ITU AND TİM WILL DEVELOP DOMESTIC SOLAR PANEL FOR SATELLITES

A cooperation protocol was signed between Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) to contribute to Turkey's “National Space Program” goal. With the protocol, within ITU Space Systems Design and Test Laboratory, “R&D Project of Multifunction Solar Panel in Nano, Micro, Cube Satellites” will be implemented with the coordination of İnovaTİM. With the project, multifunctional, domestic solar panels will be developed for Nano and Micro Satellites, which are quite widespread in the world and cost very low.

Istanbul Technical University (ITU) continues its partnership and cooperation with the business world within the scope of university-industry cooperation. A new partnership in this context is signed with the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) and the works that will begin with the “Develop Domestic Solar Panel For Satellites” aims to increase the added value of our country's exports.

At the signing ceremony organized with the participation of TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle and ITU Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu; astrophysicist Dr. Umut Yıldız, who works at NASA, explained the importance of space technologies for young people. Also, Prof. Dr. Alim Rüstem Aslan carried out the presentation of the project. 7 students from İnovaTİM attended the signing ceremony.

ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Koyuncu: Our technology-based products will increase

ITU Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu said in his speech: “Now, the standard of being a developed country is to develop digitalization, data control, innovating and, as a result, developing products that use technology at the highest level with high added value. Maintaining and increasing competitiveness is only possible by developing innovative products and processes. ITU has the academic manpower, researchers, and R&D infrastructure to carry out R&D, innovative studies, and basic research needed by our companies aiming to brand and export as a research university. This protocol, which we signed together with the Turkish Exporters Assembly, is an extremely strong step in increasing our technologically based products. I wish it will be beneficial for our country.”

 Tim Chairman İsmail Gülle: We Will Export The Project That Will Contribute To Our Space Goal

 TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle said, “We aim to contribute to our National Space Program in 2023 with the project that we will implement in the information infrastructure of our country in cooperation with ITU instead of a costly space subsystem that we depend on abroad. With our project, we aim to gain capabilities on the economic production techniques and development processes of solar panels used in Nano, Micro, and Cube satellites. With the project reaching its goal in 2023, we anticipate that solar panels developed at low cost and with innovative techniques will reach the export level.”

 100 İnovaTİM students in the project

 With the protocol for strengthening university-industry cooperation; Within ITU Space Systems Design and Test Laboratory, “R&D Project of Multifunction Solar Panel in Nano, Micro, Cube Satellites” will be implemented with the coordination of İnovaTİM. The project directly coincides with three of the ten visionary goals in Turkey's first National Space Program announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; 100 İnovaTİM students will get know-how by being involved in the project processes for two years. With the project achieving its goal in 2023, it is expected that solar panels will be developed and exported with low-cost and innovative techniques.

 For sustainable growth and exports...

 Speaking at the ceremony, TİM Chairman İsmail Gülle said, “The only way of sustainable growth and exports is value-added exports, R&D, and innovation. University-industry cooperation is also very important in this respect. We must ensure that scientific resources in universities are transferred to the industry and transformed into economic value. With the protocol we signed; Within ITU Space Systems Design and Test Laboratory, we are launching ‘the R&D Project of Multifunction Solar Panel in Nano, Micro, Cube Satellites” which will be carried out in coordination with İnovaTİM. We are also proud that İnovaTİM, Türkiye's youngest and most innovative family, is a stakeholder in such an important project. With our project, we aim to gain capabilities on the economic production techniques and development processes of solar panels used in Nano, Micro, and Cube satellites. With the project reaching its goal in 2023, we anticipate that solar panels developed at low cost and with innovative techniques will reach the export level. We believe that the export of these panels in the coming period will also contribute positively to our export value per kilogram.”

 “National Space Program” is exciting

 Emphasizing that the National Space Program announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last month is exciting, Gülle continued: “We acted after the statements of our President that “We will carry our flag, which suits the skies best, to the places it deserves. Our feet will be on Earth and our eyes will be on space”. We aim to contribute to our National Space Program in 2023 with the project that we will implement in the information infrastructure of our country in cooperation with ITU instead of a costly space subsystem that we depend on abroad. Since the day TİM was founded, we continue to explain the importance of exports for economic independence and emphasize that the way to sustainable development is through exports, and we will continue to do so. We are proud of our contribution to growth, development, and employment. We will continue to work for “Türkiye Rising with Exports” with new cooperation and consultation mechanisms and we will continue to contribute as much as we can to our country's macro goals.

 İnovaTİM carries out important projects that have a high impact

 Emphasizing that İnovaTİM, which includes thousands of university students from 150 different universities, is a source of pride and carries out important projects with a high impact, Gülle said, “İnovaTİM Project Teams successfully represent our country by participating in international competitions. With the Project of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Training in High Schools, İnovaTİM provides training on innovation, IoT, and artificial intelligence to more than 10,000 high school students. With the İnovaTİM Innovation Competition, it produces hundreds of solution projects for the problems of our world and carries out scientific studies on generation Z. With İnovaTİM's first R&D project, “R&D Project of Multifunction Solar Panel in Nano, Micro, and Cube Satellites”, 100 İnovaTİM students will get know-how by being involved in the project processes. We know that this project is the first step for our students with İnovaTİM and we believe that it will make our country proud by producing solutions to the problems of our world.”

 Noting that space work is progressing rapidly globally and that SpaceX has deployed 833 satellites in 2020, Gülle said, “It is also planned to place more than 60 satellites per launch every two weeks, bringing the total number of satellites to 42,000.”

 Details of the signed protocol

 It is expected to the R&D project directly contributes to the targets of “Gathering Satellite Production Under One Roof and Domestic Satellite Development Program”, “Development of Space Industry Ecosystem” and “Space Awareness and Human Resource Development” among the 10 targets covered by the National Space Program Roadmap.

 Within the scope of İnovaTİM's First R&D Project, Türkiye's Youngest Innovative Family, 100 İnovaTİM students will include in the process and receive know-how. The goal is to gain capability on economic production techniques and development processes of solar panels used in Nano, Micro, and Cube satellites... In this way, it is aimed to develop a very costly space subsystem that is currently dependent on abroad. With reaching the aim of the project it is planned that solar panels can reach the export level with the contribution of cube satellite development training and bilateral cooperation given to many countries abroad. Besides, scientists trained within the laboratory will gain an additional ability and this will be a self-confidence booster for future studies.

 What is the importance of Cube, Nano, and Micro Satellite?

 Satellite projects in the category of “Cube Satellite” and “Small Satellite”, which are very powerful tools for applied and scientific space exploration, are accepted all over the world. The pros of these projects are costs are much lower, it is a very good way to train personnel and it offers the opportunity to realize even to countries with low space budgets...

 

Click to watch ITU and TİM cooperation protocol launch.