Ax-3 space mission begins journey to International Space Station, with Turkish national among crew

(Patria) - The Ax-3 space mission began its journey to the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, launching from NASA's "Kennedy" Space Center with a four-member crew, which includes the first Turkish passenger, Alper Gezeravci.

The launch was carried out from SpaceX's facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA) at 4:49 PM local US time (10:49 PM Central European Time) on a Falcon 9 rocket of the private space exploration company SpaceX.

Approximately 150 seconds after launch, the main engine shut down and stage separation was achieved. After about 7.5 minutes, the Falcon 9 rocket returned to Earth.

Almost nine minutes after launch, the second engine also shut down.

The Dragon capsule, carrying the crew, activated about 12 minutes after launch.

The crew is expected to dock with the ISS on Saturday around 5:15 AM (10:15 AM Central European Time).

Gezeravci and three crew members from Spain, Italy, and Sweden will conduct more than 30 scientific experiments and demonstrations on the ISS as part of the Ax-3 mission. Gezeravci is the first Turkish space traveler and will conduct 13 scientific studies during his 14-day stay on the ISS.

The Ax-3 mission is led by Michael Lopez-Alegria, a representative of the USA and Spain, while the crew also includes Walter Villadei as pilot from the Italian Air Force and Marcus Wandt from Sweden, a representative of the European Space Agency.

The launch was originally planned for January 9, but was postponed twice, first to January 17, and then to January 18.

The Falcon 9 rocket, 70 meters long, 3.7 meters in diameter, and weighing about 550 tons, has the capacity to carry 22,000 kilograms of payload into low Earth orbit, 8,300 kilograms into geostationary orbit, and 4,000 kilograms to Mars.

The Dragon capsule, 8.1 meters long, which can carry seven people or an equal amount of cargo in its pressurized area with airflow, is designed as a spacecraft that can also carry cargo in its unpressurized rear section.