Second Turkish Astronaut to Go to Space on June 8

The second Turkish astronaut, Tuva Cihangir Atasever, will embark on a space mission on June 8. Of Azerbaijani origin, he will undertake a suborbital research flight aboard Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity spacecraft.

According to the space traveler, he will carry two flags on his chest during the flight – the Turkish and Azerbaijani flags.

"Just as the flags of these two countries stand side by side on the ground and these two nations stand shoulder to shoulder, they will also be side by side during my space journey," stated the astronaut.

The suborbital research flight of the Turkish Space Science Mission is a training phase developed as part of the Ax-3 mission, which launched in Houston, USA, in April 2023 and will extend to the International Space Station (ISS).

Tuva Cihangir Atasever also mentioned that on May 28, a Turkish delegation arrived at the Axiom Space facilities in the USA for research and is now at the spaceport in New Mexico, where the launch will take place.

Recall that the first Turkish astronaut, Alper Gezeravci, was aboard the SpaceX spacecraft, which was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 19, 2024. During the flight, he shared photos of Cyprus taken from space.

On February 9, Alper Gezeravci, along with other members of the Ax-3 mission crew, returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). After his arrival, the first Turkish astronaut received a call from the President of the TRNC, Ersin Tatar.