Turkey's first astronaut brandishes Erdogan's ambitions

Alper Gezeravci, a 43-year-old fighter pilot and colonel in Turkey's airforce, is due to take off on Wednesday from the Cape Canaveral Space ForceStation in Florida for a two-week mission.
He will be joining Swedish, Italian and Spanish astronauts aboard a shuttleprovided by the private Axiom Space company, which will be conducting itsthird flight under a partnership with NASA, reports BSS.
Erdogan has displayed a keen interest in the mission, which comes against thebackdrop of a raging economic crisis and signs -- despite his best efforts --of the Turkish leader's limited influence on world events, including the warsin Gaza and Ukraine.
Erdogan presented Gezeravci to the Turkish public in the runup to his re-election last year, calling the 21-year air force veteran a "heroic Turkishpilot".
"We see it as a new symbol of the growing, stronger and assertive Turkey,"Erdogan said about the space mission on Tuesday.
Marc Pierini, a former diplomat and senior researcher at Carnegie Europe,said Gezeravci's flight illustrates "Turkish excellence in the aerospacefield", which includes the creation of a world-leading combat drone company.
But, Pierini added, it says little about Turkey's role in world affairs.
"It doesn't have anything to do with Turkey's ability to be an actor thatcould influence the global political agenda," Pierini said.
"Fluctuations in Turkey's foreign policies do not create hope for Ankara tohave a leading role on the international scene."
In the run-up to last year's election, Erdogan prided himself on helpingsecure a grain deal that lifted Russia's naval blockade of Ukraine -- theonly major agreement signed by the sides since the Kremlin's February 2022invasion of its neighbour.
That deal has since collapsed and Erdogan's attempts to restart peace talksbetween Moscow and Kyiv -- or halt the Israel-Hamas war -- have fallen flat.
In the meantime, Turkey has drawn the ire or its Western allies by stallingthe approval of Sweden as a member of NATO, continuing to maintain closebusiness ties with Russia, and branding Israel a "terrorist state".
- 'Turkey's turn'-
Despite its economic and foreign policy challenges, Turkey has been leadingan ambitious aerospace programme.
"This historic event will not only validate technological objectives andgalvanise the national pride of the Turkish people, but also launch a new eraof scientific innovation and international collaboration," said HalitMirahmetoglu, general manager at the Gokmen Space and Aviation TrainingCentre in northwestern province of Bursa.
"The aviation, space, defence and software industries are interconnected andmutually reinforcing," Mirahmetoglu said, pointing to the Baykar company, adrone maker headed by Erdogan's son-in-law.
"The field of space exploration, long reserved for a club of developednations, is now opening up to emerging countries," Mirahmetoglu said.
"It is Turkey's turn to join the big club."
Gezeravci, for one, appears to be aware of the symbolic importance of hismission, saying he is ready to "take the dreams of the Turkish people intothe depths of space".
"This trip is not an end for us but a means for achieving the objectives ofour space studies," he said in an interview with the official Anadolu newsagency.
According to NASA, the ISS has welcomed more than 275 astronauts on board,with missions tending to last several months.