It is good that Turkey has launched a satellite for military purposes, designed the satellite domestically and started envisioning.

“Do-it-yourself” has always been a familiar concept in Turkey, owing to our cook-for-yourself restaurant tradition.  Then, we met with IKEA’s build-it-yourself products recently. In the latter case the design was given. But today the world has been moving into the do-your-own-satellite period. That’s new. I am not talking about countries manufacturing satellites like Turkey’s Göktürk-2, by the way. I am talking about a brand new era in which individuals make their own satellites at home at the cost of buying a car. I believe that Turkey is not prepared for this new episode. Let me first explain what I understand about this new era.

A couple of weeks ago, thousands of police officers failed to control a few hundreds of protesters at Middle East Technical University (METU) using methods that are the norm in civilized countries. In all the fuss, the launch of the first Turkish satellite Göktürk-2 went by with very little attention. If the police forces had completed their mental transformation, we would have talked about the project the METU Center for Aeronautics and Space had carried out with the support of the Scientific and Technological Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) instead of the clash between the police and protestors.

We couldn’t do it then, but we can talk about the meaning of Göktürk-2 for Turkey today. The first point: it is good that Turkey has become one of the 25 countries that have launched domestic satellites, as was stated in press releases. Göktürk-2 will run on programs designed by Turkish engineers. A large proportion of the materials used were made in Turkey. Even if they were not, it still implies a major step forward. The vast majority of Apple’s products have components produced and assembled outside of America. iPads are made in China and then sent to America. But there is no doubt that iPad is an American product, right? Alike, there is no doubt that Göktürk-2 is a Turkish product.

So, what is the significance of Göktürk-2? If you ask me, it is significant in that it implies that Turkey has started attempting to accomplish what it has hesitated to do before. It is good that it has launched a satellite for military purposes, designed the satellite domestically, and started envisioning that realm. Also, it is good that Turkish engineers have started to use and implement the information that has almost become common in the rest of the world. Turkey has to keep up with the rest of the world. This is the second point to stress.

We all have to keep in mind that the world is now living in the DIY satellite era. While doing research on the significance of Göktürk-2 for Turkey, I came across a bunch of do-it-yourself books and web pages on home-made satellites. This means that we are at the dawn of the personal satellite, let alone national ones. Soon we might have concerns like deciding whether to buy a new motorcycle or launch a satellite. Six years ago the cheapest 3D printer available in the US was $30,000. Today, it is around $550.

What impressed me the most about the DIY satellites is that you can design them based on open resources and then send your 3D drawings for production to a workshop, all while sitting at home. You do not need to search for someone local to cast a mold or anything. You are able to manufacture your satellite at a much lower cost using a 3D printer. So, we are on the eve of a new era in which personal things will be produced and marketed to the world without using molds or engaging in mass production. In such era, small workshops that have a printer, fast Internet access, skilled personnel and advanced technical equipment will gain importance. We are at the dawn of an era in which SMEs rather than large companies will internationalize. This is not good news for Turkey with its seventh grade dropout population who cannot speak English.

Anyway, do such things happen in Turkey? I heard that Özyeğin University in Istanbul has a 3D printer for commercial use. And there is one in Ankara. Two new university graduates are trying to market it to SMEs. And soon, TOBB University of Economics and Technology’s Garaj will introduce the DIY concept to young entrepreneurs. You have to start from somewhere. I will continue on this.

This commentary was published in Radikal daily on 08.01.2013