Erdogan unveils Turkey’s first astronaut on election path

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s first astronaut will journey to the International Space Station by the top of the 12 months, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated Saturday.

Air pressure pilot Alper Gezeravci, 43, was chosen to be the primary Turkish citizen in house. His backup is Tuva Cihangir Atasever, 30, an aviation techniques engineer at Turkish protection contractor Roketsan.

Erdogan made the announcement on the Teknofest aviation and house truthful in Istanbul, the president’s first public look since falling ailing throughout a TV interview on Tuesday. He appeared alongside Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, and Libya’s interim prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.

“Our friend, who will go on Turkey’s first manned space mission, will stay on the International Space Station for 14 days,” Erdogan stated. “Our astronaut will perform 13 different experiments prepared by our country’s esteemed universities and research institutions during this mission.”

Erdogan described Gezeravci as a “heroic Turkish pilot who has achieved significant success in our Air Force Command.”

The Turkish Space Agency web site describes Gezeravci as a 21-year air pressure veteran and F-16 pilot who attended the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology.

Wearing a purple flight jacket, Erdogan appeared in strong well being as he addressed crowds on the competition. Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for May 14, and opinion polls present Erdogan in doubtlessly his hardest race since he got here to energy twenty years in the past.

Turkey is coping with a chronic financial downturn, and the federal government obtained criticism after a February earthquake killed greater than 50,000 within the nation. Experts blamed the excessive demise toll partly on shoddy development and regulation enforcement of constructing codes.