Turkish Firm Launches LUNA-1 Low-Earth-Orbit Satellite

Turkish defense company Aselsan announced on Monday that it successfully launched the LUNA-1 low-orbit IoT (internet of things) satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket.

"ASELSAN’s LUNA-1 low-Earth-orbit IoT satellite was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon-9, and telemetry signals have been received by our ground station in Ankara," the company wrote on Turkish social media platform NSosyal, The Caspian Post reports, citing Anadolu.

LUNA-1, whose design, development, production, integration, and testing processes, including payloads, ground control software, and flight computer, were completed by Aselsan engineers, separated from the carrier rocket approximately one hour after launch and settled into 510-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). The first telemetry data received from the satellite was successfully decoded by the ground station in Ankara, confirming its proper operation.

Aselsan said the satellite will enable IoT applications via satellite, collect data from locations without existing infrastructure; provide wide-area sensor communication, low-power, long-lifetime IoT connectivity, and low-latency data transmission.

According to another statement, as efforts to establish a global communications infrastructure via low orbit satellites gain momentum worldwide, Aselsan has taken a critical step with the aim of becoming a major player in the New Space era.

"Our low-orbit IoT satellite, LUNA-1, is in space. We will continue to accelerate our work on LEO orbit solutions," Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol said.

With this move, Türkiye has entered a new phase in its vision of establishing a national IoT satellite network that provides real-time data communication in low orbit.

LUNA-1 aims to ensure continuous connectivity even in regions where sensors are difficult to maintain online. The low-orbit satellite enables real-time, uninterrupted, and low-cost IoT access.