Vega Flight VV08

with GÖKTÜRK-1

overview

Launch vehicle
Vega
Launch date
December 5, 2016
Status
Success
Payload(s)
GÖKTÜRK-1
Customer(s)
Telespazio
Prime contractor(s)
Telespazio
Launch site
Spaceport, French Guiana (Guiana Space Center)
Orbit
Low-Earth orbit

mission
description

Flight VV08: A new Vega mission at the service of Earth observation

For its 10th launch of the year – and the eighth to be performed by the Vega launcher since its first liftoff from the Guiana Space Center in 2012 – Arianespace will orbit the GÖKTÜRK-1 satellite in the framework of a Telespazio turnkey contract with the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries of Turkey (SSM).

As a multi-purpose launch vehicle that already has demonstrated its capabilities during the seven initial missions, Vega is now fully operational in commercial service – and will be performing its fifth flight at the service of Earth observation. With Flight VV08, Turkey becomes a new export customer for this latest member of Arianespace’s launcher family.

 

French Guiana
10:51:44 a.m.
Universal Time (UTC)
13:51:44
Paris, France
14:51:44 p.m.
Washington, D.C.
08:51:44 a.m.

Payload

GÖKTÜRK-1

gokturk-vv08

GÖKTÜRK-1 is the first Turkish governmental satellite for Earth observation. It also is the sixth satellite to be launched by Arianespace for Turkey, following five Türksat-series telecommunications spacecraft from 1994 to 2008.

GÖKTÜRK-1 is a very high-resolution optical Earth observation satellite.
Its images are intended for civilian and military applications. The satellite will be injected in a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of approximately 700 km. GÖKTÜRK-1 is capable of imaging the entire globe in 72 hours.

Telespazio – as prime contractor of the GÖKTÜRK-1 program under terms of a 2009 agree-ment signed with the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries of Turkey in Ankara (SSM) – is responsible for the satellite’s integration and the associated ground segment.

SSM is the 55th operator to select Arianespace for the launch of its first satellite.

Thales Alenia Space and its Turkish partners – including the companies TAI A.S., Aselsan A.S., Tubitak Bilgem, Roketsan A.S. and TR Tecnoloji – built GÖKTÜRK-1 based on the PROTEUS spacecraft platform.

GÖKTÜRK-1 will be 145th Thales Alenia Space-produced satellite launched by Arianespace.

Eleven other satellites from this spacecraft manufacturer are in Arianespace’s launch services order book: SENTINEL-2B, SGDC, TELKOM-3S, KOREASAT-7, COMSAT NG 1, four satellites for O3b, along with two “undisclosed” payloads.

countdown
and flight

events
  • Start of final countdown
  • Activation of Multi-Functional Unit (MFU)
  • Activation of Inertial Reference System (IRS)
  • Activation of telemetry
  • show the countdown
  • Liftoff
    00:00
  • show the countdown
  • Fairing separation
  • 3rd stage (Zefiro-9) separation
  • 1st ignition of AVUM
  • 1st cut-off of AVUM
  • 2nd ignition of AVUM
  • 2nd cut-off of AVUM
  • Separation of GOKTURK-1
  • 3rd ignition of AVUM
  • 3rd cut-off of AVUM
  • End of the Arianespace mission