Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s space company, Blue Origin, will carry Turkish businessman Gökhan Erdem into space. This flight, which will take place in August, will make him Turkey’s third space traveler.
Gökhan Erdem will go to space with Blue Origin
The flight will take off from Van Horn Air Base in Texas and will be the 14th crewed flight of the fully autonomous New Shepard rocket. Gökhan Erdem will be accompanied by five other passengers on the rocket.
During this journey, Erdem will reach an altitude of 100 kilometers above the earth, experience microgravity, and have the opportunity to view Earth from afar. Gökhan Erdem’s flight suit will feature elements of Turkish culture, such as the Galata Tower and the Bosphorus Bridge, symbols of Istanbul.
Turkey’s space adventure has previously begun with two prominent figures. As part of the National Space Program, Alper Gezeravcı became Turkey’s first space traveler by traveling to the International Space Station. Tuva Cihangir Atasever, who subsequently participated in Virgin Galactic’s suborbital flight, became the second Turkish space traveler. Now, Gökhan Erdem joins this list.
In a statement, Gökhan Erdem stated that he believes space is not just a place, but also a future. He said that Turkey’s previous space missions had deeply influenced him. He also expressed his encouragement from the professional astronauts and cosmonauts he met at the 34th Astronaut Congress held in Bursa in 2023.
He emphasized that he feels the support of prominent figures who have traveled to space several times, such as Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Anton Shkaplerov, and American astronauts Michael Lopez Alegria and Victor Glover. He expressed his eagerness to experience microgravity and observe Earth from space.
