Turkey hails its first astronaut who returned from a 3-week mission to International Space Station
ABC News
Turkey’s first astronaut has returned home to a hero’s welcome as a symbol of the country’s advances in technology and aerospace
ISTANBUL -- Turkey’s first astronaut returned home to a hero’s welcome Monday, portrayed as a symbol of the country’s advances in technology and aerospace.
Alper Gezeravci was greeted by bouquet-laden children at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport as he returned from a private three-week mission to the International Space Station. In return, he handed out Turkish flags he had carried with him into space.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has closely followed Gezeravci’s mission, declaring it a “new symbol of a growing, stronger and assertive Turkey,” after the country marked its centenary last year.
Erdogan has spoken several times to Gezeravci, a 44-year-old former Turkish fighter pilot, since he left for Florida to prepare for the mission.
His space flight, for which Turkey paid roughly $55 million, was the third such journey organized by Houston-based Axiom Space with NASA and SpaceX.
