests at Turkey's first Space Systems Integration and Testing Center in the Turkish Aerospace Industries' Akinci Air Base and was later sent to the Kourou Launch Center in French Guiana.

The Gokturk-1, which is set to sit at a low-altitude orbit, will be released from the rocket 57 minutes after it is launched.

It is expected to circumvent the earth approximately every 90 minutes and take more than 60,000 images per year.

The satellite will transmit images at a higher resolution compared to similar models in orbit and also perform remote sensing tasks for public institutions. Endit