The Turkish government and satellite operator Turksat signed a $571 million contract with Japan's Mitsubishi Electric Corp. to procure and launch two communications satellites by 2014, Turksat confirmed March 7.
The deal will see Turksat 4A placed into orbit by the end of 2013, with Turksat 4B to follow in 2014. The deal also establishes a foundation for the anticipated cooperation agreement between Turkey and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to help support the Turkish Space Agency after it is established in 2012.
In a statement to press officials, Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim said the government had been planning to launch new satellites for some time due to rising demand and capacity of Turksat 2A and Turksat 3A after Turksat 1C was retired in 2010. Yildirim also said that Turksat's engineers are starting to developing Turksat 5A in cooperation with Mitsubishi Electric.
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