A fighter pilot is preparing to become the first Turk to venture into space on a mission scheduled for today, Thursday, alongside three European astronauts to the International Space Station as part of the latest commercial mission by the Texas-based company Axiom Space. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying the four astronauts, is set to launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 4:49 PM Eastern Time (21:49 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a journey to the station that will take approximately 36 hours.
This mission marks the third of its kind organized by Houston-based Axiom in two years. The company relies on sending astronauts sponsored by foreign governments and private institutions into space. Axiom charges at least $55 million per individual for each flight. The plans for the Axiom-3 mission call for the crew to spend nearly 14 days at the International Space Station conducting over 30 scientific experiments, most of which focus on the effects of space travel on human health.
Symbolically, the mission reflects the increasing number of countries exploring space travel as a means to enhance global standing and military power as well as satellite communications. Turkey, which has long aspired to join the European Union, is entering the expanding exclusive club of nations visiting the International Space Station by sending veteran Turkish Air Force pilot Alper Gzer Oji (44) on his country's first crewed space mission as part of the Axiom-3 mission.
