The Arab Satellite Communications Organization (often abbreviated as Arabsat) is a communications satellite operator in the Arab World, headquartered in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Arabsat was created to deliver satellite-based, public, and private telecommunications services to the Arab States, in accordance with International Standards. With 21 member countries, the organization plays a vital role in enhancing communications in the Arab World.

Türksat 1C was a Turkish communications satellite as part of a project to form an instant network with two geosynchronous satellites that is supervised by the companies Türksat A.Ş. in Turkey and Aérospatiale of France.

It was built under the insurance terms of the turnkey system contract to replace the first Turkish satellite Türksat 1A, which was lost following a launch failure on January 24, 1994. The contract was modified so that the coverage area of Türksat 1C was enlarged by two big zones.

Turksat 1C was successfully placed into geostationary transfer orbit and positioned at 31.3°E on July 10, 1996. Completing the orbital tests, the satellite shifted to longitude 42°E. After this process, which took 17 days, the broadcast traffic of the Türksat 1B was transferred to Türksat 1C. Finally, when these processes were completed Türksat 1B was positioned at 31.3°E following similar orbital manoeuvres.