Göktürks

The Turks or the Kok Turks (Old Turkic: Chinese: 突厥; pinyin: Tūjué, Khotanese Saka Ttūrka, Ttrūka,Old Tibetan Drugu) and sometimes as its Anatolian Turkish form Göktürks (Celestial or Blue Turks), were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Köktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and his sons, succeeded the Rouran Khaganate as the main power in the region and established the Turkic Khaganate, one of several nomadic dynasties which would shape the future geolocation, culture, and dominant beliefs of Turkic peoples.

Etymology

The Old Turkic name of the Göktürks was Türük, Kök Türük, or Türk. They were known in Middle Chinese historical sources as the tɦutkyat (Chinese: 突厥; pinyin: Tūjué). According to Chinese sources, the meaning of the word Tujue was "combat helmet" (Chinese: 兜鍪; pinyin: Dōumóu; Wade–Giles: Tou¹-mou²), reportedly because the shape of the Altai Mountains where they lived, was similar to a combat helmet.

The name Göktürk is said to mean "Celestial Turks". This is consistent with "the cult of heavenly ordained rule" which was a recurrent element of Altaic political culture and as such may have been imbibed by the Göktürks from their predecessors in Mongolia. The name of the ruling Ashina clan may derive from the Khotanese Saka term for "deep blue", āššɪna.

Göktürk-1

Göktürk-1 is a high resolution earth observation satellite (greater than 50 cm) designed and developed for the Turkish Ministry of National Defence by the Italian space service company Telespazio with technological input from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) and Aselsan of Turkey.

The agreement to build Göktürk-1 was signed on July 13, 2009 between the Ministry of National Defence and Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales Group joint venture company, taking effect on July 19, 2009. Thales Alenia Space is in charge of supplying the satellite bus. Within the framework of the project, a facility for assembly, integration and testing of spacecraft (UMET) up to 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb) mass will be established in Turkey, which is considered as a critical infrastructure. The project is valued at more than € 250m.

The satellite with 0.80 m (2 ft 7 in) resolution is intended for use of reconnaissance over any location on earth without geographical restriction. Additionally, it will carry out various civil applications on mapping and planning, landcover survey, geology, ecosystem monitoring, disaster management, environmental control, coastal zone management, and water resources.

Göktürk-3

Göktürk-3 is a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Earth observation satellite that will be designed and developed under prime contractorship of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) with support of Military Electronic Industries (ASELSAN) and TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute (TÜBİTAK UZAY) for the Turkish Ministry of National Defence.

Project

The project is to provide high-resolution images from any location in the world in day and night, and in any weather condition without territorial waters and aerial domain restrictions to meet the requirements of the Turkish military. After the contract signed between Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) on 8 May 2013, the parties have started to work on the indigenous design of the satellite and ground stations. According to the announcement of the Undersecretariate of Ministry of National Defence, the launch of Göktürk-3 is planned by end 2019.

See also