The mission of the very first space traveler from Türkiye has been postponed due to weather conditions, a top Turkish official said Thursday.
The Axiom Space’s third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is now expected to be launched on Jan. 17, from earlier planned Jan. 9, due to adverse weather and the planning of SpaceX.
"We will have to be a little more patient for the exciting journey," Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The mission will send the first Turkish astronaut to space, Col. Alper Gezeravcı, who will be accompanied by Spanish, Italian and Swedish astronauts.
Axiom Space's chief astronaut and former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria will command the mission.
Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei will serve as a pilot. Gezeravcı and European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden are the two mission specialists.
Ax-3 crew will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket inside a Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Once docked, the astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory implementing a mission comprised of science, outreach and commercial activities.
During the mission, Gezeravcı will participate in 13 scientific experiments on the International Space Station.
Türkiye selected Gezeravci, a Turkish Air Force F-16 pilot, as the country's first prospective space traveler earlier this year during the major technology event, Teknofest.
The Turkish Space Agency was established in 2018 and announced its space program in 2019, as well as its intention to send a crewed mission into space.
