First Turkish Astronaut Flies Into Space on SpaceX Rocket

Alper Gezeravci at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Jan. 18. Photographer: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images

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By Selcan Hacaoglu

January 19, 2024 at 4:31 AM UTC

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Turkey flew its first astronaut to the International Space Station in a SpaceX capsule, marking a milestone in the country’s nascent space program.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, carrying Turkish astronaut Alper Gezeravci and other crew members from Italy, Spain and Sweden as part of a mission operated by Axiom Space Inc.