Tomorrow, Saturday, four passengers are expected to arrive at the International Space Station, including a Swede, an Italian, and the first Turk to participate in a journey into space, during a special mission, the third of its kind, via a SpaceX rocket that launched yesterday, Thursday.
The rocket took off, as scheduled, at 16.49 local time (21.49 p.m. GMT), from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
This mission, called “Axiom Mission 3” (Ax-3), is the third organized by the American company “Axiom Space”.
The passengers, who have been training for months, are expected to spend about two weeks on the International Space Station. They will conduct a series of scientific experiments.
After providing wealthy clients with the opportunity to fulfill their space dreams, Axiom Space also now transports individuals sponsored by national agencies.
Among the passengers on this mission was Alper Gezer Oci, a fighter pilot who became the first Turk to participate in a space flight.
The Swedish Markus Wundt, supported by the European Space Agency, is also participating in the flight.
The agency explained that his role as a “project astronaut” allows him to participate in short-term missions, under a fixed-term contract, unlike full-time astronauts.
“I would like to thank the European Space Agency for its boldness and vision, and for paving the way, with Sweden and Axiom Space, to strengthen Europe’s presence in space,” Markus Wandt wrote on the “X” network.
The third passenger is Italian Walter Villadi, who belongs to his country's air force and had previously participated in a Virgin Galactic flight, but it only lasted a few minutes.
The mission is led by Spanish-American Michael Lopez Alegria, a former NASA astronaut, who was hired by Axiom Space to accompany the three clients.
The four will join seven people already on the International Space Station.
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