Turkey is preparing to send its second astronaut into space after Alper Gezeravcı, who received a hero’s welcome on Monday after spending two weeks on the International Space Station (ISS): his name is Tuva Cihangir Atasever, who is expected to embark on a new mission outside the Earth in a few months, becoming the second Turkish astronaut to travel outside our planet.
Atasever, who was also part – as a replacement astronaut – of the historic Axiom-3 mission in which Gezeravcı travelled, is scheduled to travel into space on a suborbital flight scheduled for next April aboard a rocket operated by Virgin Galactic, the company founded in 2004 by British billionaire Richard Branson: a flight in which Atasever will carry out up to 7 scientific experiments for several universities and research centres in Turkey.
Sending the first astronauts into space is part of Turkey’s ambitious space programme unveiled in 2021, which includes the development of its own launch rockets and a Moon landing mission, tentatively scheduled for 2026. The programme devised by the Turkish Space Agency (TUA) also aims to build a spaceport for rocket launching, and to develop its own brand of satellite technology to compete with other countries.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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