ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that Turkiye’s first astronaut will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) by the end of this year, Turkish media reported on Saturday.
Air Force Pilot Alper Gezeravci was selected to be the first Turkish national in space. Alper Gezeravci’s backup is Tuva Cihangir Atasever an aviation systems engineer at Turkish defense servicer Roketsan.
President Erdogan made the announcement at space fair in Istanbul, his first public appearance since falling ill during a television interview on Tuesday. Erdogan appeared alongside Libya’s interim Prime Minister and Azerbaijan’s President.
Turkish President
President Erdogan said, “Our astronaut, who will go on Turkiye’s 1st manned space mission, will stay on the ISS for fourteen days,” “Our friend will perform thirteen different experiments prepared by our nation’s esteemed universities during this mission.”
Turkish President described Gezeravci as a heroic pilot who has achieved noteworthy success in Air Force.
The Turkish Space Agency also describes Gezeravci as an air force veteran who also attended the United States (US) Air Force Institute of Technology.
Wearing a red jacket, the Turkish President appeared in robust health as he addressed public at the festival. Presidential and parliamentary polls are scheduled for May 14 in Turkey, and opinion polls suggest Erdogan in potentially his toughest contest since he came to power twenty years ago.
Turkiye is facing with a prolonged economic problem, and the government received criticism following a February quake killed over 50,000 in the country.
While campaigning for reelection, the Turkish President has also unveiled a number of prestigious projects including first nuclear power plant and the transfer of natural gas from Black Sea reserves.
