Tuva Cihangir Atasever is bracing to develop into Türkiye’s second astronaut, as he’s deliberate to be despatched on a flight to the sting of house within the coming months.
The suborbital experience follows the completion of the nation’s inaugural house mission by Alper Gezeravcı, who has develop into the primary individual from Türkiye to fly to house.
Gezeravcı on Friday returned to Earth from a three-week mission to the International Space Station (ISS). A former fighter pilot and captain for Turkish Airlines (THY), he was a member of the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew that launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 19 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Atasever was additionally part of the historic Ax-3 mission because the backup mission specialist and joined Gezeravcı throughout his monthslong coaching within the U.S. earlier than the spaceflight.
The expedition is seen in Türkiye as a supply of nationwide pleasure and a spotlight of its technological development, particularly within the subject of aerospace and navy improvement akin to aerial drones.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan displayed a eager curiosity within the mission, having introduced Gezeravcı and Atasever to the Turkish public final yr.
Atasever is deliberate to be despatched on a suborbital flight in April aboard a rocket aircraft operated by Virgin Galactic, the enterprise British billionaire Richard Branson based in 2004.
During the journey, Atasever is predicted to carry out seven scientific experiments, he mentioned final week.
While in orbit, Gezeravcı carried out about 13 experiments.
A suborbital flight refers to a trajectory of a spacecraft or automobile that reaches the sting of house however doesn’t full a full orbit round a celestial physique, such because the Earth.
Essentially, the automobile goes up into house however comes again all the way down to Earth with out finishing a full revolution across the planet. Suborbital flights are sometimes used for scientific analysis, tourism or testing functions.
Ambitious house street map
The missions are a part of Türkiye’s formidable 10-year house street map, unveiled in early 2021, together with missions to the moon and creating internationally viable satellite tv for pc programs.
Türkiye established its personal house company in 2018, and mentioned it’ll land on the moon by 2026.
The program envisages working with different international locations to construct a spaceport and create a worldwide satellite tv for pc expertise model.
Industry and Technology Minister Fatih Kacır on Tuesday mentioned Türkiye would meticulously consider the outcomes of scientific experiments carried out throughout Gezeravcı’s mission and supply the mandatory help for the continuation of such endeavors.
“We will finalize preparations for our next astronaut mission, ensuring that our second astronaut conducts scientific experiments during a suborbital flight in the near future,” Kacır wrote on social media platform X, previously often called Twitter.
Outlining different particulars of the nation’s house program, he emphasised Türkiye’s dedication to advancing its presence in house exploration, leveraging home capabilities, and fostering worldwide partnerhips.
Kacır mentioned packages can be initiated geared toward conducting additional scientific analysis on the International Space Station and strengthening worldwide collaborations.
“We will assess potential international partnerships concerning other manned space missions,” mentioned Kacır. He famous the plans to launch analysis and improvement packages (R&D) for the enhancement of house stations and associated programs in collaboration with establishments concerned of their improvement.
“We will establish a space technology development zone in Ankara to bolster the space industry, aiming to secure a larger share of the global space economy, which amounts to $600 billion annually,” the minister mentioned.
He additionally highlighted efforts towards attaining unbiased entry to house by pursuing tasks for the event of launch automobiles and establishing a spaceport by way of worldwide cooperation by 2030.
“We will execute our lunar program, reaching the Moon with a spacecraft designed and produced by our own engineers and scientists, equipped with propulsion systems developed domestically,” mentioned Kacır.
“This unmanned program will enable us to utilize innovative technologies in challenging space conditions, with the prospect of commercialization in the future.”
Kacır additionally reiterated the plans to reinforce Türkiye’s capabilities in satellite tv for pc imaging by progressively creating high-resolution and specialised imaging satellites.
He burdened plans to launch the primary nationwide communication satellite tv for pc, Türksat 6A, within the close to future, which is able to place Türkiye among the many prime 10 international locations on this subject.
Source: www.dailysabah.com