On Thursday, a Turkish astronaut, along with a Swedish and Italian astronaut, were launched to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a SpaceX flight that was chartered for the mission.

The Falcon rocket took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in the evening, transporting three men who are all experienced military pilots and representing their respective countries. They were accompanied by a former NASA astronaut who currently works for the organization that organized the private voyage.

The capsule is expected to arrive at the space station on Saturday. They will conduct experiments, interact with students, and enjoy the sights of Earth for two weeks before coming back.

Each of the three countries is spending at least $55 million for the trip. This is the estimated cost per person for the third trip organized by Axiom Space, a Houston-based company, in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX. Russia has been accepting paid visitors to the space station for over 20 years, while NASA only began doing so two years ago.

Alper Gezeravci, a Turkish Airline captain and former fighter pilot, has become the first Turkish citizen to travel to space. Gezeravci, who mentioned that Turkey recently commemorated its 100th year, also shared that his country’s perspective of the sky has been restricted to what could be seen without any assistance.

He informed reporters before the flight that this mission will fully unveil the curtain. He also stated that this marks the start of our next century.

Other pilots on the roster include Marcus Wandt from Sweden, a previous fighter and test pilot for the Swedish Aeroplane Corp who was selected as a backup astronaut by the European Space Agency in 2022, and Walter Villadei, a colonel in the Italian Air Force who recently journeyed to the boundary of space with Virgin Galactic.

Some of the symbolic objects they are collecting include a Nobel Prize medal from Sweden, fusilli pasta from Italy, and items representing Turkey’s nomadic culture.

Michael Lopez-Alegria, who has been on four NASA space missions, is accompanying Axiom Space’s inaugural chartered flight. He is the sole returning passenger on the SpaceX Dragon, the spacecraft that has been transporting astronauts to the space station for NASA since 2020.

“Greetings from SpaceX Launch Control, you are now a member of the Dragon frequent flyer club.”

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The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group provides support for the Associated Press Health and Science Department. The AP is exclusively responsible for all of its content.

Source: wral.com