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Göktürk-1A was built by Thales Alenia Space for the Turkish Ministry of National Defense to provide high-resolution optical Earth observations for civilian and military applications. Thales has an option to launch a second satellite should the Turkish government decide it wants the additional capability. Based on the Telespazio Proteus bus, the satellite conducts its observations from a 435-mile (700-km) Sun-synchronous orbit. It launched aboard an Arianespace Vega launch vehicle on December 5, 2016 from Kourou, French Guiana. Photos courtesy: Jeremy Beck
