In the TRNC, they wished the first Turkish astronaut good luck

The SpaceX spacecraft was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Onboard is the first Turkish astronaut, Alper Ghezeravchi.

The Falcon 9 rocket, which will deliver the SpaceX Dragon capsule to the International Space Station (ISS), was launched at 16:49 local time in the USA (TSI 00:49 - TRNC 23:49) after a real-time countdown.

The 70-meter-long Falcon 9 rocket, with a diameter of 3.7 meters and a weight of about 550 tons, is capable of carrying 22,000 kilograms of payload into low Earth orbit, 8,300 kilograms into geostationary transfer orbit, and 4,000 kilograms to Mars.

The 8.1-meter-long Dragon capsule is capable of transporting 7 people.

The first-ever Turkish space traveler, Alper Ghezeravchi, will be in space to perform various scientific missions on the ISS for 14 days.

The Ax-3 mission also includes its leader Michael Lopez-Alegria, representing the United States and Spain, pilot Walter Villadei from the Italian Air Force, and Swede Markus Wandt, participating on behalf of the European Space Agency.

The launch, which was originally planned for January 17 local time in the USA, was postponed by SpaceX for one day to complete final checks.

The Prime Minister of the TRNC, Ersin Tatar, wished the first Turkish astronaut success in his historic journey to the International Space Station.

In his social media message, he noted that historic moments will be witnessed as part of the National Space Program, carried out in accordance with the vision of the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"We will witness historical moments," wrote the Prime Minister.