Türkiye's second astronaut completes suborbital mission

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s second astronaut, Tuva Cihangir Atasever, achieved a significant milestone on June 8 by successfully completing a suborbital research flight aboard Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity.

This marks another achievement for Türkiye in the field of space exploration, following the earlier success of astronaut Alper Gezeravcı’s mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Gezeravcı had conducted 13 experiments in space during his two-week mission aboard the ISS.

Atasever’s flight commenced from the Spaceport facility in New Mexico, U.S. at approximately 8:30 a.m. local time (5:30 p.m. GMT) The VSS Unity spacecraft, part of Virgin Galactic’s fleet, completed its journey in 1 hour and 10 minutes, reaching an altitude of 90 kilometers.

The spacecraft achieved this height using a hybrid fuel rocket engine after being carried to approximately 45,000 feet by its carrier aircraft.

During the flight, Atasever conducted seven scientific experiments. The mission’s “Galactic 07” crew included private astronauts from the United States and Italy, alongside two U.S. pilots and Atasever himself. The spacecraft safely landed at 9:40 a.m local time, concluding the mission successfully.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan celebrated Atasever’s success, stating on social media, we are excitedly following the work of our astronaut who will carry out seven scientific experiments.

Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır also met with Atasever before the flight.

Atasever’s scientific tasks involved insulin pen tests and various space experiments, including metabolic and vehicle analysis.

Notably, Atasever carried the flags of Türkiye and Azerbaijan on his uniform, symbolizing his dual heritage. He remarked before the flight, “The flag of Azerbaijan, my mother’s homeland, will be with me on this flight, right next to the Turkish flag, on my chest.”

“Just as the flags of these two countries are side by side on earth, they will be side by side during my space journey.”