The Turkish Defence Ministry has awarded a contract to Italian firm Telespazio to build the €250m Göktürk satellite system.

Telespazio will supply an earth observation satellite equipped with a high-resolution optical sensor and ground equipment for in-orbit operation, data acquisition and processing under the contract.

An integration and test centre for the satellites will also be built in Turkey by the firm.

The Göktürk programme will be managed by Telespazio as prime contractor and Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for the satellite.

Local industrial partners will also be responsible for the launch, early orbit and test services of the satellite.

The partners will be involved in the system design and development phase and will also supply some sub-systems and assist in building the data acquisition station, the satellite integration centre, mission planning systems and remotely-sensed data processors.