HÜRSAT-1 satellite will start the mass production period

TAI aims to change Türkiye's satellite development method with HÜRSAT-1. According to the information in the 146th issue of the company's GÖKVATAN magazine, the satellite will have a mass of approximately 200 kilograms. It is also planned to provide sub-meter resolution imaging.

HÜRSAT family is built on the engineering know-how of GÖKTÜRK and other strategic satellite programs. The aim is to develop platforms that can be produced in a shorter time and adapted to different tasks. For this reason, TAI wants to create a "satellite factory" infrastructure.

How Does HÜRSAT-1 Family Scale?

HÜRSAT is not limited to a single satellite class. The family is designed for masses between approximately 100 and 650 kilograms. In this way, it will not be necessary to develop satellites from scratch for each mission.

100-500 kilogram class: electro-optical, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and thermal imaging missions

500-650 kilogram class: communication and artificial intelligence-supported data and image processing in space

For traditional large Earth observation satellites, the development process can take three to five years. A calendar of approximately 24 months is targeted for HÜRSAT. Moreover, as mass production matures, this period is expected to shorten further.

The project is also based on constellation architecture. In other words, multiple satellites will work together in near-Earth orbit. Thus, the same region will be imaged more frequently, because capacity will increase as new satellites are added.

Technical Goals and Areas of Use

HÜRSAT-1 is planned to operate in the Sun Synchronous Orbit at an altitude of approximately 500 kilometers. Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) shows the distance that a pixel in the image represents on earth. The target is 0.9 meters or better in panchromatic images and 3.6 meters or better in multispectral images.

Satellite; It will also produce data in red, green, blue and near infrared bands. The viewing strip will be at least 14 kilometers. Therefore, it will be possible to scan Türkiye more than once a year.

These data are planned to be used in agriculture and crop yield monitoring, forest fire monitoring and post-disaster damage assessment. In addition, urbanization, coastal observation and the security of energy and pipelines are also among the targeted areas. However, although HÜRSAT-1's primary field is civilian missions, it is also expected to be used in defense and security.

Will Work with GÖKTÜRK

HÜRSAT is positioned not as an alternative to GÖKTÜRK satellites, but as a complement to them. For example, if noticeable activity is seen in an area during routine scanning, that area will be the priority imaging area for GÖKTÜRK class satellites.

The satellite computer, flight and ground software, power and interface units are developed by TAI. Command and control will be carried out from the ground station established within TAI. In addition, the design life of HÜRSAT-1 was determined to be at least five years.

In Türkiye, some of the high-resolution images are purchased from commercial operators abroad when domestic systems are not sufficient. With HÜRSAT-1, it is aimed to reduce this foreign dependency, especially in the civilian field, and to save on image supply costs in the long term. TAI also plans to evaluate the export potential of the family and increase the resolution with new generation cameras in subsequent electro-optical satellites.