Turkey’s first astronaut, Alper Gezeravcı, left the International Space Station on Wednesday after two weeks on board and began his return to Earth along with fellow astronauts from Italy, Sweden and Spain as part of the Axiom-3 mission.
SpaceX’s Dragon capsule with the four astronauts was scheduled to undock from the ISS (International Space Station) at 14:20 GMT (15:20 CET), then leave the station’s orbit and begin the re-entry manoeuvre into the Earth’s atmosphere. In total, the journey back to Earth is expected to take about 47 hours, and the astronauts are expected to land on Friday morning, Eastern Time in the U.S.
During his two weeks on the International Space Station, Turkey’s first astronaut – a former fighter pilot and captain of Turkish Airlines – has carried out some 30 scientific experiments for various universities and research centres in Turkey. “You are the first, but not the last,” Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan told him during a video conference from the space station. Gezeravcı’s pioneering mission is part of Turkey’s new space programme, which includes the development of its own space rockets and propulsion systems, and missions to the Moon.
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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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