The countdown has begun for the spaceflight of Gökhan Erdem, Turkey’s third space traveler. Gökhan Erdem will launch into space on Sunday, August 3rd at 3:30 PM Turkish time as part of the New Shepard NS-34 mission, operated by Blue Origin. The launch will take place from Van Horn Air Base in Texas, USA. The flight will be streamed live on Blue Origin’s official website and social media accounts.

Gökhan Erdem will travel to space

Gökhan Erdem is known as a member of the Board of Directors of Erdem Holding. With this flight, he will become the third Turk to fly into space, following Alper Gezeravcı and Tuva Cihangir Atasever. Alper Gezeravcı previously flew to the International Space Station and became Turkey’s first astronaut. Tuva Cihangir Atasever also participated in a suborbital flight, becoming the second Turkish spaceflight.

The NS-34 mission will be Blue Origin’s 14th crewed flight. Gökhan Erdem will be accompanied by six other passengers on this mission. Another notable figure on the flight is H.E. Justin Sun, founder of TRON and a well-known figure in the cryptocurrency world.

The crew also includes US entrepreneur J.D. Russell, Puerto Rican meteorologist and NASA ambassador Deborah Martorell, British philanthropist and educator Lionel Pitchford, and Indian-born navigator Arvinder Singh Bahal.

The flight, which will be carried out in the New Shepard capsule, will not have a pilot. The mission, which will be operated entirely by autonomous systems, will allow passengers to reach an altitude of approximately 100 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. At this altitude, they will experience brief microgravity conditions. The flight will also offer the opportunity to observe the Earth’s outer layers from afar.

The system used in the NS-34 mission will provide a suborbital flight, as in previous New Shepard missions. The entire flight will last approximately 10 minutes, and the landing will be completed when the capsule returns to Earth safely with the aid of a parachute. With this mission by Gökhan Erdem, Turkey’s experience in human space flights will be taken one step further.