ITU is in Florida to Follow the First Manned Space Mission of Türkiye

On January 19, 2024, ITU, the university of firsts, was at the US-Kennedy Space Center, where the launch ceremony took place, to witness the historical moments of the space travel of the first Turkish astronaut Alper Gezeravcı, within the scope of the “First Manned Space Mission of Türkiye.”

Our Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu, representing Istanbul Technical University, which has played a pioneering role in realizing firsts in the field of space engineering such as the production and launch of Türkiye’s first cube satellite ITUpSAT1, attended the ceremony in Florida, USA, where the first Turkish astronaut Alper Gezeravcı was launched into space as part of the “First Manned Space Mission of Türkiye,” a milestone in national space research.

At the historical ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center, where the Dragon capsule carrying Alper Gezeravcı was launched into space, our Rector Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu stated that it is a great pride to witness Türkiye’s first manned space journey and expressed his wishes for success to Gezeravcı for the scientific studies he will conduct in space.

Alper Gezeravcı, who will stay in space for 14 days, will conduct 13 scientific experiments at the International Space Station (ISS) in different fields such as microgravity, human health in space medium, research on the Salt Lake plant in space medium, and research on solid-fluid mixtures in zero-gravity environment.

Click to follow the current position of the Dragon capsule carrying the first Turkish astronaut Alper Gezeravcı on a journey planned to last 36 hours.